The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
University cases: ‘Significant’ rise
St Andrews University has been hit by a “sudden and significant” rise in Covid-19 cases among students.
Eleven students living in four halls of residence and private accommodation in the town tested positive for the virus, while more than 40 others are understood to be self-isolating.
In an email to all students, university principal and vicechancellor Sally Mapstone described the development as “extremely concerning”.
“I am sorry to report to you that we have learned of a sudden and significant increase in Covid infections amongst students currently in St Andrews,” Professor Mapstone wrote.
“You will know that for many weeks, with your help, we have kept Covid levels here very low, so this rapid increase in transmission is extremely concerning,” she wrote.
“Unfortunately, we expect to see the number of confirmed cases rise over the next few days. It seems very likely that this is the new UK variant strain of Covid.”
Students are also now being urged to stay in the town and not travel during the spring break.
Even if students were feeling well they have been advised there is a “very significant risk” that they could carry the virus on to family and friends.
News of the outbreak comes weeks after dozens of students breached Covid regulations by attending a party at a St Andrews University hall of residence.
Police confirmed it was investigating the incident after up to 40 students attended the illegal gathering in one block at David Russell Apartments.
Days later, St Andrews University’s Covid helpdesk sent an email to every undergraduate they thought to be in town, encouraging them to book a test to prevent the spread of the virus.
NHS Fife public health director Dona Milne said: “Over a number of months we have seen relatively low levels of Covid-19 within the university, and this is testament to the actions of the vast majority of the student population who appear to have adhered to the public health measures in place to protect us all.
“It is clear, however, in a small number of instances over recent weeks the protocols in place have not been followed, particularly around gathering indoors, and it is very likely that the recent sudden increase in positive cases are a direct result of this.
“It is easy to think that as more and more people are vaccinated, and the number of Covid-19 cases reduces, that the virus is no longer a threat – that could not be further from the truth.
“Covid-19 remains highly infectious and even those who are otherwise well can become seriously ill after contracting the virus.”
North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain said: “While it’s reassuring to hear that many people have been identified and are therefore isolating, now is the time that we encourage as much asymptomatic testing as possible to find those currently not showing any signs of having the virus and stop any more community transmission.”
St Andrews councillor Jane-anne Liston, a former student at the university, said everything possible had been done by the university to warn students of the continued need to follow restrictions.
She said: “I’m sceptical whether the party is the cause of this rise in cases as that was now over six weeks ago. However, regardless of the cause, I’d urge students to keep following the advice both from the university and nationally.”
Experts investigating the Stonehaven rail tragedy have set out more than 50 recommendations to make the UK’S rail network more resilient against the “substantial challenge” of extreme weather and climate change.
It has been seven months since train driver Brett Mccullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury were killed after the Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed at Carmont, south of Stonehaven.
Formal investigations into the derailment are ongoing but interim findings suggest that heavy rainfall on the morning of August 12 played a “significant role” in washing out stone from land above the tracks that the train later collided with.
Rail bosses say they are facing a “substantial challenge” in managing rail infrastructure in the face of extreme weather, and UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asked Network Rail to conduct a “wideranging” review of the impact of climate change on the resilience and safe performance of its network.
The study, which commissioned independent guidance from renowned experts Lord Robert Mair and Dame Julia Slingo, was tasked with establishing how to best manage earthworks, drainage and weather to minimise the risk of a repeat incident.
As part of the review, two independent expert taskforces – one on earthworks and one on weather – set out more than 50 recommendations, including greater focus on drainage initiatives, upskilling workers, looking at organisational design and culture, and reviewing commercial contracts and services.
Network Rail has already started implementing some of the recommendations but, in a letter to the transport secretary, Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines set out the “huge” challenge facing the UK’S railways.
He said: “Most earthworks alongside the railway were built around 150 years ago and were poorly engineered by modern standards – cuttings were excavated at overly-steep angles and embankments formed by tipping uncompacted soil from cuttings.
“Drainage too, which is inherently linked to the stability of earthworks, is in many places also around 150 years old and was installed to a pre-set design irrespective of natural catchment or likely rainfall.
“When this is coupled with the more frequent and more intense rainfall we are experiencing due to a changing climate, it is inevitable we see more earthworks failures.
“Heavy rain caused ground slips at many embankments and cuttings across the entire network last year and, while disruptive, none other than Carmont caused derailment.
“We all appreciate that is little comfort to those left forever affected by that awful morning but it does show how far-reaching this challenge is.
“Even with every measure in place, predicting exactly where and when earthworks will fail is currently almost impossible, and while that is very unlikely to result in a derailment, it is likely to significantly disrupt train services.”
Mr Haines said it is “simply not practicable” to rebuild nearly 200,000 earthworks assets alongside 20,000 miles of track so instead the group has been upgrading the Victorian infrastructure where possible and “working hard to manage risk”.
The review builds on the Resilience of Rail Infrastructure interim report, which was also commissioned by Grant Shapps immediately after the Stonehaven incident and published in September 2020.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is due to publish the findings of its own independent investigation later this year.
Mr Shapps said: “The accident at Stonehaven in August was devastating and my thoughts remain with the families of Brett Mccullough, Donald Dinnie and Christopher Stuchbury, who tragically lost their lives.”