There is no longer a legal requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate, however it is important that we continue to take steps to prevent the spread of infection. Not only is this important for controlling COVID 19, but it will also help us to reduce other types of infection, leading to a healthier place for everyone to study and work. With this in mind, we ask everyone to follow good public health practices:

• If someone is unwell they should work/study from home where possible, or if too unwell to work/study then rest and be absent
• Reusable face coverings are recommended in shared indoor spaces
• Remember to regularly wash your hands and use the available hand gel
• Ventilate the spaces you're in by opening windows wherever possible
• You can check our dedicated vaccination page for when our next on-campus clinics are or visit the NHS website for your nearest vaccination clinic. There are also a number of community clinics in Penryn. It’s important to complete your course of COVID-19 vaccinations to protect yourself and others. 

Further information can be found on the NHS webpage. 

If you have tested positive for COVID-19: 

If you have COVID-19, you can pass on the virus to other people for up to 10 days from when your infection starts. Many people will no longer be infectious to others after 5 days.

You should:

• try to stay at home to avoid passing the illness onto others who may be vulnerable and avoid contact with other people for 5 days
• avoiding meeting people at higher risk from COVID-19 for 10 days, especially if their immune system means they’re at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, even if they’ve had a COVID-19 vaccine

This starts from the day after you did the test.

If you are on a placement where you are required to test, you should be able to access testing via your NHS site, but if you are not currently on placement but still need assess to clinical settings, CSRC (Clinical Skills Resource centre) or clinicians, then we can support you with tests by request. 

If you feel you are eligible for a free LFD or PCR test, more information can be found on the Government website. If you would like any further guidance, whatever campus you’re on, you are able to contact RRH via email on: rapidresponsehub@exeter.ac.uk

Following advice from Public Health, LFD testing may continue for smaller groups of people, who will still be able to access testing on our campuses for the immediate future. These groups are:

Students on placement and staff accessing Healthcare settings.

We advise you to follow setting policy and order from the Government ordering system. In the event that you need to access Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests from the University the following collection points are available:

St Luke’s Campus, Cross Keys, Mondays and Thursdays 10am - 4pm (subject to change).

Truro Campus, Knowledge Spa, 1^st Floor Reception, Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm 

Staff or Students working with research participants:

Any person involved with face-to-face human participant research both on and off campus where research involves a person whose immune system means they are at higher risk. 

Travel testing:

• LFD tests from the University are not suitable to comply with Fit to Fly travel testing and if required should be sought from a private travel test provider if required.  Further information on Fit To Fly travel tests can be found here.
• For residential field trips where a member(s) of the party include a person who has identified as being at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19.  LFD tests can be requested in advance from the Rapid Response Hub by the authorised Faculty field trip coordinator. 

If you have any queries, please feel free to email on rapidresponsehub@exeter.ac.uk. 

Colleagues:

If you are not able to work for any of the following reasons, please follow the usual process to record this in iTrent

• Sickness (any reason where you are unwell and unable to work as normal, including relating to coronavirus)
• Emergency leave (e.g. childcare)

More information on sickness absence and pay arrangements can be found online.

If you have a specific concern or query about being absent from work please email: humanresources@exeter.ac.uk

Students:

If you are unable to attend your lectures due to a COVID-19 related illness, you can report it via iExeter through the 'teaching and learning tools' tile. You should also speak to your tutor for advice on how to catch up on any missed classes.

If you hold a Tier 4/Student visa we will be able to monitor your engagement through your use of online learning materials, so there will not be any negative consequences for your immigration status if you are unable to attend in person teaching.

Wearing a face covering continues to be one of the most effective ways of preventing transmission of COVID-19 – this is even more important now the legal requirement to self-isolate has ended.

The University would like to remind everyone that all colleagues and students are welcome to wear a face coverings in shared indoor spaces that are crowded and enclosed and where you may meet people you do not usually meet. Please continue to bring your reusable face covering with you when coming to campus. 

Please be aware if you are working in a NHS setting, some areas are now asking you to wear face-coverings when on site. Please check local requirements before you arrive. 

Most infections with COVID-19 resolve within the first 4 weeks. “Long COVID” is an informal term that is commonly used to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after an acute infection of COVID. Depending on how long you have ongoing symptoms for, it can be called one of 2 things:

• Ongoing symptomatic COVID This is where your symptoms continue for more than 4 weeks. If your symptoms last for longer than 12 weeks, it will then be called;
• Post-COVID Syndrome This is where your ongoing symptoms continue for longer than 12 weeks and cannot be explained by any other condition.

If you are concerned about any of your symptoms contact your GP – they should offer you an initial consultation and provide access to any further assessments or care that they determine you need. For more information on “Long COVID” then please visit the NHS dedicated guidance.  

We are also offering a bitesize course for colleagues called: Managing Long COVID in the Workplace. This course will be aimed at anyone who has an interest in the condition, including employees and line-managers. If you would be interested in this course, please register your interest here.

We have a range of support available to colleagues and students who may be feeling anxious on our dedicated wellbeing pages. To find out more, please visit our websites:

Colleague Wellbeing

Student Wellbeing

If you have a weakened immune system and have concerns about working on campus, please contact our Occupational Health Service for advice on what further steps may be necessary when you are working on campus or, (if this is a reasonable adjustment recommended under the Equality Act), permitting remote working. 

