Cardiff Uni have called in police to break up parties of 150 students

Cardiff University has recorded 44 breaches of Covid restrictions in halls since the start of the semester, with two parties estimated to have had 100 and 150 attend.

Failure to follow Covid rules has resulted in action from the university who have sent a warning to anyone who has broken these restrictions. A breach can be anything from not wearing a face mask in required areas to holding large gatherings. In at least one case of these parties, the police have been called in to enforce the restrictions.

None of these breaches have resulted in disciplinary action from the university.

The two week ‘firebreak’ lockdown in Wales saw pubs, shops and restaurants close, with new national measures implemented after the lockdown’s end on 9th November.

One Student told The Cardiff Tab that there have been lots of parties in their residence Senghennydd Court, with “a really big halloween one until 3am but no security or police showed up, and that was during local lockdown.” They also stated that students from other Cardiff halls of residence like Talybont have attended parties in Senghennydd.

Students outside of university halls of residence in private housing have also told The Cardiff Tab about house parties, with large ones taking place on popular student streets such as Woodville Road and Miskin Street.

Students from Cardiff Met have similarly breached covid restrictions and held large parties in halls. Footage shows a large party taking place in unidentified halls on 6th November. The police were called and more than 50 people were fined. One officer told the partygoers “You are the future of this country, and you are messing it right up.”

The Welsh Government announced on 11/11/20 its plan to allow students to travel home for Christmas, with all in person teaching ending on 8th December and all students being asked to travel by 9th December.

The Welsh Government has also said that students will be offered new rapid turnaround tests 24 hours before leaving. However, the universities have said it will be impossible to test every student in such a short space of time.

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