Bristol

[stairway]

Seems like coronavirus cases are very high at the moment but it remains tier 1 I believe. Anyone know why this is? I’m worried about the hospitals.

I think a lot of the cases are amongst students.

It wasnt high at all, then the students came back, and now cases are going down again

A family member lives in Bristol and has connections to the uni. It's largely rife amongst the students and I don't think they will up to tier 2 until it's in the wider population.

It's higher in the student areas but really low everywhere else. Bristol Post have hyped it up, but when you look at numbers it's still actually fairly low.

My ds is at Bristol. Every other person he knows seems to have it. Only a matter of time before he gets it now. Unless he is asymptomatic and already does have it!

No contact atm as I don't want my elderly Dad to be at risk. :(

Dd1 is at Bristol Uni. She's been Quarantining because two contacts tested positive. She's due for release from tomorrow after self- quarantining. I have to say not all friends of hers, some on the wards as medical students were following protocol.

I understand that the hospitals are nowhere near full yet. There have been more than 1000 cases among students at Bristol Uni alone - so far, not so many in the wider community. We'll see, though

I suppose there is the nightingale hospital if it’s needed, not sure if there are any staff though.

For university towns in general, everyone is waiting to see if it is really possible to have 1000+ infected 18 year olds in a city without them infecting anyone else. I guess we will know in a week or two.

Yes it is the uni. I really hope we don't move up a tier because they've been back a good month now and still seems to be quite contained.

@stairway I've a family member who is a trained nurse but work in a different role now. She's already on standby to be redeployed if the nightingale needs to open. They are more organised than you'd think.

Bristol numbers:

Yes it is the uni. I really hope we don't move up a tier because they've been back a good month now and still seems to be quite contained.

A friend told me that UWE (the other Bristol uni) have only had their students back a week. Will they have 1000+ cases too?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-54651674

Oh dear.

Are they doing lots of asymptomatic testing at Bristol universities I wonder? Bath is also having more cases mainly from the uni.

Some drama locally over the uni and marquees set up there to facilitate socialising in the students. I guess they are keeping them on campus, out of town. But in Bristol the uni is not so out of town.

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/covid-compliant-venues-created-up-4621123

Ds is at UWE he’s in a private rental though so not on campus much. The healthcare students have been back a few weeks now. He knows a few people who have tested positive but not many. The numbers are not massively high at the moment I’m not worried.
@Hugosmugo it’s all very well redeploying hospital staff to the nightingale but that means other services suffering again - which would be a total disaster.

A local Councillor, Steve Smith, gives useful summaries of the weekly briefings from our public health team - look at Cllr Steve Smith on Facebook.

The very latest (as of yesterday) is that transmission now seems to be tailing off among students but sadly spreading to the next age group up, so under 30s but older than student age. They are considering how best to deal with this including possibly going into tier 2.

The situation still seems under control at hospitals and care homes, though.

That sounds similar to Bath then. Our health guy is giving updates too

60% of cases are students in halls, some of the rest are other students/staff from the universities

The very latest (as of yesterday) is that transmission now seems to be tailing off among students but sadly spreading to the next age group up, so under 30s but older than student age. They are considering how best to deal with this including possibly going into tier 2.

I guess that is the next age up that the students might have been mixing with....

@missyB1 I guess so. My family member doesn't work in a hospital though. I don't want it to be outing but basically noones health will be at risk if they get redeployed.

I have only seen talk of the Nightingale hospital opening in Merseyside so far, as their hospitals are busy. Throughout Bristol has not been overwhelmed, at all.

I think they will be looking at numbers in the over 60s. Where the main issue lies.