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CAO President and NUI Galway Vice President Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh has said third-level students should consider not going home on weekends to stop the spread of Covid-19.
“We have to think about the patterns of movement that are coming into society now with the return to universities and the return to universities across the country,” he said on the Today with Claire Byrne program on RTÉ radio.
Professor Ó Dochartaigh said he acknowledged that many students were involved in their local sports clubs and had part-time jobs on weekends to help finance their studies, but “in an ideal world” where it was possible, students should consider staying. in his university accommodation for the semester and coming home “only occasionally”.
Doing that would improve the student experience, he said, “but we also have to think about the movement patterns that are coming into society now with the return to colleges and the return to colleges across the country.
“It’s very different from going to school every day and coming home, that could be a mile or two away from you, if that.
“It’s very different from work patterns, although some people commute daily, but generally they do it daily.
“Students go weekly, they will meet others from all over the country and then they will return to their communities of origin and that is a potential spreader, there is no doubt about that, for all the universities, for all the universities in the country.
“I think it would be very important for students, if possible, to stay on campus, at the university, in the university environment, for most of the semester.”
Professor Ó Dochartaigh said he understood that it would be “a difficult question”, especially for freshmen.
“We’re not telling people that it’s absolutely necessary to do this no matter what, but I think when someone can do that and can cope with it, I think they should seriously consider it.”
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