Related Post
Nearly 500 people have tested positive for coronavirus at the University of Sheffield.
According to an online tracker on the university’s website, 474 students and five staff members have tested positive for Covid-19 September 28.
Sheffield University has around 8,000 staff members and usually hosts 29,000 students on its campus every academic year.
A spokesman said those affected by coronavirus were following Government guidelines and that support is available. It is understood that no whole student accommodation blocks are in lockdown at the moment.
It comes as more than 750 students at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, are confined to their dorms after nearly 800 people tested positive for coronavirus.
The spokesman said: ‘We recognise how difficult it is for students who are new to Sheffield and need to self-isolate because of Covid-19 cases.
‘To make sure we are supporting students in the best way possible, we will contact all students who are self-isolating to check on their welfare and offer practical and emotional support.’
The weekly coronavirus rate in Sheffield for the seven days to October 1 now stands at 233.1 new cases per 100,000 people.
Nearly 500 people have tested positive at the University of Sheffield. The weekly Covid rate in Sheffield for the seven days to October 1 now stands at 233.1 new cases per 100,000 people
The weekly rate of new infections has soared in dozens of areas of England following the addition of nearly 16,000 that had previously been unreported nationwide
The new data have now been added to the government’s systems. Based on the date on which samples were collected, rather than when the result was published, the UK’s daily rate has not been below 6,000 since September 21
Manchester has the highest rate in England, with 2,740 cases recorded in the seven days to October 1 – the equivalent of 495.6 cases per 100,000 people, up from 223.2 the week before
There have been new fears over tighter restrictions in Sheffield after nearly 300 Covid-19 cases were recorded in a single day.
In Newcastle, 770 students have tested positive for coronavirus and are self-isolating for 14 days in line with Government guidance.
Newcastle University confirmed it has had 94 students and seven staff test positive, though a spokeswoman said the ‘overwhelming majority of cases’ were from ‘social and domestic settings’.
University and College Union (UCU) said it warned Northumbria University that it was ‘far too soon for a mass return to campus’.
In a statement the UCU said: ‘We told Northumbria University they had a civic duty to put the health of staff, students and the local community first and we take no pleasure in now seeing another preventable crisis play out.
‘We warned last month that, given the current restrictions in the region, the direction of the infection rate and the problems with test and trace, it was clearly far too soon for a mass return to campus.’
It comes as Manchester was branded the coronavirus capital of the UK after ‘missed’ new cases were added to its recent tally.
The weekly rate of new infections has soared in dozens of areas of England following the addition of nearly 16,000 that had previously been unreported nationwide.
Manchester has the highest rate in England, with 2,740 cases recorded in the seven days to October 1 – the equivalent of 495.6 cases per 100,000 people, up from 223.2 in the previous week.
Liverpool has the second highest rate, up from 287.1 to 456.4, with 2,273 new cases.
Knowsley is in third place, up from 300.3 to 452.1, with 682 new cases.
Other areas recording sharp increases include Newcastle upon Tyne (up from 256.6 to 399.6, with 1,210 new cases); Nottingham (up from 52.0 to 283.9, with 945 new cases); Leeds (up from 138.8 to 274.5, with 2,177 new cases); and Sheffield (up from 91.8 to 233.1, with 1,363 new cases).
