University students possibly told to stay at uni over Christmas

[WearyandBleary]

This has just been leaked and Matt Hancock has done a non-denial.

This has shocked me. Why not tell old people to stay at home over Christmas instead? The mental health of our students is going to be horrific.

I’m going to have Christmas with my ancient relatives and grown up dcs if they all want it.

Out of everything, this has tipped me over the edge... what the actual hell?! Are they mad?

Like others have said how are they going to enforce this - short of roadblocks? It won't happen.

I am sure this is a rumour leaked by the government so that whatever they do do it'll be "at least students can come home" - and it's good story to detract from Brexshit. Don't trust Johnson,Cummings etc at all.

Bullshit headline in tomorrow's daily torygraph talking up how Boris is working so hard to save Christmas for us all.
Conveniently leaving no space on the front page for the chaos of brexit, the failure to test, track and trace, the tanking of the economy and the dreadful mistake of letting universities open to residential students this autumn.

It's probably just a fake story put out by No 10,
so they can have stories later "Boris saved Christmas"

However, they underestimated the fury it would cause,
so fucked it up like most other "cunning plans"

Government by Baldrick

YY @canigooutyet

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-54283453

Asda mask row: Man with dementia 'told to leave shop'
By Greig Watson

A woman has said she was shocked at being told to leave an Asda supermarket because her partner, who has dementia, was not wearing a mask.
Amanda Jeffrey said she was immediately challenged when the couple went into her local branch.
Staff refused to accept a "hidden disability" card carried by the couple and ordered them out of the shop.
Asda has apologised to the couple and promised they will not be challenged again.

Asda recently announced it would enforce rules on face coverings more strictly.
Mrs Jeffrey said she went into her local branch in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on Thursday morning with her partner, Aubrey Green.
She said: "I've been getting treatment for cancer and Aubrey was diagnosed with dementia last year, so I've been sheltering.
"But we have been out a few times and not had a problem before.
"But as soon as we went through the doors a member of staff shouted over: 'Why aren't you wearing a mask?

"I was so surprised I thought they were talking to someone else.
"Once I realised it was us I said we had a hidden disability card but they said that wasn't accepted and I needed a letter from the GP.
"And all this was shouted over us, not discussed with a bit of basic courtesy".
Latest news and stories from the East Midlands
The couple left but Mrs Jeffrey said their treatment had a disturbing effect.
"I was shocked but Aubrey was left confused and agitated.
"He couldn't understand what we had done wrong and was really upset."
In a statement Asda said its staff "are fully trained to follow the latest government guidance".
"[They] will politely ask all customers to wear a face covering, unless they have a reason not to," a spokesman said.
"Clearly we got it wrong on this occasion and we have spoken to Ms Jeffrey to apologise for her experience.

It’s ridiculous but ‘why not tell old people to stay at home’....old people are useless and deserve to die seems to be the MN message these days.

On enforcement, some interesting statistics. There are 125,000 police officers in the UK and 2,300,000 students.

So, good luck with that.

Do we assume it is so that the government can blame the students for the post-christmas spike in deaths, rather than blaming Dido fucking Harding for us having no test and trace system???

@helenadove
That is shocking and thank you for posting these on threads.
Their training isn't working, if it was the person wouldn't have asked for the non existent GP letter.

Do we assume it is so that the government can blame the students for the post-christmas spike in deaths, rather than blaming Dido fucking Harding for us having no test and trace system???

Yes.

And if you don't think the government will lock students down over Christmas look at Manchester University now.

Locking 1800 students down, it's scary how it's allowed.

If ever there was a rule to blithely ignore, this is it.

The heartless bastard.

When it comes to the risk of extended family, that should be a personal, family choice

No. Students live in the real world with the rest of us. They will travel on trains and coaches, buy food and drink, use public facilities. The same will happen by car. Sure, if they can be picked up by family and get home without having to stop, that would be family risk but I can’t imagine all will be able to achieve that. You are not risking just your family, but all those families of people you meet along the way who have no say in the matter. Why are their lives - and the right to good physical and mental healthy - any less important than those of students?

I don’t have an answer and think it is awful it may go this way but this is way, way past the point of family decision making.