The process to be followed will be the standard process for occupational health referrals. 

Students: If your immune system means you are at a higher risk of infection and have concerns about being at University, you can contact the Student Wellbeing Centre for advice and support (Exeter) (Cornwall)

There has recently been an increase in Monkeypox infection in the UK, but the risk of catching it is low. Symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches, backache, chills and exhaustion
• This is followed (within 1-5 days) by a rash a few days later that may start on the face, groin or hands, before spreading to the rest of the body.

The illness is usually mild, and most people recover within a few weeks. Infection doesn’t spread easily between people but usually spreads through close contact:

• Skin to skin contact with legions or scabs
• Coughing or sneezing of an individual with a monkey pox rash
• Materials contaminated with the virus.

If you have symptoms of Monkeypox, stay at home and call 111 or your local sexual health service for advice. 

For more, check out the NHS information on Monkeypox or contact the Student Health Centre if you have any sexual health queries.

If you are unwell or have tested positive for COVID-19 and are staying at home, you can still get deliveries to your accommodation. There are lots of options available, for food and supplies you can order from a main supermarket:

• Morrisons
• Sainsburys
• Tesco

Hot food deliveries are also available in some areas:

• Deliveroo
• UberEats 

If you are staying in catered halls, then please email or contact the reception in your residence and they will forward the information onto the catering team who will make contact with you.

As a reminder, we strongly recommend you register with the Student Health Centre or a doctor's surgery near to where you live. You can find out more about the Student Health Centre here. 

We have produced guidelines on holding meetings and booking spaces when on campus and a handy poster to remind you how best to prevent infection when on campus having face to face meetings. Meeting rooms guidance [PDF document]

Our visitors policy has been updated to reflect the changes to COVID-19 regulations that came into effect on 1 April 2022.

All colleagues who are planning on hosting any visitor to our campuses is responsible for ensuring the visitor understands and complies with our current University practices and procedures throughout their visit. Please read our visitors policy here‌

From Thursday 5 January, people flying from mainland China to England will be asked to take a pre-departure test before travel. A sample of people arriving in England from mainland China will be tested for COVID-19 to monitor for new variants. You can read more here.

If you have not travelled from mainland China, then no other testing is required. Full guidance on travelling to England can be found here.

If you can find out what you need to do if you have COVID-19 here. 

You may be asked for an NHS COVID pass if you are travelling to a different country or at events that may ask for proof of your COVID-19 status. If you need a pass for travel, you’ll either need to be fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised in the UK or have had a positive NHS PCR test within the past 6 months (the pass is available after you’ve finished self-isolating and up to 180 days after taking the test).

There are two ways to get a NHS COVID pass, you can either download the NHS app or use the online NHS COVID pass service, but you must be registered with your GP and have a valid NHS number in order to do this.  Full details on requirements for the NHS COVID pass can be found online.  

Vaccinations taken outside of the UK 

If you have had any of your vaccinations outside of the UK but are now living in England, you may be able to book an appointment to have your international vaccination records added to your NHS vaccination record, as long as you have an NHS number. Once your records are complete, you can get an NHS COVID pass to use for travel. You must inform the NHS about the number and type of vaccinations you have had in a different country so that they can ensure your records are correct. Please do not try to have additional doses of the vaccine in order to qualify for the NHS COVID pass as it’s important not to have too many doses of the vaccines.

For all UK & International travel, the requirements within the University Travel Policy must be followed before any arrangements are booked.

You can find the full process on what to do before you travel on our dedicated Staff travel pages. 

The guidance and measures detailed below will remain in place on our campuses until further notice and we expect all colleagues and students to continue to follow these. If you are based in NHS or other premises, please follow the local rules for your building.

• If you are unwell you should work/study from home where possible, or if unwell, rest and be absent
• Reusable face coverings are recommended in shared indoor spaces
• Remember to regularly wash your hands and use the available hand gel
• Ventilate the spaces you're in by opening windows wherever possible
• It’s important to complete your course of COVID-19 vaccinations to protect yourself and others. Vaccination clinics will be available on our Streatham Campus – details will be provided on our vaccination website. Community clinics are also available in Penryn. 

SafeZone is an online app that helps us to help you whilst on campus, if you request it. The app is available for all colleagues and students to download and sign into if they wish.

In the event of an emergency, we’ll be able to keep you updated, via text messages, should you need to be aware of any vital location-based information. Once installed if you press Emergency, Help or First aid, your location will be sent to relevant staff on campus and allows us to keep you updated, via text messages, and relevant information relating to your emergency.

To download the app please go to: www.safezoneapp.com and follow the instructions for your device. You will need to register with your University of Exeter email address and review the permissions for the app to enable the app to be aware of your location, by using the transmitting signals on your phone. You should also allow push notifications, to enable the University to communicate with you if you raise an emergency alert.

Colleagues can now also download SafeZone to their University laptop or PC desktop.  To do this, please search 'Software Centre' in the start bar; then search 'SafeZone' on the applications page; then click on the install button.  If you are logging in using the desktop application, please note "(DESKTOP)" before your room number when checking in.

You can read more information about the SafeZone app online.