With more of us working on campus at least part of the time, it is essential that we all continue to keep safety at the front of our minds.   

 Key to ensuring everyone stays safe is regular testing and reporting of results.  

Everyone coming onto campus should continue to take a Covid lateral flow test twice a week. You can get walk-in tests or pick up take-home kits from the Old Bank on our Canterbury campus or the Old Sports Hall at Medway, or order them online.   

Reporting is also critical to supporting the national effort to counter Covid. If you are using a home test kit, please remember to report your lateral flow test results to the NHS, using the postcode CT2 7FS, whether they are positive or negative – instructions on how to do this should come with the testing kit itself.    

If you have symptoms or if you do test positive, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day your symptoms started and get a PCR test as quickly as possible. If your PCR test is positive, please let your line manager know and also email covidsupport@kent.ac.uk.   

If someone in your household tests positive, and even if your own test is negative, you are encouraged to work at home if you can during the self-isolation period. If your role is not normally one that works remotely, please talk to your line manager about any work you can do from home. If there is no work you can do remotely, please remain away from work for the duration of the isolation period (if you are living with someone with Covid-19) or until you have had a negative PCR test (for a close contact)  

Other ways we can do our bit to stay  safe are:  

Vaccinations – A key component in national efforts against Covid. If you qualify for a booster jab,  you are strongly encouraged to get one if you can.   

Face coverings – We strongly encourage and recommend that staff and students wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces, particularly if meeting people from outside their area. Face coverings are available free of charge from any student reception desk.  

Ventilation – We are monitoring buildings and rooms across campus to ensure they meet Government guidelines on airflow. Keeping a window open supports this and our ‘virtual first’ approach to staff meetings also helps reduce the number of gatherings. If you wish to double-check airflow levels in your area, get in touch with Estates Customer Services to borrow a CO2 monitor.  

Following checks by our Estates team, some of our teaching spaces have reduced capacity. If you’re teaching in these rooms, you’ll need to follow ‘user instructions’ on ventilation. You can find out which rooms this applies to, and check on any changes ahead of your class, on the live teaching room spreadsheet on our Estates webpages. Useful guidance on ventilation is also available from our SHE team.