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

Following last week’s update, Canterbury has had confirmation of further cases of Covid-19 and in particular those linked to one of the new variants of concern.

Whilst the number of cases remains low, to ensure any spread is limited as quicky as possible, Public Health England (PHE) have launched an enhanced testing programme for everyone living, working or studying in either the CT1 or CT2 7 postcodes. This precautionary measure includes our Canterbury campus and the majority of student accommodation areas in the city.

We strongly encourage all of you living, working or studying in the target postcodes to play your part by getting one of these additional tests as soon as possible. As the enhanced testing is specifically to locate cases of the new variant, this includes those of you who have been regularly completing asymptomatic tests in recent weeks, even if you have recently tested negative.

What you need to do

PHE have requested that anyone living, working or studying in the target postcode areas, including student accommodation, should attend an enhanced testing centre between the 1-15 June.

Two mobile units will be situated in Keynes College and Darwin Car Parks from Tuesday onwards, and will be open to students, staff and members of the public from 09.00-19.00 daily. There will also be several enhanced testing units around the city, with more information on locations online.

After your test, you can resume your normal activities whilst awaiting your test result. If you receive a positive test result, please inform us immediately by completing our online webform as part of our guide, ‘What to do if you have Covid-19 symptoms or are advised to self-isolate’.

Please note that you do not need to be tested if you have had Covid-19 in the last 90 days.

Staying safe on campus

While we have not been asked to make any changes to current activity on campus, the recent developments show how vital it is that we all continue to keep each other safe in the weeks ahead by sticking to the latest government guidelines and the NHS guide on how to avoid spreading the infection. We have also carried out additional health and safety checks on campus to ensure key areas such as the Templeman Library are as safe as possible.

Finally, we will all need to remember to continue to get tested twice a week and report all positive results even after the enhanced testing has finished. This can be done either at our on-campus asymptomatic test centres or by using one of our home-test kits. Find out more about Covid testing.

I’m proud of how all of you have come together to keep each other safe over the last year – keeping that up and doing our bit during this additional step will be a key part of supporting our community, so I want to thank you all in advance for your continued cooperation.

With best wishes,

Richard

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