COVID testing for students starts this weekend
26 Nov 2020
Please encourage students to book their test now
To support our students in getting home during the government student travel window (3-9 December), we have put in place arrangements for them to access free, rapid testing, starting on Saturday 28 November.
If any of your taught students intend to travel home over Christmas, we ask that you encourage them to take two tests, 72 hours apart. This means that they are reducing the risk of transmission to other people while they travel and friends and family when they’re back at home.
In line with government requirements and to reduce pressure on transport, we have suggested dates, ordered by school, when students should book their tests. We have established four testing sites, and can accommodate several thousand tests each day. Booking slots are now available online.
Government guidance states that anyone who remains at university after 9 December will run the risk of having to undertake a period of isolation of 10 or 14 days at university if they contracted COVID-19 or were identified as a contact of someone who had. They would therefore be at risk of not being able to travel home for 25 December. We would therefore encourage students to take advantage of the testing available now and use the travel window.
To find out how testing works, where to get tested and to book a slot, visit our end of semester travel and testing website. There’s also information about what to do when they get their results and specific guidance for postgraduate research students.
The tests may not be suitable for people planning international travel, those on NHS placements, or people with symptoms or who are already self-isolating, so please check the website for further details. Students must not get tested using this method if they have symptoms of COVID-19.