Hundreds of students are now being tested for Covid-19 at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) every day, with many saying the results are helping them feel reassured ahead of travelling home for Christmas.
The university is working with the Government’s Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to host a new NHS Test and Trace centre at DMU’s The Watershed sports building, on Upperton Road, offering staff and students free Lateral Flow tests.
Following the Government announcement, university students will travel home for Christmas in a week-long “travel window” (December 3-9) aided by a new programme of mass testing, as part of a national effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the festive break.
As part of this national effort students at DMU are urged to attend regular testing on site, at The Watershed ahead of the travel window. Open from 9am-5pm testing is free and students are encouraged to visit regularly. So far, more than 2,000 students have been tested at the site.
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Many DMU students are already testing on a frequent basis. Chris Carlin a second-year Education Studies student said: “I am testing to keep my family safe, my mother-in- law is a vulnerable person, my mum and brother work for the NHS and my daughter is at school.
“I just want to make sure everyone is safe, and everyone can carry on with their lives as normal as possible.”
While many students are eager to get back to their families, students have been advised to avoid travelling home until the end of the national lockdown on December 2. Teaching is set to move online from December 9.
Lottie Danks a first year Criminology student said: “I have not seen my family in almost three months, it’s so important for me to able to see them at Christmas. If regular testing is the way to do that, I am more than happy to keep coming for a test.
“The test is not comfortable, but it’s never going to be comfortable, it’s worth it for the chance to be able to go home at Christmas.”
Students all have their own reasons for testing, including first year Cyber Security student, Daniel Silver. He said: “I decided to start testing because I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t unknowingly giving my friends Covid with no symptoms, as that possibility is becoming more real.
“I plan on getting tested regularly so I can home for Christmas in the confidence that I am not going to bring anything home with me. I am really looking forward to seeing my family.
“I also decided to start testing because it seemed important to be part of a pilot that could have such a nationwide impact. The more tests that are done, the better and I believe this could have a large effect on the speed we can go back to normality.”
Sammy Smith a second year Paramedicine student said she’d started testing to help protect her course mates in her practical lesson bubble.
She said: “I think this testing is really important and we should all play our part to help stop the spread of the virus.
“We are currently being taught in our practical lesson bubbles and I think it’s really essential that we get tested regularly. If one of our course members test positive than that whole bubble would need to self-isolate.
“Having regular tests could be a way to help prevent this from happening. The whole testing process from booking through to receiving the results is so quick and it’s a way we can all go home safely for Christmas.”
Posted on Monday 23 November 2020