Government need to put in some proper isolation protocols after stepping off an airplane. This will cause more problems than allowing your gran around for Christmas dinner.

@Enoughnowstop but students aren't the only spreaders of covid. And even if universities were the only spreaders then what about staff, non teaching included who are running the catering and security operations necessitated by students in residences. They're travelling back and forth between home and work. Should they be locked up in halls for weeks on end too?

I don't want to sound over dramatic but I honestly believe telling people they must sit on their own and not be with their families is an infringement of human rights. The Human Rights Act, in fact, protects the right to a family life.

Students arent the only spreaders of COVID but it's running rife in many student halls at the moment. A friend's son is in Manchester in halls. At least 20 people in his block are positive right now.

When it comes to the risk of extended family, that should be a personal, family choice

Not really. My family choice this year would be to have all mine at home. To have all 4 home would require the use of air travel, public transport and trains/coaches. Two of us are also mask exempt and one would require another person to travel with them.

Isolation after travel wouldn't be an issue for any of us unlike some of your uni students, as we all wfh.

Even if your children manage to get home because they have jobs, the jobs might not be there in December. What is the back up plan for no seasonal jobs?

@MissEliza

I don't want to sound over dramatic but I honestly believe telling people they must sit on their own and not be with their families is an infringement of human rights. The Human Rights Act, in fact, protects the right to a family life.

As someone who was told to shield, here are some of the responses we received to this

And?
Other people have the right to a life.
You selfish whatever
Just shut up and do as you're told

From the beginning many of us asked to be listened to but were called batshit, conspiracy loons and more. Many of us warned that giving away rights like this was a downhill spiral because once you start being so blase about freedoms and liberty it opens up a massive can of worms.

These rights were ignored when millions were told to shield. THese rights were ignored when you was all told to stay away from your parents, your siblings and other extended families. These rights were ignored if the family lived in separate homes regardless of the relationship.

How will it be policed?
Grass on your neighbour will be encouraged over the Christmas period if restrictions are in place. Aren't some of these clipboard militants also getting training to start issuing fines?
Government can say traffic wardens can also have these powers.

but students aren't the only spreaders of covid

Of course not, and as a teacher the frustration that I am safe to be in a classroom with 150 people every week but cannot meet my friend in my back garden for a chat is very much felt.

However, if the Man Met story we have seen this morning is anything to go by, students are going to spread this thing amongst themselves and then have contact with who knows how many other people. What the Government is trying to do is limit non-essential travel and therefore non-essential contacts whilst at the same time, letting life go on (aka trying not to let the economy totally tank). This is why uni is back, halls are back, people are working at unis and halls. I can see the logic of it, even if the logic isn’t very logical at all when taken in individual context!

Thing is, we’re not individuals, we’re a society and individual actions are having massive societal consequences. Thousands of students moving will mean massive unnecessary infections. Of course, there are far more consequences than that, I understand, but this is fire-fighting right now, not sifting through glowing embers when the fire’s been out for a while.

@canigooutyet most of us accepted the curbs to our human rights and freedoms in order to deal with an immediate crisis. However, these curbs cannot continue in the long term. They will have a serious and detrimental effect on people's mental health.
My df has been on his own since my dm died two years ago. He was doing well but the isolation and lack of social contact because of lockdown has definitely aged him. He's always acted and looked younger than his age but he's slowing down in every way now. People need to see other people. It's inhuman to deny this.
My ds (20) did what everyone asked him to do. He left the uni life he was enjoying in March and spent two months sitting in his bedroom, not seeing his friends. He was miserable but understood the need. Now he's back at uni and is stressing because, if it's locked down again, there are elements of his course which can't be taught online. They already missed an important module last year. So that's £18000 of course fees down the drain. He can't have his course mates in his house as there's already six there. There's no bloody way after the year he's had that he will not be with us for Christmas. We can't continue this single minded focus on one thing in the long run.

Whilst I do think that students returning at Christmas will be a massive spreading event I just do not believe people will follow this guidance. Here is Glasgow there have been students who have tested positive and who have broken quarantine to return to their family home so there is no way they won’t go home (and be welcomed with open arms) at Christmas.

@Lucked that is really stupid of those students m.