I hope you are well and looking forward to the winter vacation. Thank you for all your hard work supporting our students and helping to provide the best possible student experience during what has been a very challenging year so far.

As part of the Government’s testing programme to support the Student Travel Window, we are opening an Asymptomatic Test Site (ATS) on our Canterbury campus on 30 November 2020. We would like to invite all students and staff to be tested should they wish.

The ATS will offer Lateral Flow Tests which are different to the PCR tests provided by our Local Testing Site (LTS). Lateral Flow Tests are specifically designed for asymptomatic people – those who are not displaying any symptoms. Please note that if you do have symptoms of Covid-19, you should book a test via the NHS Coronavirus site.

If you aren’t displaying symptoms and would like to book an appointment at the ATS, you can do so on our dedicated Coronavirus website. Please note the booking form will be available from 09.00 26 November 2020.

The test is voluntary, and it is entirely your choice to be tested.

We are inviting all students to be tested prior to travelling to their permanent homes during the Student Travel Window (3-9 December 2020).

For our Medway campus, we have worked with the Public Health Team on a special scheme to provide asymptomatic testing at the LTS. We are already accepting applications from students for tests and hope to be able to offer the same for Medway staff at a later date.

All students will be sent an email today (24 November 2020) about the testing available and how they can book an appointment.

We are currently working on plans for continuing our on-campus testing in the New Year and will update you on this shortly.

Additional information about Covid-19 testing can be found on our Coronavirus website.

Best wishes

Richard

Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience