Students in Scotland will be offered Covid tests before they go home for Christmas

The Minister for Further Education, Richard Lochhard, has confirmed all students in Scotland will be offered coronavirus tests before they go home for Christmas.

The new Covid testing technology, known as “lateral flow devices” will provide results within half an hour which will allow students to isolate if necessary prior to returning home and not missing out on Christmas Day.

The current guidance is that two tests should be taken, five days apart.

This mass testing for students is part of a UK wide initiative to allow travel home in December. In Scotland, almost 80,000 students will leave university to return home.

The Scottish Minister also asked that students who are looking to return home reduce their social mixing two weeks prior to their travel. This means only leaving the house for essential shopping and exercise.

He also warned that the return in semester two will “not be normal”, but further guidance on this is yet to be published.

For university teaching, Richard Lochhard said, “Universities will be asked to make any necessary adjustments to scheduling to ensure that in-person teaching and assessment ends early enough to allow students time to get home at the end of term.”

You can read the full statement here and find further information on gov.Scot.

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