Study in the time of COVID-19 (2019/20 intake): lockdown restrictions, relaxation of rules and repeat... And will the Grinch government cancel Christmas?

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Carrying on from our previous thread.

I believe these threads have probably been running since the summer/autumn of when our DC were about to start/in Year 13 (so 2018)?

@Itscoldouhere it sounds like a real tonic for you both (and probably just what you needed). Surprised about the lack of wildlife though! Mind you, a red squirrel is a result given how few of them we see over in the UK.

I read somewhere that Canada Goose coats/jackets are the only truly effective garments to protect one from cold and wind but the cost of them!!!! Are they a lot cheaper over in Canada? I seem to recall one school in the UK banned them because they became a trend amongst teens - now I can see why give their retail price over here!

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 the whole coat thing is very interesting....
Canada Goose seems ridiculous in price here too like $1000 + but there is also lots of controversy regarding animal cruelty, there is big security at the shop and often (certainly at weekends) protests outside the shop.
Since we've been here we've noticed big queues outs CG and North Face so people obviously love them.
My DH invested in an ethical alternative trendy coat by a Canadian company called Frank & Oak with isn't down filled but a full 4 season coat and I've just bought a Jill Sanders Uniqlo coat, Uniqlo has only just arrived in Montreal and I think they will shake the market up a bit!
Some things here seems so up to date /aware and some so behind.
I opened a tin of Campbell soup yesterday to discover it was 'condensed soup' you had to add water+ milk!! Does this still exist in the UK? I was projected back to the 70s 😂

@Itscoldouthere yes Campbell's soup still needs water adding. Not that I buy it but mother in law used to. That's good ds1 is on mend. The trip into the wilderness sounded good.

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-11-16/debates/7BF8890F-3E72-44BC-B260-49E74D0B91C7/TuitionFees
The debate was held yesterday. Students encouraged to complain and request a refund or reduction I fees via the university system.

Campbell’s condensed tomato soup (undiluted)makes a great base for chicken tikka masala. My DM used to use the mushroom one for pasta sauce.

Thanks. I just read that whole Hansard link. At least the issue has been raised.
I did and do support students being at university - it would have been a greater evil to put them on a permanent holding pattern which might have lasted years and also affected the year below them.

However they need to be told they can come back after Christmas (those who go home at all - not all have homes to go to and some have to work near university for money so do not go home much) and that there will be a lot more face to face events and teaching come what may. Loads of them have had covid 19 now anyway so immunity is probably pretty high amongst a lot of students and lecturers (if having it before means you then are immune - something we still don't seem to know).

I got a link to the petition, need to read it.

I know that it's tricky for universities at the moment, but I certainly don't think my DC are getting anything near the course they signed up to, especially my DC doing model making, he really isn't learning what he should be, they have such limited access to the studio and equipment needed, it's really not something that you can do well at home, there is no way he's going to get all the skills that are usually delivery on this course, so I don't think he's not getting his money's worth.
I've no idea how they could charge them less though, unless the government stepped in and decided to reduce fees/refund, but I can't imagine that happening.
So I could have a whole new cooking avenue open to me with condensed soup, who knew 😊
I've also seen in the dairy cabinet, those cardboard tubes that seem to contain croissants or Danish pastry dough to bake at home, again sometime I recall from my teens, I'm going to have to try them, although there are excellent bakery/patisserie options here I think because of the French influence.
I'm missing Lurpack spreadable butter, it's real butter or margarine/spreads only.

Mushroom condensed milk makes a lovely fish topping. You can put cheese on top and squashed crisps to make it crunchy.

love the student condensed soup recipes!

@Witchend we used to make something like that with tuna when I was a student, crushed crisps and grated cheese topping too. I recall it being delish and have recently contemplated making it for my family!

Morning

It loks rather liek this 'mass testing of university students' isn;t going to happen t many unis. Perhaps not surprising. Glad we bought a covid free DS back now. Lincoln are not testing because they apparently say they ahve not had enough cases to justify the testing. This seems bizarre and I don't know how that decision was made. For some reason,Lincoln avoided going into tier three just before lockdown (a particularly vocal Conservative council is the local news angle) even though it was , at the time, top 20 in the UK for infection rates. The whole of the rest of Lincolnshire and Notts was. But apparently not enough of a problem for testing. Hmmm.

Certainly , the news has all gone rather quiet on this. The WIWIKAU facebook page is full of people saying their DCs' unis aren't testing. It sees to only be the big ones that are actually doing it. Who knows? Perhaps they ahve realised uncovering a load of cases again may not be very desirable!

