Covid was everywhere – it felt like every house we knew had it
STUDENT RECALLS LIVING IN LENTON AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC
A UNIVERSITY student has decribed how catching Covid-19 was “really hard to avoid” during the height of the pandemic in Lenton.
The area, which has a large student poulation, was at one stage one of worst-hit areas in the country for positive cases.
Second-year geography student Annie Feetham said that at around the time when the Banksy artwork appeared in Radford, back in October last year, “for a period it felt like every house we knew had it”.
“People were trying to be careful but it was just so hard – it was just everywhere,” she said.
“A girl in our house had to drive an hour to get tested. There was no testing about,” said the 19-year-old, who lives in Harrington Drive, off Derby Road, in Lenton.
“The university set up a testing site and it got a bit better.”
She now gets tested every week but Ms Feetham felt catching the virus became “a bit like an inevitability”, saying seven people in her household previously tested positive and were now fine.
“It felt really hard to avoid,” she added. When she got it, she remembers: “I only lost my sense of taste. It felt really surreal – we felt fine.”
Nottingham’s Covid rate soared at the beginning of the academic term in October – at one point reaching the highest rate of infection in the country.
A total of 2,931 new cases were recorded in Nottingham in the seven days to October 10 last year – the equivalent of 880.4 cases per 100,000.
Figures have also shown that between September and April, three areas in the city – the Arboretum, Forest and Nottingham Trent University, The Park and Castle and Lenton and Dunkirk – were among the top 10 areas of England with the most positive Covid tests relative to population during the second wave of the pandemic.
Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, told Mailonline how students may have higher rates of infection because they live in large, mixed households and often use public transport.
He added it was impossible to know whether the fact they were students actually made Covid outbreaks worse.
However,ms Feetham, who studies at the University of Nottingham, said: “I think students have definitely been the scapegoats. Everyone I know was being really sensible, following the guidance.”
Alex Blackmore, 20, a politics student at the University of Nottingham, who lives in Lenton, said: “From September to I guess February it was quite tough, really – especially as we [his household] have been quite stringent with sticking to the rules – pretty much just not seeing anyone else outside the house.”
With more options of where to go now lockdown restrictions have eased, he said: “University is meant to be a nice work-life balance. The social part is meant to be a large part of the university experience.
“Things are opening. It’s definitely something to look forward to – it’s a shame this is happening right at the end of the academic year.
“Exams end on June 18 and a lot of students will go home then and not stick around here in summer.”
Looking forward to the next academic year, he said: “I have found the online teaching OK. I have not really felt it’s been detrimental to anything.
“But nothing beats in-person relations with the professors and seminars. It’s a bit more fluid and natural, really.”
A 55-year-old woman, of Harlaxton Drive, Lenton, who works in events and asked not to be named, added: “I’ve lived here 23 years, I’m not not bashing the students just because they are young people.
“I just think they are being used as scapegoats. I don’t agree with that. I like living in this area. It’s been very, very quiet.”
Rachel Quinn, 49, who works in economic development, and lives in The Park Estate, said: “I think you have to take responsibility to protect yourself.
“To be honest, people have to make their own judgement. I certainly did not hear any parties here, The only ones I heard were through the Facebook page. I don’t know why the figures have been so high, I really do not know
– it’s not been any different.
“We have family that live out of the city – to be honest they have seen more people.”
Her daughter Chloe Quinn, 22, a Nottingham College student who works as a sales assistant, said: “To be honest this side is very quiet.
“I have seen quite a few groups of people. Because most people who are here are local nobody is afraid to say something to someone if they see something going wrong.” A 61-year-old retired teacher, who lives in Tattershall Drive, in The Park, and didn’t wish to be named, said: “The students have been blamed for a lot. “At the end of the day, when you were that age you waited to get away from your parents and go to a university. “Their lifestyle must have been drastically different to what they expected.” A joint statement on behalf of Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham read: “Student areas are not alone in being hit disproportionately by high Covid rates and we continue to stress that everybody has a part to play in following the rules and reducing the spread of the virus. The ONS Student Covid Insights Survey confirms our own experience that, despite what has been widely reported in the media, students have been as good, if not better, than the wider public in following the coronavirus guidelines.
“Our students have faced unprecedented disappointment and disruption to their university life during the pandemic.
“Despite this, the overwhelming majority have been responsible citizens who have followed Government guidelines to slow the spread of the virus and have played an active role in supporting and protecting their communities.
“The universities have taken every step to ensure our campuses are Covid-secure and that students who have been able to return to face-toface studies can safely access their teaching, libraries, sports facilities and other services.
“Our asymptomatic/lateral flow testing has played a key role in allowing us to identify Covid cases in our community, monitor outbreaks and safely manage the movement of our students.”
I think students have been the scapegoats. Everyone I know was being really sensible, following the guidance
Annie Feetham