Under half of Coronavirus cases in Exeter are now linked to the University

Less than 50% of all new Coronavirus cases in Exeter are attributable to the university, according to Public Health England officials.

In his recent registrar email to all Exeter University students, Mike Shore-Nye stated that only 40% of cases were linked to the university, a considerable drop from the peak of 85% of cases just a few weeks ago. He wrote that there were also “very few cases linked to our Cornwall campus” and there has been one positive case amongst University staff, however they have not attended campus for many months.

Credit: Exeter University Coronavirus Statistics

Currently Exeter students are still banned from mixing with other households under University instruction, named a ‘soft lockdown’, which came into force on September 28. Mr Shore-Nye wrote: “I said last week that if we saw a continued reduction in case numbers then we would hope to be able to relax our advice on students in Exeter meeting indoors with those who are not part of their household. We are reviewing this as the week goes on and I will update you in my message on Friday.”

The rule will remain in place until Monday, November 2, and the University hopes this will be the last week. However, it is dependent on the maintenance of the continued reduction in cases.

The Coronavirus statistics put out by the University’s COVID-19 Statistics webpage show there were 67 positive cases amongst students in the 7 days from October 21 to October 27. The number was over 3 times this at the end of September, when Exeter was in the top 10 COVID-19 hotspots.

With Exeter cases decreasing significantly, the Pennsylvania and University area has seen a drop to 48 confirmed positive cases in the past 7 days.

Exeter University is still willing to hand out sanctions, including suspension, to students who do not follow guidelines put in place by the Government or University itself.

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