University 2020 :10: Empty nests warm vests and covid tests: uni parents 2020

[sammyjoanne]

Carry on from MilicentMartha's University 9 thead
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/a4025020-University-2020-9-And-theyre-off-making-hay-while-the-sun-shines?msgid=101075411#101075411

DS was planning to return on the weekend of 16-17 January. He has f2f practicals on 21 and 22 January, so would like to go back by then.

Ds was planning on going back on 7 jan as lectures start on 8 jan.

@HostessTrolley Thanks, they have just singed the contracts :)

@specialted agreed. And its not freshers week either. Its exam month and they wont be partying, they will be busy studying. DD has labs as well, so she needs to be there. Were not sure whether to go on the 3rd, or the 9th.

@Ironoaks lets just hope its all talk and no action. Think there would be a big uproar if its true, Students paying for accommodation they cant use and not allowed to return to, there will be requests for a partial refund for those missing weeks.

The staggered return is not for the benefit of the students, but to spread out the movement of lots of people for the wider community. I live in Bristol and our covid rate was really low until the students arrived. They are trying to keep levels steady by gradually adding people and offering tests. People with labs will be in the early return group.

@Monkey2001 Hi Monkey :) Im in Nottingham and the cases sky rocketed when the students came. We was getting around 800 cases a day and that was just city centre, but then after about 3 weeks it dropped drastically. The areas were campus, clifton, bilborough, beeston, all student areas.
Where I live, the borough isnt a student area, but was caused by some pub landlords August Bank holiday deciding to take the law into their own hands and flount the rules (they had their licence taken off them).
Im still unsure about the lateral flow tests. DD and I been concerned about it, since I know now that they shouldn't be taken for 90 days after you have had covid. Since I read the NHS healthcare guidelines www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/11/C0873_ii_Lateral-flow-antigen-test-FAQ_16-Nov.pdf (question 11) we was concerned it would give a false positive.

thetab.com/uk/nottingham/2020/11/29/party-with-over-200-freshers-broken-up-by-police-outside-st-peters-court-52081 This was just the weekend just gone. Tik tok video worse than the photo :( Nottingham students.
I think when they will come back, they will just do the same thing again. As much as the majority are good, you do get ones that are not bothered about it.

@Monkey2001 that makes sense but it seems that the students are probably a group with huge herd immunity now and after everyone being given Carte Blanche to travel wherever for five days over Christmas it all seem a bit futile imo.

Went up to meet DS for a welfare check yesterday, things really good considering her wobble a bit earlier in the term. Her flat are talking about staying where they are next year - if they can get through lockdown and not want to kill each other that’s a good indication

Flatmates are starting to trickle home. Dd is staying out for a few days so she can get her uni work tied up. Her boyf (ox) goes home Saturday, so although her plan is for a COVID test on Tuesday then home weds evening I’m half expecting a call to go get her on Tuesday sometime. I’d better clear my craft stuff out of her room

I agree that the relaxation over Christmas will get the virus spreading again. I think the main reason they did it was because they are trying to have rules that people might obey and if they had said no mixing, half the country would have broken the rules and seen some relatives anyway. I think people will still break the rules, my parents have been very good and followed the rules all the way through, but I have 3 siblings with children and my parents don't want to choose which 2 families they will see, so I think they might see all separately.

Controlling student movements for a few weeks does not seem unreasonable to me if all content is on line for the students affected. DS is at St Andrews, who don't go back until the end of January anyway, but his GF will stay in Bristol with him and study remotely for Jan. Just hope there are enough people who want to stay away for staggered start to work well.

Just reading the guardian and it seems this students staggered agreement is going to happen. Daughter will not be happy about that. No doubt she will be pressing for a partial rent refund on the accommodation that she cant have access to, for the weeks shes meant to be there.

@HostessTrolley lol i think we have a similar issue. DD1 bed has lots of school work and revision on there from DD2

@sammyjoanne I think it’s a common thing for crafty people to expand to fit the space available! I was using DS’s bedroom as it’s next to my craft room but he was selfish enough to graduate, come home, and work from here for the moment. How rude!

My understanding is that teaching will be offered online-only for the first week of term in January, and only for groups of students where this is logistically possible. If your DS/DD needs to be physically back for the start of term's teaching, they'll be able to go back.

I also don't think students will be barred from accommodation at any point - that's madness. Many won't ever have left anyway! Not everyone is going home for Christmas.

Just like the travel window starting today, it's optional. Students can go home now if they wish. But some had already left, and some won't go until after the window closes. All fine. Universities are not physically evacuating students now, and they won't prevent their return in January! Just offering more options to try and reduce the spread of the virus, by letting students leave earlier or return later IF THEY WISH.

No way in hell will students be told to stay at home for several weeks longer, honestly if your kids are told they can choose to go back a bit later it'll only be a week or so.

