XMAS UNI LOCKDOWN:
Minister’s threat as 4,000 youngsters quarantined after outbreaks of virus on university campuses
STUDENTS must obey coronavirus restrictions or face Christmas stuck on campus, a Cabinet minister has warned.
More than 4,000 students are now in their rooms self-isolating after outbreaks in 32 universities, including Glasgow, Manchester Metropolitan and Edinburgh Napier.
With 500 confirmed cases on campuses, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said infections would have to come down if students wanted to go home for the festive break.
He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “If we all pull together and observe these new rules, follow the guidance, then we will be able to get to a point where that should be possible.”
As ignoring quarantine rules became a criminal offence in
England, Labour called for improvements to testing so that students could see family at Christmas.
Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy said: “We will have had coronavirus for nine months – that we could not get a test, track and trace system in place by then has got to be described as pathetic.”
He added: “Of course we should be able to get students with their families after a term at university.”
And Shadow Culture Secretary Jo Stevens said: “Students should be allowed home at Christmas and to enable them to do that we need an effective test, trace and isolate system.”
University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said education chiefs should “stop pretending this is business as usual” while thousands of students are locked in “prison-like conditions”.
She added: “The Government and
universities encouraged a mass movement of a million students with no functioning test and trace.”
She said those “locked” in accommodation should be allowed home, with teaching moved online.
Tory Party chairwoman Amanda Milling said: “There are no plans to keep students at university over Christmas.” She accused Labour of “creating unnecessary stress for young people to score political points”.
Manchester Metropolitan University has quarantined 1,500 students amid outbreaks at the Birley and
Cambridge halls of residence. Megan Tingey, 19, a fresher at Birley, only found out about the lockdown when she was challenged by security guards at the front gate.
She said: “They gave us no time to prepare. Walking out of the flat and seeing security was stressful.” The university apologised after ordering its students to remove posters in their windows condemning the lockdown. MMU said: “We respect the rights of students to express themselves.” Oxford University epidemiologist Prof Sunetra Gupta called on ministers to protect the vulnerable while letting students live normally. She said: “What we want to do is to prevent the situation whereby students are locked up.”
As schools face worsening staff shortages due to the virus, Vic Goddard, co-principal at Passmores Academy, in Harlow, Essex, said class sizes could rise to up to 60 children.
The star of Channel 4’s Educating Essex said he expected “doubling up or tripling up of classes”.
The UK recorded 5,693 new Covid-19 cases yesterday and the death toll rose 17 to 41,988.
Local lockdowns will be imposed on three more Welsh areas – Neath Port Talbot, Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen – at 6pm tonight.