People should ‘stop assuming students spread Covid’ and claims are based on ‘prejudice’, says university boss

People should “stop assuming students are spreading Covid”, and claims that they have been responsible for outbreaks in towns and cities are based on “prejudice”, a university vice-chancellor has said. 

Professor Graham Galbraith, vice-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, said his institution had evidence showing that students had been unfairly blamed for spreading the virus. 

Portsmouth University is one of the few universities in the country which has carried out asymptomatic testing of students since September. Importantly, the testing is provided by nurses rather than volunteers or self-administered by students, increasing its accuracy. 

The data from the testing suggests that a prediction by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) that infections in universities would peak at the end of term was wrong. 

Fall in cases

In September, a paper published by SAGE said that epidemic modelling based on contact data from one university suggested that outbreaks might peak “during November or later”. 

However, the data from Portsmouth shows that cases peaked in early October, before falling significantly. Last week, “only 0.2 per cent” of “several thousand” students who were tested were positive. 

Crucially, the data also shows that cases within the student body have been out of kilter with transmission in the wider community. Cases in Portsmouth city continued to climb well after they dropped at the university. 

‘Prejudice’ against students

In a blog for the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank, Professor Galbraith writes: “The conventional wisdom, sometimes based on little more than prejudice, is that students are causing infection rate increases in their towns and cities.” 

Contrary to this, he says there is “no evidence that the ongoing rise in infections in the City can be attributed to students”. 

“It is clear that student infections up until about 8 October correlated with the trend of the City population” 

“After about 8 October, though, any relationship between total City infections and student infection ends.” 

He says the data shows there is “no evidence of students being an ongoing source of infection spread in Portsmouth”, adding: “I suspect many other universities will be able to tell a similar story”. 

‘Role models’

“The overwhelming majority of students are not the stereotypes of tabloid headlines. Perhaps we should see students as role models, not scapegoats… in assuming students are the problem, people can become blind to their own role in spreading the virus and avoid facing up to the responsibilities that rest with us all.” 

Professor Galbraith credits the fact that the outbreak among students was brought more quickly under control than in the wider community to “our own testing along with effective trace and support measures for isolating students”. 

Testing key

He also suggests that the Government’s focus on staggering students’ return to university in the New Year might be misplaced: “We should not focus on the process of students’ return to the exclusion of what happens afterwards.  

“Until a vaccine becomes available for everyone, regular testing and support for isolating students is probably a more effective way to reduce the spread of Covid than altering the days students move from A to B.” 

He adds: “Universities and the Government have far more powers to test, trace and support students at university than prevent them from travelling to and from university”. 

Nick Hillman, the director of HEPI, said: “Like everyone else, the higher education sector has been learning about Covid as it has gone along. Now we are getting hard evidence that suggests even some of the best forecasts and modelling were wrong. 

He added: “It is vital that universities, policymakers and accommodation providers continue working together to suppress the spread of the virus until we are all protected. Staggering the start of in-person teaching is nothing like the full answer.”