You could be kept at uni until Dec 22nd if you want to go home for Christmas

Students could be locked up in halls until December 22nd if they want to see their parents at Christmas, according to government plans.

The government is considering a two-week student “circuit breaker” lockdown before Christmas, making students isolate from 8th-22nd December as a way to stop them bringing the virus home.

As over 100 unis report campus Covid cases, the Guardian reports that universities minister Michelle Donelan will today try to convince uni leaders to get on board with the plan.

Boris Johnson has pledged to “get students home safely for Christmas”, but with some unis confirming over 1,000 cases among students ministers are working out how to fulfil that promise without supercharging the spread of the virus.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the government ignored advice from SAGE to move all non-essential uni teaching online.

The Department for Education told the Guardian it would shortly be setting out details on how students will return home for Christmas.

A spokesperson said: “All students will be able to go home at Christmas if they so choose. However, if students are travelling home, we must ensure they do so in a way which minimises the risks of spreading the virus, and the date when universities must stop in-person teaching will be an important part of this. We will set out details on this shortly.”

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