Cardiff Uni students react to firebreak lockdown

Overall we’re not pleased, but it’s necessary.


Since the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, announced that Wales would be heading into a nation-wide fire-break lockdown, which started yesterday at 6pm, university students have been left shocked and with a mix of emotions.

The Cardiff Tab reached out and asked Cardiff Uni students how they feel about the 17-day lockdown, and here’s what you had to say:

Some of you are glad it’s been put in place…

Many of you have agreed that this lockdown was needed, and although it is definitely an annoyance to the majority of us, we can get through it and will come out of it in a better position. One student said, “definitely needed, but don’t know if I will survive it!”

Another noted they “knew it was coming, so I’m not shocked by it.”

Yes, it sucks and we all would prefer to be celebrating Halloween with our mates in a pub or even at the SU, but as a flat or house there’ll be many ways you can celebrate and keep yourselves occupied!

Worries over family and friends, including our own mental health.

Since March, many of us have struggled with the lockdown and it’s had a detrimental effect on our mental health, with some more than others.

One student said they’re worried about their “families and friends’ mental health. Going to be a very tough time.” Another student noted that we need to “stay positive. Good spirits all around, and it’ll be more bearable!”

We’re all in this together, so look out for your friends and family, stay in touch regularly and don’t forget that support is there for you always.  

The university is still offering support to those who are in need of it during this uncertain time. 

Gyms closing seems to be a big issue for many of us

One student said that “closing gyms seems pointless.” For many, the gym is somewhere they go to keep physically fit, but also to help their mental health, so seeing the gyms close for two weeks can be disheartening for some. The Welsh Government still encourage people to go for walks, runs and exercise indoors and outdoors alone or with members of their households.

“I wish the gyms could stay open.”

It’s very disappointing to many of us that they’ve been forced to close, and can really impact our mental health and general outlook on the lockdown. Though one student stated we have a glimmer of hope, as, unlike the first lockdown, we at least know the duration of the lockdown and can look forward to not being locked away for too long.

It’s a chance to catch up on uni work we’re all behind on…

Online uni feels optional, right? Pre-recorded lectures are a trap and we all think we can leave them on our to-do lists for a while… that’s until it catches up with us and we’re already three weeks behind. So yeah, maybe this lockdown is a good “reason to start watching lectures.”

Cheers to catching up on the “three weeks of work I haven’t done.” We’ve got this.

Halloween.

The year Halloween falls on a Saturday, we happen to be put into a national lockdown where gatherings are illegal and pubs, bars and clubs are closed.

“Rubbish – Halloween on a Saturday, and now it’s cancelled.” Sure, it’s gutting, but as a house or flat, there’s plenty of things you can do… dare I say it, a quiz, get the DIY costumes out, drinking games, a Halloween movie night and much more!

“They just had to take Halloween from us too:(”

We think it should be totally acceptable to wear your Halloween costume after lockdown. It was cancelled after all! So let’s normalise Halloween costumes after the 9th of November.

Sure, this is all incredibly annoying, but we’ll be out of it sooner than we think. So keep positive!

“If it saves people’s lives, it can only be a good thing!” 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Everything you can and cannot do under new fire break lockdown in Wales 

• Welsh Government to ban travel to Wales from UK Covid Hotspots 

• Cardiff University releases advice on ‘firebreak’ lockdown