DC is a fresher at Edinburgh University. We were very concerned about the impact of the unavoidable isolation on mental health after just one week, even before the draconian measures by the Scottish Government came in. That first week was bad, the second would have been better, had it not been for the ban on home visits. The deterioration in mental health for a child without any prior issues was frightening to witness. DC came home the first weekend and the effect was profound - just being able to talk through the issues face to face helped. So the ban had a huge negative impact on DC - and that was even before suffering its consequences.
But the Scottish Government published new guidance for students last night, which makes it clear they can return home for visits if there are wellbeing reasons, they can move back home, and the ban on visiting hospitality venues was not a legal restriction. Neither is locking down entire halls.
I never expected that we'd be in such a situation, especially since the government sent all the students home at a time when Covid was ripping through the student population and case numbers were much higher than now. (We believe our oldest, then in fourth year, had Covid just prior to the lockdown. No tests to be had, but every Covid symptom present, including the high temperature and a quite distinct cough we'd never heard before. The whole friendship group, all training partners and flatmates fell ill at the same time with the same thing.)
I'm afraid I fell for the assurances that both university premises as well as accommodation would be safe. We got loads of emails, all the online comms were all about how university wouldn't let the students come if it wasn't safe, and everything they were doing to make it safe. Feel like an idiot now truth be told.
There's absolutely nothing we can see in DC's halls that would make it safe btw. No hand sanitiser when you come in, so they're all touching things in the stairwells and hallways, no one way systems, even though they could (at least for the entrances to street level). The whole place smells musty, windows can be opened max 5 inches, no window in the bathroom, mould clearly a problem, so ventilation, which is so important right now when people are mixing indoors, is insufficient.
And so much for "blended" learning! There's just one face-to-face tutorial (everything else has been online so far. Including Fresher's Week events). Still do not know if there'll be more face-to-face teaching. So why not keep them all home?
Oh and the government was advised to test students before bringing them on campus, but they're so prejudiced against them, they rejected it. Argued this would be safer.