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Dear Students, 

These remain difficult times for everyone and I hope you are navigating the current lockdown as best you can. With the festive break now within reach, I am writing with updates following government guidance about how those of you travelling to a different address can do so safely, undertaking Covid testing using Lateral Flow antigen tests, before your journey. Most of you should be travelling in the ‘student travel window’ of Thursday 3 – Wednesday 9 December, following adjustments to any on-site teaching plans shared by your course team (details of exemptions are below). 

From 30 November to 9 December and on 11 and 14 December, we will be running a test centre at St George’s for students and staff who are not displaying symptoms of Covid-19 (i.e. who are asymptomatic).  

We strongly encourage you to undertake testing (ideally two tests three days apart) before the break, especially if you are travelling from a term-time address to a different location. By getting tested, you will be keeping yourself and your families, friends and home communities as safe as possible. Anyone without symptoms, but who carries the virus, could unknowingly spread the virus to many others.  

For any student who has Covid-19 symptoms (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and/or a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste), the guidance remains that you should self-isolate immediately and book a test at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. If you or a member of your household have coronavirus symptoms, or a positive test result, it is crucial you notify the University. Advice on steps you should take is available in our Covid information hub. 

Who can be tested at the St George’s centre? 

Testing will be open to:

  • students registered with St George’s, except for those on clinical placements which end after 14 December, the last day we are permitted to offer this phase of testing (Please see further guidance below for students on clinical placements who, as key workers, should be guided by their provider on the regulations which apply to them and the testing available to them)
  • any staff who might wish to be tested, including Kingston staff based at St George’s in the Joint Faculty.  

While testing is primarily for students who are travelling to a different address for the break, it is open to commuter students too.  

Please aim to take two tests 

We encourage you to take two tests with a minimum three-day gap in-between. We are offering rapid "lateral flow” tests, which are designed to detect the level of virus in individuals who do not experience and show any symptoms. These tests do not need a laboratory for analysis so can be processed quickly. Lateral flow tests have slightly lower sensitivity than PCR tests, which are currently used more commonly in the NHS, but by taking two lateral flow tests three days apart the total sensitivity increases to almost the same. You will therefore minimise the risk of an asymptomatic case being missed through a false negative result.  

If it is not practically possible for you to take two tests, please take one on the date closest to your journey to the address where you will be based over the festive period. You should make your journey as soon as possible after receiving a negative test result within the following 24 hours. 

How to book a test 

You will need to book your tests by 8am on Friday 27 November. Please book both of your tests at the same time, scheduling them at least three days apart. 

Please see course specific guidance on when to book your tests, based on your education commitments. 

Book your test here 

For information about how your data will be used in our booking system, see the Covid-19 Asymptomatic Testing Privacy Notice [PDF] 

About the testing process 

We will be offering students lateral flow antigen tests which are a new kind of technology used to test a higher proportion of asymptomatic people (those who are infectious, but unaware).  

Lateral flow tests detect the presence or absence of coronavirus by applying a swab or saliva sample to the device’s absorbent pad. The sample runs along the surface of the pad, showing a visual positive or negative result dependent on the presence of the virus. The tests have been validated by Public Health England. They are safe and offer reliable results. 

Staff and students will receive guidance in how to take the test, supported by trained on-site staff. The test is self-administered and involves applying a swab to the throat and nose. The sample is processed on-site, and the results are usually shared by NHS Test and Trace within an hour.  

The test currently more commonly used in the NHS is the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. All positive lateral flow tests will require a confirmatory PCR test in accordance with public health guidance. 

For further information, listen to the recent Inside Science feature on the use of lateral flow tests available on BBC Sounds (first item). 

Where to go and what to bring 

Our test centre will be located in the Robert Lowe Sports Centre [see map]. 

Please wear a face covering, unless you are exempt from doing so, in which case you must wear a visor to the site and alert the site manager to your position when you arrive so that additional precautions can be taken.  

Please bring your mobile phone with you, which you will need to use for registering for your test. Please do not come to your test if you have symptoms or if you have had a positive PCR test in the past 10 days.  

Travelling for the festive break 

National lockdown measures are in place until Wednesday 2 December, restricting travel. The ‘student travel window’ follows during Thursday 3 – Wednesday 9 December and most of you should make the journey to the address where you will spend the break during this period.  

