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The heads of Manchester Metropolitan University have told hundreds of self-isolating students that a lockdown is “necessary” to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to other students, staff and the local community.
Students described being scared and confused when their accommodation was closed on Friday, as 1,700 were told to stay in their rooms on the Birley and Cambridge Halls campuses for 14 days after 127 tested positive for coronavirus.
Some on the Birley campus described confusion when security personnel arrived to enforce the lockdown before many of them had received any official communication from the university, leaving them wondering how they would stock their shelves as they were not allowed to go out to buy food. .
In an update for students, the university said: “As you know, this was a decision made in conjunction with Public Health England and Manchester City Council, and was made on the basis of the most recent data.
“With more than 100 students testing positive for Covid-19 in the hallways, the decision was deemed necessary to prevent the spread of the virus to other students, staff, or the local community.
“We appreciate your many concerns about the impact of this period of isolation and we are working hard to implement plans to assist you in the coming days.”
Among the plans is the intensification of food deliveries with the university working in partnership with a local supermarket.
Covid-19 signage on the Birley campus of Manchester Metropolitan University (Peter Byrne / PA) “>But the students were told that they were not allowed to travel to a nearby Covid-19 testing center on Denmark Road and that the university was working with local health services to implement another testing system.
The university added: “We appreciate that this period of self-isolation will present you with difficulties, especially if it comes so soon after your arrival at the university. We are here to support you and our staff is working hard with local partners to make this period more manageable for you. “
On Saturday Dominic Waddell, 21, a freshman film student, told the PA news agency: “Some people got an email to announce that they were closing my accommodation, but not everyone understood that, so there was a big uproar with everyone.
“There was a security guard who had just arrived at the door of our accommodation and was not letting anyone out, without really explaining what was happening.
“They’re saying that ‘the safety and well-being of our students and staff and the local community is our top priority,’ but it really doesn’t seem like it if they haven’t given us time to prepare for this.”
Dominic Waddell described a ‘big surprise’ when security personnel (Waddell Digital) arrived “>Megan Tingey, a 19-year-old criminology student, said police also appeared outside her accommodation on Birley Vine.
“It was pretty scary and confusing,” he told PA. “A police van appeared and there were police officers outside the door, many of them just walking around looking at everyone, especially since we didn’t know what was going on.
“Nobody has really told us much and then the police show up safely outside – it’s a really difficult situation.”
Megan Tingey said she recently finished isolating after a positive test for coronavirus (PA) “>For those in his apartment, he said, it was particularly difficult, as they had just come out of isolation and tested positive for the virus about 10 days ago.
“I think almost everyone in our accommodation completed their self-isolation yesterday, so I think closing the building now is pretty bad considering that we all just left,” Ms. Tingey said.
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