With up 25,000 university students returning to Portsmouth ready to begin studies on the 5th October, the university is setting up plans to help keep students and members of the public safe from the threat of coronavirus. However, some Portsmouth residents are worried about a potential surge in Covid-19 cases due to the influx of students into the city.
Portsmouth has seen a rise in the rate of coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week from 7.4 to 13.5 meaning the total number of cases in Portsmouth has risen by 16 in the past week.
A Portsmouth resident that we talked to, who works as a cleaner in student accommodation expressed her concern about the spread of the virus, saying “some students are terrified, don't want to come out of their rooms, going around in their rooms looking for bacteria with a UV light and others absolutely don't care anything about it. Some won't wear masks or are socialising with more than six people when they're supposed to be self-isolating. It's one extreme or the other. Staff are obviously trying to get them to abide by the rules.” The rule of six is new legislation in which a maximum of six people can meet in public. The change follows a rapid increase in the number of daily positive Covid-19 cases in England. Those who ignore the new rules could be fined £100, which will double with each offence to a maximum of £3,200. Groups larger than six can be broken up by police.
However, the University is confident that they can provide a safe learning environment that won't increase the spread of the virus. In an exclusive interview with Stephen Wiggins the Academic Registrar and Director of Student & Academic Administration at Portsmouth University, he said “our approach this year is providing 6 hours of face to face teaching per course, per student and then the rest of their teaching is through online sessions.”
The University of Portsmouth is also offering COVID-19 testing for staff, students and the local community, in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care and Portsmouth City Council.
In another exclusive interview, Professor Gordon Blunn Professor of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Portsmouth said “testing is just one of a number of things that we are doing to combat coronavirus and to reassure our students and the local population . . . it's to take students' temperatures outside of buildings they're going to, one way systems, it's to do with having loads of hand sanitiser stations, social distancing and required wearing of face coverings”
The impact on the city's economy if the students do not return should also be considered. The University is worth an annual £476 million to the city, according to the BiGGAR Economics report, July 2017 and the University appears to be trying to mitigate the risk of increased infection in the city. However, it is almost inevitable that the movement of so many people will increase the levels of Covid 19 in the city and the finger of blame could be pointed at the University.
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