More than 2000 university students in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19 and hundreds have been ordered into isolation as new outbreaks complicate the start of the first semester. Northumbria University in north-eastern England has reported 770 cases, making it one of Britain’s largest outbreaks, The Guardian reported. Cases have been detected at many of the UK’s 65 universities, including at least 127 at Manchester Metropolitan University, a popular destination for Chinese international students. At least 1,700 students there have been told to isolate for 14 days. More than 380 students and staff at nearby University of Manchester have tested positive. The UK is Europe’s worst-hit country with more than 500,000 confirmed coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of “a very tough winter”ahead. Britain gradually came out of a national lockdown over the summer, but many areas including major cities such as Manchester were subject to local restrictions. Students in Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds and Queens University in Belfast, also popular destinations for Chinese students, were also having to stay in their student accommodation. Students have complained of being “imprisoned” in their dormitories and displayed “Help Me” signs in their windows. Window signs at Manchester Metropolitan University have displayed the letters “HMP MMU” – short for Her Majesty’s Prison Manchester Metropolitan University. Britain’s ‘world-beating’ coronavirus testing struggles as second wave looms Several universities contacted by South China Morning Post declined to respond to questions about numbers of Chinese international students in lockdown. A spokesperson for the University of Manchester said travellers from China were required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. “In both university-owned and private accommodation, all students who are required to self-isolate on arrival will be supported during the quarantine period, including access to food and other support,” the spokesperson said. A Chinese supermarket near Queens University in Belfast said the university had ordered Chinese snacks, drinks and instant noodles for students. Universities have been chartering flights to bring students to the UK. A weekly China Southern flight from Guangzhou has been landing every week at Heathrow Airport carrying mainly students. Hainan Airlines was also flying weekly to Manchester. There have also been flights to Leeds. More than 12,000 students from China were due to arrive this autumn – a 23 per cent increase from 9,860 last year amid growing tensions with two other popular destinations – the US and Australia. Over the past decade, numbers of students from China have trebled and they were by far the largest overseas student group. Boris Johnson’s next targets: reopen England’s schools, control outbreaks However, according to a yet-to-be published survey by the British Council, over half of undergraduate and postgraduate Chinese students who applied to UK universities may cancel or delay their plans for the 2020/2021 academic year due to Covid-19, according to the online international education news outlet, Pie News. The survey found that 26 per cent of Chinese undergraduates and 27 per cent of Chinese postgraduate respondents who had applied to study in the UK say they had either cancelled or delayed their plans while a further 31 per cent of undergraduates and 27 per cent of postgraduates from China were still uncertain. With fees of £30,000 (US$38,000) upwards plus accommodation fees, many UK universities rely on Chinese students for much of their income. Chinese students spend an average £2 billion in the UK every year, according to China Daily . “Requiring international students, in particular, to travel to campus could cause them to incur large costs if they are forced to fly home again in the event of a second lockdown – never mind the risk of catching the virus on their way to and from the campus,” wrote Brian Wong, founding editor of the Oxford Political Review. “International freshers already have to adjust to an unfamiliar social and academic setting – their woes would only be amplified by additional worries about their own physical and mental health”. The return to higher education in the UK is the country’s largest annual internal migration with an estimated one million students on the move. Chinese consular officials in Manchester held a meeting last month with Nancy Rothwell, vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester and Janet Beer of the University of Liverpool to discuss measures for students from China. “The University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool, with the highest concentration of Chinese students, have made strenuous efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese students since the outbreak of Covid-19,” the consulate said on its website. “The Chinese Consulate looks forward to seeing universities making plans to ensure a safe arrival of old and new students onto campus.”