We have worked hard to reschedule on-site education sessions that had been planned after the 9 December to facilitate journeys during the ‘student travel window’ and you will have received details directly from your course teams.  

A very limited number of essential sessions need to take place beyond this period for some clinical students. They should travel as soon as possible after they have completed their education commitments. Postgraduate research students and students on clinical placements are also exempt from the ‘student travel window’. Please see further details below. 

Following your testing: 

If you receive two negative tests, you should make your journey immediately (within 24 hours of the second test). 

If you can only fit in one test, again, please make your journey within 24 hours if you receive a negative result. 

If you are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, but you receive two negative test results yourself and have no coronavirus symptoms, you can make your journey but must use private transport wherever possible. If you have no option but to use public transport, you must strictly observe social distancing measures, wearing a face covering and washing your hands regularly and thoroughly during the journey. You must continue self-isolation at your destination for a period of 14 days. 

While students are strongly encouraged to get tested to help protect others, if you have not accessed testing before making your journey, you are not required to self-isolate. You are asked to travel as safely as possible using the guidance at the link below.  

If you have coronavirus symptoms or have tested positive, you should not travel until you have been tested and/or advised to do so by NHS Test & Trace. 

For further information, see the Government guidance about student movement and plans for the end of term

When planning your transport, please see the Coronavirus: safer travel guidance for passengers.   

Is this compulsory? 

We hope you will take seriously the responsibilities we all hold for preventing transmission of coronavirus and get tested to help protect your family, friends and community. However, participation in testing is entirely voluntary, on an “opt in” basis, and individuals may withdraw from the testing activity at any point.  

What happens if a positive result is returned from my lateral flow test? 

You will be required to self-isolate in your current address for 10 days, undertake a PCR test and follow Government and University guidance. You must inform the University following the guidance in our Covid information hub and we will ensure you receive support. 

What happens if a negative result is returned from my lateral flow test? 

If it is your first test, please go ahead with your second test, unless it is impossible for you to fit that in. If your second test is negative, you should travel to your destination for the festive break within 24 hours. Please continue to follow guidance on restricting the spread of coronavirus. 

Students on clinical placements 

Students on clinical placements are considered essential workers and you will be guided by your placement host on the regulations which apply to you and how to access testing. You are expected to complete your placement and then travel to the address where you will spend the break. You are not required to make your journey during the ‘student travel window’ of 3-9 December.   

We are aware that currently Trusts and community placements are not providing asymptomatic testing for most healthcare staff or students, apart from some exceptional clinical services. We understand that some clinical placement students may therefore be interested in the asymptomatic testing offered by the University.    

Most clinical placements finish after 14 December, the final date when St George’s is permitted by the Care Quality Commission to run this phase of asymptomatic testing. As a result, most clinical placement students would not be able to have a test at the University, then make their journey for the break in the 24 hours required under this testing programme, without missing some of their placement. Completion of clinical placements is essential to progressing through your course.    

Testing will be available on 9, 11 and 14 December to any student who completes their clinical placement on or before 14 December and these slots should be booked now. Any students with a later finish date will be unable to have a test at the University.    

Postgraduate research students and students with essential teaching beyond the student travel window 

Postgraduate research students are exempt from the requirement to make their journey for the break in the ‘student travel window’ of 3-9 December. Some essential teaching activities also go beyond this period. Students affected should travel as soon as possible once they have completed their teaching or research commitments, but are strongly encouraged to undertake testing before they do so.    

Beyond the initial testing period at St George's of Monday 30 November to Wednesday 9 December, we will offer a service on Friday 11 and Monday 14 December to students with ongoing essential teaching, as well as postgraduate research students. Please book these tests now. Please be aware that St George's cannot offer tests beyond 14 December, the cut-off date for this phase of testing set by the Care Quality Commission.  

Staying in halls or at your London address 

For anyone staying in halls or in your London address during the festive period, we will be offering support to you and will be in touch with further details. We will continue to assist any student who is self-isolating over the break. 

Thank you for your ongoing resilience and for all that you are doing to support the response to the pandemic through your everyday choices and actions.  

For further information about our Covid response at St George’s, please visit our online Covid information hub.

Best wishes, 

Professor Jenny Higham 

Principal 

 

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