With more staff returning to work on campus, it is important that staff continue to use the staff coronavirus reporting form.

The University previously undertook localised track and trace activity but following the latest guidance from the Department for Education, all track and trace activity will now be conducted by the central NHS process. Therefore the staff reporting form has been simplified, and no longer asks for details about close contacts on campus.

Although track and trace activity will no longer be conducted at a local level there will still be detailed University oversight. The University's Single Point of Contact (SPOC) will regularly monitor the data on reported positive Covid-19 cases amongst the University community. The SPOC will be looking for any patterns or clusters of cases in both the staff and student populations and they will take action if there are any areas of concern. The team will also be regularly reviewing our case data with public health teams at the City Council. Therefore ongoing reporting is essential.

All departments will continue to have a COVID-19 track and trace lead. They receive the incoming reports for their department and will take any necessary follow up action, such as arranging additional cleaning.

What do I need to do?

You must telephone your line manager if you:

  • have a positive test for COVID-19
  • enter self-isolation (ie you are symptomatic or have been instructed to isolate by NHS Track and Trace)

This is particularly important if you have been on campus.

Action for managers

When a member of staff notifies you that they are self isolating, or that they have tested positive for COVID-19, you should complete the staff coronavirus reporting form.

If they are self isolating because they have symptoms, but have not yet had a test, encourage them to arrange a PCR test at the earliest opportunity. If the test result comes back positive, please report this by submitting a new reporting form.

Updated guidance is available on conducting this conversation.

The importance of regular testing

We encourage all colleagues to continue to test regularly using lateral flow tests. These can be done by using home test kits or in person at the campus testing facilities.

If you have not yet been regularly testing please start to make this part of your routine. Staff at the testing centre are available to help talk you through the process if you are not yet familiar with it.