Almost 400 students and staff isolating after an outbreak at a university

During the first two weeks of term has forced 388 students and staff to self-isolate after more than 160 students tested positive for coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the Queen’s University in Belfast said that coronavirus spread through “social or accommodation settings as oppose to elsewhere on the campus.”

The university has around 19,000 undergraduates and almost 5,000 postgraduates which is also one of the largest employers in Belfast which contributes over £700m into the economy.

The university have put safety measures in place and many students are now doing their degree courses online.

Around 56 universities across the UK now has coronavirus cases affecting thousands of staff and students.

Four areas across England are facing localised lockdown “within days” as the missing test and trace data had hidden thousands of infections.

Due to a technical glitch in the test and trace data the cities with universities which include Oxford, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds are seeing soaring infection rates.

The Telegraph has reported that residents in Nottingham have been told to prepare for a tight lockdown measures.

Scientific experts warned last week, that universities are “human petri dishes” for spreading coronavirus as students have travelled from all parts of the UK and are sharing accommodation.

Professor Christina Pagel of University College London (UCL) said the latest figures shows that infections across the UK are “slowing but still growing.”

However, she warned, “New restrictions have bought us some time but now we need to start doing some fixing.”

She added, that the nation was “not in a good place” and “on a knife edge.”