Coronavirus: Hot tub party broken up and students fined

Police said seven students celebrating negative Covid-19 test results were fined in Harrington Drive, Lenton

A hot tub party was among a string of gatherings broken up by police over the weekend.

Police said officers were called to the party at a property in Retford, Nottinghamshire, in the early hours of Sunday.

The force said it also issued 10 fixed penalty notices over the weekend.

Among those were to seven students in Lenton - an area with a high student population - who said they were celebrating negative Covid-19 tests.

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A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said officers were using powers to disperse large gatherings as part of efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Det Supt Mike Allen said: "The vast majority of people, including students, have understood the very serious situation the city and county are currently in.

"However sadly there are still those people out there who think the rules simply don't apply to them. These reckless few risk spreading the virus.

"We discovered some even hosting parties for being out of isolation and others hosting a birthday party. It defies logic of any kind."

The University of Nottingham, which has its own testing programme, confirmed 1,510 students have tested positive for the virus

Both Nottingham Trent and the University of Nottingham have threatened to issue disciplinary action for breaches.

Nottingham has the country's highest infection rate for Covid-19 - its seven-day infection rate up to 8 October was 830 per 100,000 people, with 2,763 confirmed cases in the city for the same period - and the government is set to unveil new rules aimed at containing the spread of the disease later.

On Monday, the University of Nottingham - which is running its own asymptomatic testing programme - said 1,510 students and 20 members of staff have tested positive for the virus.

This includes 677 students in private accommodation and 523 in university halls.

In the week up to 8 October, Nottingham had 2,763 confirmed cases of Covid-19

As well as the hot tub party, police said it broke up a birthday party in West Bridgford and a student gathering in Radford, all of which saw guests "immediately dispersed when police arrived" and no fines issued.

Four people were also ordered off the local tram network by community protection officers for not wearing masks.

David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, thanked "the vast majority of people" for adhering to guidelines and praised police and community protection officers "for their efforts".

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