There has been a welcome return to normality on our campus since the beginning of the year, and the graduation celebrations currently underway have added greatly to this.
As today (1 April, 2022) is the start of the next phase of Government’s Living with Covid plan, I thought it would be helpful to update you on campus safety. Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19 guidance provides further information.
As you are aware, most restrictions have now ended. From today, universal free testing for Covid will not be available and we will not need to consider Covid specifically in risk assessments. You can get more information here about your eligibility for free Covid tests and ordering tests.
Some of you may be concerned by the current high rates of Covid infections. There are high levels of immunity against Covid in the population and for the majority of vaccinated people Covid is unlikely to cause serious illness. Nevertheless, there are some people who may be vulnerable despite being vaccinated and it is very important that we all act responsibly and keep everyone safe at work and study.
We will continue to take advice from our Director of Public Health and take a pragmatic approach to managing and preventing Covid in our staff, students and visitors. We will ensure face masks and hand sanitiser are available across the campus and implement best practice for cleaning and ventilation measures to reduce risk of transmission. We will continue to monitor the situation and review our guidance regularly.
Vaccination provides the best protection against Covid. We strongly recommend everyone to get fully vaccinated or take up their booster dose if they are eligible.
We encourage people to wear face masks indoors when moving around and in crowded multiuser spaces. There may be additional spaces where you may be required to wear face masks because this is indicated by a risk assessment.
If you have symptoms of Covid, we recommend people stay at home for at least five days after their symptoms first appear.
If you have been in household contact with someone who has Covid but are asymptomatic then you do not have to isolate. If you are able to work or study from home you may choose to self-isolate for a period of five days to reduce the risk to other people.
Government guidance is frequently changing and we advise that you follow the latest guidance. Please also continue to report if you are symptomatic, isolating or test positive. It will help us to monitor the situation and make any necessary changes to keep everyone safe.
Additional support
If you have any questions, you can contact Occupational Health Service (The University of Manchester).