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ON-CAMPUS TESTING at the University of Limerick (UL) is to be set up after an increased number of Covid-19 cases among students living close to the university grounds.
Covid-19 testing will be provided to students for free by HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare “in a bid to prevent further transmission among the student population”, the university said in a statement.
Students can register online for a test without needing to show symptoms. The testing centre is being set up on the UL campus this week and all tests will be processed by the HSE.
UL said that the Department of Public Health Mid-West has seen evidence in recent weeks of an increase in Covid-19 cases among students living in the immediately vicinity of the campus.
It said these are “largely based around simple household visits”.
UL President, Professor Kerstin Mey, said the univeristy wants to act “swiftly now at the first signs of a possible increase of cases among students living off campus”.
“We have reduced on campus activity to approximately 2% of what would normally take place so there are barely any students or staff on campus under Level 5 restrictions. Where we can put any further measure in place to protect our own and the surrounding communities we will do so,” she said.
Students have been contacted with full details on how to register online for an on-campus test.
In December, UL set up on-campus Covid-19 testing for students who wished to receive a test before travelling home for the Christmas period.
Dr Marie Casey, a specialist in public health medicine, said there is “now a high level of risk of transmission in the student community” due, in part, to the more transmissible UK variant.
“Public Health Mid-West is seeing a noticeable increase in Covid-19 clusters among the student population, particularly in housing estates in the Castletroy area with links to some households in Limerick city, as a result of household transmission in the past three weeks,” Dr Casey said.
“The student population is unique insofar that they can often live with a number of housemates in large households. Some students have part-time jobs, and many will go home on the weekends to visit family and friends.”
She said there is an “increased risk of infection” because many young people may not show Covid-19 symptoms while carrying the virus.
“Outbreaks arising out of household transmission is starting to become a worrying trend across the Mid-West, at a crucial time when we need to suppress the virus’ spread in the community,” Dr Casey said.
She said everyone in the region should avoid household visits and social gatherings of any kind.
“We have seen far too many times how a single episode of social contact has led to serious illness and death,” she said.
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Why are students living there when all college is online??
@Conor O’Toole: agreed..its absolute madness
@Conor O’Toole: not all college is online. Try doing medical experiments, dissections, pharmaceuticals or livestock handling from your sitting room.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: Challenge accepted!
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: I’d say since last year, there are plenty of Households experts in handling ‘livestock’ by now
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: actually all face to face classes are suspended under this level 5. Even libraries are closed. There shouldn’t be anything face to face happening
@Conor O’Toole: students may have jobs. Wifi may be better on campus. Lots of reasons
faculty of medicine have returned to some face to face class sessions on Monday’s and Thursdays on campus. To be fair a lot of the campus is in full lockdown but a number of medical students are not happy returning face to face especially when a decent % are commuting from all corners of the country to attend “mandatory” classes. We are being made return face to face and we are not on any vaccine radar given the huge numbers in/around campus. It is a recipe for disaster. We have had our now face to face classes online for all of January (so it’s feasible) but decision was made to bring us back on campus. This can only end 1 end… and not the good way.
@cearbhaill: that’s not true. And, not all on-campus studies even involve being in a room with someone else. Much student research work critical for their theses cannot be done except in labs and without that they cannot complete their studies. Especially at PhD level.
I’ve been saying it for the last 6 months.students are superspreaders.going to college god only knows the amount of (what students call)shifting and drifting in college and going home at the weekends to hometown to spread it to family and friends.
Also explains alot for high numbers before and around Xmas when going back to home spreading it countrywide. Just a thought
@Diarmuid O Brien: sounds more like an accusation than a thought. Doesn’t correlate either with the fact over the last couple of months the median age has been between mid thirties-mid forties.
@John Egan: That’s a median age. Doesn’t contradict what he said
@John Egan: The figures do bear out that the college age group accounts for far more cases than their proportion of the population.
The HSPC have a daily report with age breakdown of cases.
18-24yo are just 6pc of pop but account for 14pc of cases. Compare to secondary school age 12-18 are approx 10pc of pop but usu about 8pc of cases.
I don’t have the precise figures on my phone but the difference between secondary and college kids is night and day in terms of covid infection rates. I’ve been keeping a close eye on those age spread figures and they really change very little week to week. Since the schools closed the 12-18yo have dropped back but not hugely to be 5pc of cases approx.
@Diarmuid O Brien: You must have loved this news story, particularly when it goes some small way to supporting a theory that you have been peddling “for the last 6 months” and allows you to sustain your name calling and finger pointing.
