770 students at Northumbria test positive.

[Gobacktothe90s]

770 students test positive at Northumbria

https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-outbreak-at-uk-university-sees-770-students-test-positive-for-covid-19-20201002?c=1601655033701%3Fsource%3Dfacebook&fbclid=IwAR2zpVljTZshbUGlHRo4MKwmTHiJtZxUoCjj_MUX3n2FobXOJLbw-gl3G-Y

The virus is spreading rapidly at many universities (not just those making the headlines). The last thing that should be done is to send students home now as that will spread the virus to parents and siblings and then it will spread to schools etc.

The places in the news are not necessarily the unis with the most cases but the unis that are doing the most testing.

@CoffeeandCroissant

In that case, we won’t have to wait very long to find out.

Only 70 with symptoms and 700 with none. Just proves it a mild disease for most people. It’s totally ridiculous that’s schools and economy have been damaged so recklessly.

@Florencemattell

Only 70 with symptoms and 700 with none. Just proves it a mild disease for most people. It’s totally ridiculous that’s schools and economy have been damaged so recklessly.

Not really, health services cannot cope with those who do have serious effects. If we go down that route we will have to massively increase healthcare spending, not a bad thing but a little late in the day for this particular pandemic.

Did you not see what happened in Italy or appreciate that the NHS now has waiting lists years long for basic treatment.

[quote picklemewalnuts]@itsgettingweird that makes testing almost useless then![/quote]
It's made me open my eyes a bit!

It means many of the current positives could very well be people who had it in initial wave when tests weren't available!

But obviously I'm only going by what I've heard about the cases in the quarantine hotel.

You have to accept and believe everything at face value to draw conclusions which I don't think right now that's always a good place to be!

My DS is at uni in his first year, he was only there a week before he was self-isolating due to another student in his hall testing positive.

He is fine if a bit bored. But he can still socialise with the other students in his hall. He has lots of online stuff to do. He hopes to be having some face to face teaching very soon. It was meant to happen this week but obviously couldn't.

Does he want to go home? No and he won't be. Neither do any of the dozen students he lives with. The student with Covid feels like he has a mild cold. My DS wants to get through this bit and carry on, there is not an alternative and he is not interested in being told by people who have nothing to do with it that he should be sent home.

@alreadytaken

"You can test positive for up to 12 months after you have Covid.

How do we know this?
Covid hasn't been here for 12 months yet."

Plenty of posters making things up and lying, dont listen to random internet posters, follow the science.

I wasn't lying.

I was reporting what had been said about a certain case. I also said it shows why so many people have questions.

It's true you can't know that. But the Italian authorities have apparently told these lads this.

@Poppingnostopping

Send them home, reimburse them, Do the decent thing for once I think first year students who are in halls who are in quarantine and want to return home after that two weeks should be allowed to do so and refunded the hall fees.

Other than that, shut down the lives of 18-22 year olds for two or more years, absolutely nope. They don't want to sit in their parents houses watching life happening to someone else for another year or two.

It also shows why the vaccine won't be a solution for this age group. They won't receive it first, or even second, because they are not at huge risk of severe outcomes or death. We can't even roll out a flu vaccine quickly this autumn to over 50's, it's already not happening fast enough. The current statements about the covid vaccine are that it might make the illness milder rather than prevent it- what use will that be to young people who already mostly get an asymptomatic or a mild version?

I think carrying on some semblance of normal life for this age group is extremely important. Catastrophising and placing a whole cohort back in their parent's homes, unless individually they are very stressed, I don't think that's justified at the moment.

Agree with this point .

A bit of concern for people who live and work in the communities where the universities are based though eg. Supermarket workers and bar staff

Which universities are mass testing and why?
IF the choice to mass test isn't related to the local prevalence rate then surely this will tess us something.

Universities that are doing this are finding a huge proportion of 'asymptomatic cases' (which may be false positives).
Surely it's safe to assume similar universities who are NOT doing mass testing should also have a huge number of these asymptomatic cases who, unlike in the mass testing sites, will not be self isolating. So if these are asymptomatic cases you'd expect an increase in cases as they've not nipped this in the bud early.
If this doesn't happen, either asymptomatic cases aren't infectious, or they're mostly false positives.
If it does happen, then it supports the value of mass testing of asymptomatic people.

How many of us are actually asymptotic if mass testing produces these results ??

There must be hundreds everywhere. Since hearing and reading these stories I now see everyone around me (including myself) as likely to be infected. Not in a bad way though. It's made me less afraid.

There's nothing we can do to control this virus now. I think testing is a waste of time personally.

Does this count in today’s reported figures or tomorrow?

I just wonder where it will all end. I am staying home except for driving child to school and collecting. DH is immunosuppressed so I dare not go out in case I get it and bring it back and infect him. He is wfh and I am sahm but I am getting cabin fever with just a walk in the park with dogs. Apart from cleaner not seeing people ATM. Would not go where students go just in case. Just seems a miserable way to live. Students go to uni to go out and let their hair down not be boxed into their rooms. I had no holiday this year and am sure this is making me feel worse. Luckily no uni in our town.

