Rapid surge sees almost 400 contract coronavirus at university
ALMOST 400 students at the University of Bristol have now contracted coronavirus, after another rapid surge in case numbers.
The outbreak among the university’s community was first confirmed last week, and on Friday The Courtrooms student halls went into lockdown due to the virus spreading there.
From yesterday the university will be providing daily updates on the number of known cases among its staff and students.
The latest figures reveal a sharp increase over the weekend, rising from 257 cases (254 students and three staff members) on Friday to 396 (393 students and three staff members) today.
Last Wednesday the numbers were at 119 for students and two for staff, meaning that cases have more than tripled in just five days.
The infected staff members have all been working from home and have not been on campus.
These statistics are still just a fraction of the university’s entire community, which consists of almost 28,000 students and 7,000 staff members.
Last week when the Post approached the university with claims of an outbreak, a spokesperson said the institution would not be providing numbers and that the known cases were “very small”.
One student alleged that cases at The Courtrooms followed a number of student parties there.
Post-It notes have been used to spell out the word ‘HELP’ in one of the windows as residents there adapt to self-isolation.
In a statement released on Friday, Sarah Purdy, the university’s pro vice-chancellor for student experience, said: “The health and safety of our students is a top priority at this very difficult and challenging time.
“We have been actively monitoring coronavirus case numbers across the university community throughout the pandemic and have implemented a range of planned, increasing measures to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.”
The university has two mobile testing sites exclusively for staff and students, which are located at Stoke Bishop and in the city centre near The Courtrooms.