Return to campus and relaxing COVID restrictions

Following the lifting of all COVID restrictions in England, the University has reviewed its COVID precautions and has decided to leave some of the current measures in place, while others can be lifted from 26 March 2022.

Taking a cautious approach will enable us to continue to bring more life and activity to our campuses while monitoring infection rates and keeping our campuses COVID-secure.

What is changing on 26 March?

• our spaces, including classrooms and venues will be used to their full capacity, where appropriate ventilation is in place. Your timetable will reflect any changes to your teaching spaces.
• the COVID test centres on our campuses will close; however, we will retain stocks of tests for:
  • testing our nursery staff
  • testing staff and students engaged in teaching where social distancing is difficult – such as in laboratory work in HSC and SRES;
  • testing in the case of an outbreak on one of our campuses;
  • should we require them during the Autumn/Winter of 2022

What protections will remain in place?

The following measures will remain in place and will be reviewed again before Summer term:

• face coverings are still encouraged indoors in teaching events and large gatherings where it is not possible to socially distance;
• staff and students are asked not to attend campus or use the on-campus facilities if they test positive;
• staff and students are still asked to notify the COVID inbox should they test positive, so that we can continue to monitor infection levels and provide support and advice as needed.

We will continue to update you through our regular student newsletter. If you have any questions, or if you are concerned about the impact of these changes, please speak to your department or email the COVID inbox.

Thank you all for your continued resilience and cooperation.