I think this aptly highlights how ridiculous all the rules are and it may need a rethink re everything we think we know.

If only 10% of a younger population are showing symptoms, there is frankly a good chance that many many more people have had Covid between Feb-March this year than the predictions. I do wonder if the same thing happened in Italy and far more of the population were infected early on, hence no second wave.

I accept for some people Covid is and will remain a worry but increasingly I think we need to monitor the situation, treat people as adults and relax some of the frankly contradictory rules

One of the researching ones maybe ons said currently about 1/200 infected which is a huge number

Does it mean in a class of 30 there might be 3 symptomatic but all infected. So literally the person who gets symptoms has to go home. But actually its more likely that the covid positive ones wont have symtoms. And maybe with only x% positive when testing for symtoms mass testing makes more sense.
Certainly that it is very infectious and if you find a positive you cant just pick off a few closesf to them

I hear or so many stories too of people very unwell with odd coughs from january. If seems far too much of a coincidence. But my feel is many more of us have had it and the antibody tests don’t reflect that as possibly immunity lies in T cells

"770 cases is just crazy. "

But what's a 'case'? There are no reports that any of the 770 is seriously unwell. 78 of them have symptoms. Is a 'case' (a) someone who's seriously ill or (b) someone who has a bit of a sore throat or loss of smell, or (c) someone who tests positive but feels fine?

If b and c are cases, then in general a case of Covid-19 isn't much of a problem and nor is 6-7000 of them a day, provided that people who fear becoming seriously ill can stay away from close, prolonged contact with them. Large numbers of seriously ill people, of course, is much more of an issue.

Could this be why the older teens case rates are rising rapidly? Because they are mass testing and finding so many asymptomatic cases? What would happen if they were to mass test in schools? How many thousands of children are becoming infected in schools and silently passing on to those at home? Then those people become symptomatic and test positive but as their children didn’t present any symptoms they weren’t tested and no one is any the wiser as to the source of the infection.

DD is at Northumbria. Her halls flatmate tested positive this morning so all 5 of them isolating for 14 days now. DD has only had 3 hours face to face teaching so far, nothing online. Assume if she starts to show symptoms/ tests positive then the other 11 students from that face to face teaching will also need to self isolate?
This is 3rd time around for DD and self isolation - had fever in March so did 2 weeks then, got caught out having to quarantine returning from Croatia in August and now this.

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

I hear or so many stories too of people very unwell with odd coughs from january. If seems far too much of a coincidence. But my feel is many more of us have had it and the antibody tests don’t reflect that as possibly immunity lies in T cells

Agreed. Our whole house had a weird fevery thing in March, passed quickly for me and DD but DP was ill for a few weeks and had a textbook case- cough, fever, totally lost his sense of taste and smell. Tested negative for antibodies in August.

@amicissimma

"770 cases is just crazy. "

But what's a 'case'? There are no reports that any of the 770 is seriously unwell. 78 of them have symptoms. Is a 'case' (a) someone who's seriously ill or (b) someone who has a bit of a sore throat or loss of smell, or (c) someone who tests positive but feels fine?

If b and c are cases, then in general a case of Covid-19 isn't much of a problem and nor is 6-7000 of them a day, provided that people who fear becoming seriously ill can stay away from close, prolonged contact with them. Large numbers of seriously ill people, of course, is much more of an issue.

The speed with which it must have transmitted. Plus if 10% get long covid, that's a reasonable number getting more seriously unwell.

There's risk.of life-shortening heart damage, even in mild cases. I would wish my child to avoid the virus.

People in category b and c can have strange after effects.

@Keepdistance

One of the researching ones maybe ons said currently about 1/200 infected which is a huge number

It's much higher now, that is an old number. Up to 1 in 100 in hotspot areas, lowest areas are 1 in 400

The UK, especially England has totally lost control. Again.

Sorry @Keepdistance, your number was right, my sleepy eyes read it as 1 in 1200

I don't understand how the UK apparently has such an issue with false positives. Why don't countries that have the virus under control have the same issues? For example how can New Zealand and Australia test many thousands of people with no or very few positives. Are they using a different test?

@2X4B523P

Could this be why the older teens case rates are rising rapidly? Because they are mass testing and finding so many asymptomatic cases? What would happen if they were to mass test in schools? How many thousands of children are becoming infected in schools and silently passing on to those at home? Then those people become symptomatic and test positive but as their children didn’t present any symptoms they weren’t tested and no one is any the wiser as to the source of the infection.

DS1’s boarding school is mass testing and it is t going well either - just picked up 15 cases in a year of circa 260 in the latest testing round and whole year now sent home, all asymptomatic . Most other schools aren’t testing in this way so children not sent home. I don’t think it is likely that the children at this school are any more infected than at other ones. Am not v convinced about benefits of population testing