University of Portsmouth will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to allow students to return home for Christmas

The University of Portsmouth has moved to reassure anxious students after the government today (November 11) revealed its blueprint to mitigate the potential spread of Covid when students return home for the festive season.

Students have been allocated a travel window between December 3 and 9 to coincide with the end of the current lockdown when, due the current restrictions, it’s believed students are less likely to have the infection and pose a risk to their families .

During this period, universities are being asked to stagger student departures to prevent a mass exodus of students departing at the same time.

Universities are expected to make plans to ensure students can travel home safely at the end of term, working with local public health officials and transport operators. Institutions whose terms finish after December 9 have been asked to ensure all learning is transferred online after this date.

Responding to the plans, a spokesman for the university said; ‘Our advice to students will continue to follow government guidelines. The University of Portsmouth will do whatever is necessary to support the needs of our students so they can return home for the festive period in a safe and practical way.’

A key aspect of the proposal is to undergo a process of mass testing of students before they return home. Tests will not be compulsory but any positive results will require students to isolate for 10 days – still giving them time to return home before Christmas.

While details of the testing programme are yet to be revealed the city’s university has already set up its own testing centre for asymptomatic students and staff with the aim of testing 10 per cent of the university’s population every two weeks.

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth teacher and National Education Union president calls for schools to be part of lockdown

The university spokesman added: ‘We are still awaiting information from the government about the roll out of mass testing for students and how that will be deployed. We have been carrying out our own programme of asymptomatic testing for a number of weeks.’

The university’s vice-chancellor, professor Graham Galbraith, recently slammed the government over a previous plan to place universities into a two week lockdown before students returned home for Christmas.

Speaking at the time professor Galbraith said: ‘I have never heard of a more ridiculous and absurd proposal in all my life. I’m totally against this idea.’

With an estimated 40,000 students across the country believed to have been infected since moving to their university cities, there will be concerns about managing the return of students to campuses at the end of the festive period – an issue not covered in the current plan.

Portsmouth City Council leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, recently hit out at the government for its ‘poor decision’ to allow students to return to the city at the end of summer. The city’s university has spent £10m to put in place measures to mitigate the risk of Covid transmission.

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