@OooglyBoogly - I don't read the guidance as quite as discretionary as you imply. It's here by the way: www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/students-returning-to-higher-education-from-spring-term

The government are setting dates for when certain students are allowed back on "campus", and requiring staggering of return. So, if accommodation is on campus, I don't see how they will be allowed until the university says they can, and the university is required to follow the guidance (I don't know if it has legal force).

(In my DS's case, I'm not sure how campus is interpreted for an Oxford college residential building which is on a road apart from the main college building).

looking at the advisory on the link DadDadDad
Im not sure either on the legalities on this and whether its an advisory only, or an actual enforcement on the unis themselves to do the staggered returns.

If it is enforced on unis: Staggered returns have a good intention, but can cause issues.
For DC like most of us on here who have halls in first year and coming home for christmas to see their parents, only to find they cant come back until then end of January, they will want some kind of refund on accommodation fees as being barred from their uni accomodation and not able to live in until a certain date will cause some noise; as they feel they are not getting value for money and want up to 5 weeks worth of refund, or rent decrease on their invoices in term 3. My concern is that it will lead to protests, which if in large numbers can cause no social distancing, cause spikes and defeats the object of a staggered return.

I agree, @sammyjoanne. What I don't understand is that as the government are also insisting on all students being tested at the start of term, why they need to stagger.

I can see the concern of dumping all at once a load of socially active people in one town after they've come from every corner of the country, risking a big flare-up of cases. But if you say "test at home, copy of result goes to the university, if it's negative then you can travel to campus within the next 48 hours" then surely that will address the risk? (Or possibly, test on arrival, but have to stay in isolation for the short period while waiting for result).

Thats not a bad idea DadDadDad. With Spain you have the have a negative test and travel within 72 hours window.

I see that guidance only applies in England. Dd awaiting Scottish guidelines and is still hoping to return early January for start of classes on 11th.

My understanding on this is still that universities will be required to give the opportunity to stagger returns by moving teaching online for the first week or two for certain groups of students. But they obviously can't prevent students from entering accommodation they have paid for, whether on or off campus! The issue will be attending on-campus face to face teaching, for which it's possible that a negative CV19 test might be required in advance.

It's all a bit silly though, as the tests are so unreliable. Also a student could presumably catch CV19 on Saturday, still test negative on Monday as it's still brewing, develop full asymptomatic infection on Tuesday and attend a seminar on Wednesday thinking they were COVID-free?

I really hope that Lancaster won't be daft enough to try and bar students from accommodation. I have no idea how that would ever work logistically anyway. And I strongly doubt that the government will literally forbid students from returning to their university 'home' at any time. The only thing that could restrict that is a national lockdown with rules about not leaving your immediate area or staying overnight anywhere that isn't the home you're currently in. I don't think even in March we had a lockdown that severe? You could still travel if it was 'essential' and the definition of 'essential' was really bloody open to interpretation e.g. Mr Cummings' exploits in April.

Ds arrived this evening. He says he is not going back until there is face to face teaching ( whenever that is). He is enjoying himself but is fed up with the sight of his room. Down here he has work lined up where he worked last year and a couple of football matches to referee so feels at least he is not stuck indoors.

@OooglyBoogly I agree the lateral tests can be unreliable. They are also not meant to be taken within 90 days of having covid. And Dominic Cummings, Im glad hes left. He should have gone along time ago.

Geogteach, that will be nice for him to have work lined up :) Hopefully this all will be over soon and things will be back to normal again. DD we are picking her up tomorrow morning.
Overall its been a good first term. The group of people she lives with have all been pretty responsible, despite covid hitting their household back in October. All of her lecturers and people involved have done a great job too :)

So exciting all our dc are starting to come home for Xmas! Dd coming back from notts tomorrow and we are collecting ds on Sunday so hopefully full house by Sunday night. Have baked huge amount of gingerbread cake for Everyone xxxxx

@sammyjoanne safe journey xxxxx

Haha well if they're using the tests that will give a positive CV19 result within 90 days of infection then there are going to be a LOT of positive tests. The virus really burned through university campus accommodation in October, which was... erm... about 60 days ago.

More and more this is all starting to feel like the government and even unis needing to be seen to Do Something. To be honest just cracking on and encouraging everyone to be careful and taken their personal circumstances into account would make far more sense. Students who've had Covid, returning in a private vehicle to family homes who have nobody vulnerable / have already have Covid, don't need to faff around with all this. Students who have vulnerable folk at home either need to be extra careful and self-isolate before returning, or take the decision to do one Christmas away from the family home.

Pissing about with faulty tests and travel windows and all the rest is just creating work for already overstretched staff!

@OooglyBoogly Totally agree, its all about common sense :)

@specialted Thats exciting times :) 2 DC back in one weekend.
Thanks, Im glad the snow has stopped, and hopefully we will have a nice clear run first thing tomorrow morning :)