Students are being encouraged to get tested twice during the first week of December. If they receive two negative tests, they are advised to return home immediately. Should a student test positive, they will receive a confirmatory PCR and have to self-isolate for 10 days, still with enough time to return home for Christmas. 

Testing will help to break the chain of transmission among students, especially when they are infected but are not aware of it, and help to ensure the safety of their loved ones at home.

Anyone testing positive for the virus in England will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to help them track their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission. Close contacts of those testing positive will also hear from NHS Test and Trace, asking them to stay at home for 14 days to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the virus.  

​Health Minister Lord Bethell said:​ ​“We’ve already come so far since first setting up a national testing programme at an unprecedented pace to help counter Covid-19, but we continue to strive to go further, faster.

​“Innovations such as lateral flow technology hold the key to the next phase of our ambition to see mass, rapid testing available to people across the country. ​ 

​“I’m delighted that universities are working with us to use lateral flow technology, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour, in helping students return home for Christmas and to return to a normal way of life as soon as possible.”​ 

Read more about our Covid-19 testing centre and how to book your test here