The number of Covid cases has risen sharply at some universities as about a million students begin to head home for the Christmas break, prompting fears that the mass migration could fuel the spread of the virus.
Students have been urged to take Covid tests before they leave their university to travel to see their families – the vast majority on public transport – and again before they return in the new year, as well as getting their booster vaccinations.
But with case numbers increasing rapidly on some campuses, including Omicron infections, there are reports that students have decided to leave early to limit the risk of having to isolate over Christmas away from home.
Loughborough University and Imperial College London have moved learning online for most students for the last few days of term after a significant uptick in cases. Elsewhere, universities have urged staff and students to either cancel or scale back planned Christmas celebrations to limit mixing.
About 30 universities finished at the end of last week, but for most term will end on Friday and universities are…
