We understand that coronavirus (covid-19) may be creating concern and that you may have questions, many of which we do not yet have answers to. This message is specifically for students at higher risk from the virus due to their medical history or personal circumstances.
As of today, Thursday 12 March, we do not have a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus on campus. In most circumstances, if a case were to be confirmed, we would work with Public Health England to identify those who could have come into direct contact (2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with the person who is confirmed as having coronavirus, who may then be required to self-isolate. In the case of students who are at high risk from the virus due to their medical history or personal circumstances, we would want to take a different approach and we would like to be able to contact you so that we can discuss with you how we might best support you, if we have a confirmed case.
The NHS has defined a group who are most at risk from flu and we have used this information to inform our guidance for students and staff in relation to coronavirus.
Among the group the NHS identify as being most at risk in relation to flu are those;
- Who are over 65
- Are pregnant
- Who receive a carer’s allowance, or are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill.
- Have certain medical conditions
Among the medical conditions identified are;
- chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma (that requires an inhaled or tablet steroid treatment, or has led to hospital admission in the past), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
- chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
- chronic kidney disease
- chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
- chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy
- diabetes
- problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed
- a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
- being seriously overweight (a BMI of 40 or above)[1].
If you meet any of the above criteria, and you would like us to contact you if we have a confirmed case of coronavirus on campus, please email supportingyouroyalholloway.ac.uk using the subject header ‘Higher Risk Coronavirus’ and in the email provide:
- Your full name
- Student number
- Confirmation that you meet the criteria set out above. Please note, you should not disclose the details of your condition
This information will be kept only for as long as required to meet the response to this outbreak of coronavirus.
In addition to the criteria set out above, if a close member of you family is undergoing palliative care and so their immune system is compromised, even if you are not the primary carer, please let us know so that we can support you too if there is a confirmed case of coronavirus on campus.
Please note, the following are not being considered as being at a higher risk at this time:
- living with children (unless the child / children meet the criteria above).
- living with the elderly (unless the individual meets the criteria above).
Please continue to monitor the student intranet for updates.
[1] Public Health England define those at the greatest risk from influenza in the Green Book, Chapter 19, Table 19.4. A summary provided by the NHS can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/who-should-have-flu-vaccine/#flu-vaccine-for-people-with-medical-conditions