What are other unis doing?

@Piggywaspushed I am desperate to find out what NTU's plans are, but my DS says they haven't announced anything yet, which I don't believe, more like he can't be arsed to check. I will keep checking with him.

My son isn't at Bristol University any more as he is Bristol doing post grad law with a different institution but I did see this - Bristol university is doing mass testing starting from 30 Nov thetab.com/uk/bristol/2020/11/19/bristol-uni-confirms-students-will-be-mass-tested-for-coronavirus-43234

I don't know what UON are doing either .. DS and his house all positive last week and poorly .. starting to feel better now though. Will see what he knows ... but he's another one who can't be arsed !

Newcastle haven’t released anything yet either - will be really surprised if they don’t test given their rates, especially at the start of term. DS said a while ago that they were creating a huge walk in testing centre, but nothing since then. I’m very keen for him to be tested as we very much want to avoid his severely disabled brother getting the virus, not because he has any underlying conditions but because he’d be an absolute nightmare if he had to go to hospital!

Scotland may be going to ban entry and exit
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54978119 and www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1347915/nicola-sturgeon-scotland-travel-ban-england-coronavirus

I presume there will be some exceptions and there is also doubt as to whether Scotland has the right to ban entry and exit - something the Romans tried at the roman wall where I spent a lot of time in Northumberland as a child a long while back.....

How long is the Scottish ban on travel? Just wondering whether it'll affect students. The ban comes in today, but apparently the army where at Edinburgh Waverly train station yesterday stopping as many as possible to check their reason for travel.

If any parent wants their child to be tested before they come home the student can just book an NHS test (tick the box saying they have symptoms) - there’s generally lots of capacity for testing now and no one asks questions as to why you are in the test centre. BUT a negative test is only good for the day it’s taken - the same person could be positive the next day or a few days later. So it’s no guarantee the student is “clean”. Far better in my view for the student to not go out /mix with others for a week or more before going home to minimise (but not eliminate) the risk of bringing the virus home

@VanCleefArpels yes exactly. I don't see the point in ds doing a test really. Unless the whole household stays indoors before and after the test. Which isn't going to happen. A test just means they don't have it that day. But the next day they could test positive. I suppose for those travelling if they had a negative test at least they won't spread it travelling on public transport.

It could be a tough Christmas, couldn't it? I wonder whether student testing is such a good idea after all. It may just give them a false sense of security, and more ammo for the self-justification of their planned socialising. There is no way my DS will come home and stay home, with friends that he hasn't seen for 3 months in the area.I can see me spending an awful lot of time disinfecting surfaces (esp the fridge door!). We have already told him that no visitors will be allowed in our house, but as his gf's family are less concerned he may spend more time there which will make me sad.

Uni of York announced yesterday that they are offering two tests (lateral flow ones) to students to be taken a few days apart between 30/11 and 6/12 - not sure why they aren't using the full travel window (until 9th).

It's so tricky isn't it, I know my DS1 intends to go and visit his GF extended family (ie 3 different family groups) over Christmas, now they've both had Covid they think they can do what they like, I don't know if that's correct ?
My other DS2 is going to a family friend for Christmas week, my friends elderly parents will be visiting, so we are hoping he will have a negitive test at UEA before going there.
I hope UEA will do tests as I'd hate DS2 to put anyone at risk, although he hardly goes out so doesn't mix with many others.

Hi, my DD hasn't said anything about testing but she's planning on coming home on 9th December after 3pm. Very precise!
A word of warning about students getting tests before returning home. PHE advice to health care workers is not to have a repeat test within 90 days of a positive result. It is possible for the highly sensitive PCR tests to detect dead virus but the individual to no longer be infectious. DD2 who is at 6th form college in Liverpool has been offered a lateral flow test and I have asked her not to get one done in case it comes back positive again 5 weeks after her positive test. If I had a Uni student who had tested positive in October for COVID I would be asking them to not get a test now. I would say that they are probably the least risk to anyone having just had covid.

Mumtoeim that’s very interesting, thank you. DS is positive he had COVID in Oct as the whole flat had exactly the same, classic symptoms but only one of them had a test.

@Itscoldouthere for reasons previously expressed I’m not sure there’s any point at all in the testing since the negative result does not necessarily mean they don’t have Covid. For those of our students (mine included) who will be mixing with vulnerable people over the holidays the only sensible approach is isolation prior