Covid: Not all university students in Wales will get tests
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Swansea University said it was looking to prioritise for students who live with someone vulnerable
Not all students in Wales will be expected to take Covid tests before the Christmas holidays, the education minister has said.
On Wednesday the Welsh Government said students would be offered fast turnaround tests a day before leaving.
But Swansea University said it would not be possible to examine all students 24 hours before they went home.
Tests would be there for those wanting "extra reassurance", Kirsty Williams told BBC Radio Wales.
"We are asking people to think about their personal circumstances and take some personal responsibility," she said.
"Testing will be available for those students who perhaps, maybe, are going home to particularly vulnerable family members."
Swansea University's chief operating officer Andrew Rhodes earlier said it would not be logistically possible to test all 21,500 students within the time frame.
All students in Wales have been asked to travel home by 9 December at the latest.
Plans are being put in place in Scotland to test up to 80,000 students twice - if they return negative results on both occasions, they will then be allowed to travel home.
And, looking at university trials in England - where 45 staff have been testing 1,500 students a day, Mr Rhodes said such a scale would not be possible in Wales.
"If we were testing 21,500 people twice, at that rate of 1,500 tests a day, it would take a month - we've actually got about three days," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers.
Students will need to leave by 9 December if they want to be home by Christmas
"It's not possible to test everyone in the time we've got now, from the time we've been asked to the time everybody will be set up to do this we could not test all students - and certainly not all students 24 hours before they left - nobody will really be able to do that.
"So what we're focused on now is prioritising the tests. So we would look to prioritise for people who are living with someone who may be vulnerable."
What do other universities say?
The University of South Wales has more than 20,000 students taught at its campuses across Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd.
University of South Wales was formed in 2013 following the merger of Glamorgan and Newport universities
Its deputy vice-chancellor Dr Ben Calvert said: "One thing that is clear is many of our students are not necessarily students who are living with us. It isn't a situation that 20,000 are returning to their parents. We have many students who commute to us from different parts of Wales."
But he agreed with Mr Rhodes: "I don't think we will get everybody tested. The logistics of that will be very difficult."
He said testing would focus on "priority groups - particularly students with their own vulnerabilities or who were returning home to parents with vulnerabilities".
He also said the university was looking at an earlier end to on-campus teaching.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David said it had a programme for students and staff to report cases, and currently 36 students are self-isolating.
It plans to offer asymptomatic testing from the beginning of December.
Cardiff University said it was waiting for more details but its aim is to offer asymptomatic testing to all students who want it - and some of its teaching provision will need to continue into December.
Cardiff Metropolitan University said mass testing posed "significant challenges" for universities.
At Wrexham Glyndwr University students would be offered tests, especially if they had plans to go home and were vulnerable - or had vulnerable contacts.
Bangor University said it was "finalising" its plans for Christmas.
And Aberystwyth University said it is in talks with the government about delivering the testing scheme to students before they leave.
What has the Welsh Government said?
The Welsh Government has said students have the option to take an asymptomatic test but "must make responsible choices", external and it was encouraging them to do so before returning to their families.
Kirsty Williams said there had been a "steady decline" in Covid cases at university
Ms Williams said travelling home later than 9 December would be allowed if students need to self-isolate following a positive test.
It follows a similar announcement in England, where students are being given a week to travel home after lockdown there ends.
On Wednesday, she warned no-one should travel if they have symptoms, a positive test or if they have been asked to self-isolate by a contact tracer.
The timing means students can complete quarantine and be home by Christmas Eve, the minister said, but she asked students to "stay put" and not return home until the first week of December.
Tomos Evans, president of Cardiff University Student's Union, was asked by Claire Summers if he thought some students would choose not take a test over fears a positive result would mean they had to isolate.
He said: "I can certainly imagine part of the population who would rather sort of not know.
"I think that's probably something in all of us - ignorance is bliss, in a sense - but certainly from a student's perspective I'd encourage everyone to get tested."
The Welsh Government said new Covid-19 lateral flow tests would be provided to students who are travelling home.
Universities have seen a number of outbreaks since students returned in the autumn, though Ms Williams said there had been a "steady decline" in recent days.
Opposition parties broadly welcomed the announcement, although the Welsh Conservatives said testing should be for "university life, not just for Christmas".
- Published11 November 2020
- Published2 December 2020