@Known only to God: It might have something to do with the fact that the students are older than secondary school students, more independent than secondary school students and attend universities that are further from home than secondary school students. One could also look at those percentages you have strung together and opine that the infection rates amongst that age group could be far worse. But that wouldn’t be much use to you in your quest to win the blame game.
@EnKy: lol.I did actually. Thanks
@Thomas O’ Donnell: no, it doesn’t. However, given there’s 200,000 cases. There would need be almost just as many on the other side (50s,60s) to get the median to late thirties, early forties.
@Known only to God: are all 18-24 year olds students?
@EnKy: Now I’m on my PC I can be more accurate: 19-24yo are just 6.5pc of pop but account for 12.5pc of cases. Compared to secondary school age 13-18 are 8.3pc of pop but usu about 8.9pc of cases. That’s from November which factors out xmas socialising and school closures. And bear in mind secondary school kids at that time were all together in classrooms for long periods 5 days a week.
These aren’t figures just strung together and there is no opinion involved. Nor blame really. It’s all about figuring out how get the maximum virus supression for the minimum disruption to our lives.
It’s definitely much tougher for students and young adults to keep to social distancing rules. Socialising is such a huge part of life at that age. But it’s also pretty clear listening to my own extended family and a friend living near UL that far more students than need to be for purely academic reasons are living away from home.
@John Egan: Well of course not all 100%. I’d guess maybe 60%. But I’d invite you to do the leg work of looking it up and posting the links back here ;) . I don’t want to blame students or that age group as such. But that age group is clearly overrepresented.
And in this article you have UL management saying they’ve cut on-campus activity to 2% while there is a spike in cases due to students visiting each others houses off-campus. That’s nuts.
Maybe if things were a bit stricter about students living away from home when not strictly necessary it might allow building sites. Anecdotally
The masks and a bit of social distancing seem to work wonders in secondary schools. But here we are with no sport for kids, no hairdressers, no building badly needed houses.
We still don’t really know the settings in which the virus spreads between households. And while other countries also struggle with this it is lamentable and means we cannot chose the restrictions that will give us the best R number reduction for the least economic and social pain.
This where I got my figures from:
Population: data.cso.ie Home > Population Estimates > Annual Population Estimates > PEA11 – Population estimates from 1926.
Cases by age group: https://www.hpsc.ie > covid-19 > 14-day Epidemiology Reports >
Wonder has it much to do with recent students arriving there?
@Daniel Dunne: 140 Algerian students came to UL a few weeks ago. More examples of putting money over health.
@Daniel Dunne: I’m guessing no, say more to do with the loads of house parties where the students are living and but sure have your rant.
@Munster1: so are you blaming them.
@Munster1: they quarantined and had testing done. All rules followed
My daughter is attending UL but at home this year doing all her lectures online. Next year is her final year and I’m not happy if she is expected to return and share accommodation with other people. As a family we avoided getting Covid-19 but in that environment I’m afraid it’s highly lightly she’d be a close contact there. She has a certain career in mind and the last thing she needs is health issues long term if she caught Covid-19. Students are probably the bottom of the list when it comes to jabs so I hope they can keep going to college via online lectures
@Hugh Mc Donnell: your daughter is – presumably- an adult. And many young adults are not willing to move back home to live with their parents. That is their right. I work from home but why should that affect my living arrangements? Isn’t it the same thing?
@EvieXVI: we’re careful at home limiting are contact’s etc but on a college campus in cramped living conditions where students live it up and cleaning up and sanitizing is hit n miss just a recipe for disaster. Nobody should be compelled to return to normal college you should have the option to do it online end of story
@Hugh Mc Donnell: nobody is compelled now. And hopefully this won’t last into next year. But students have every right to live with friends. Surely UL is doing the right thing by ensuring that students who are positive don’t bring this virus home? Isn’t that the point?
@Hugh Mc Donnell: maybe if the students stop going to house parties it might help.
@Hugh Mc Donnell: You weren’t too worried about Covid when visiting Germany last March.
Wouldn’t be the first disease outbreak on campus…
There are many reasons that students are living in student accommodations while attending online college, including my daughter. From what she is telling me, she and her friends are making conscious choices about creating a small social bubble, meeting friends outside on walks, and following the guidelines. Certainly, many are not going home on the weekends and doing their part to stay safe and keep each other safe.
Obviously this is not everyone but there are plenty of students who are doing their best to be strong and resilient in these really difficult times.
Great article. Really insightful and valuable in the drive for COVID-shaming young people. Please keep us all updated on the whereabouts of any other new short term testing centres so we can identify a small cohort and sneer at their carelessness and ignorance.
Maybe if they stopped having house parties every night of the week it would stop the spread
have your say