THE government should stop the stream of students to campuses now rather than locking them down later, unions warned today amid rising Covid-19 outbreaks at universities. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested yesterday in an interview with Times Radio that students could face a ban on going home at Christmas if cases continue to rise. 

It follows another outbreak of Covid in Scotland where 124 students at the University of Glasgow tested positive for the virus, forcing 600 people into lockdown. 

But lecturers’ union UCU said that locking down students over the festive period was “not the solution,” and called on the government to halt the reopening of universities. 

General Secretary Jo Grady said: “Unless the government acts now, thousands more students will move onto campus this weekend. 

“It is completely irresponsible to let students go back to university when outbreaks have already started.

“Ministers need to tell universities to halt in-person teaching, stop more students moving onto campus and issue clear guidance to move the majority of work online, as in other workplaces.”

Outbreaks were also reported last week at the University of Abertay in Dundee and the University of Aberdeen, where 72 residents in Wavell House have been asked to self-isolate. 

The coronavirus clusters on campuses have prompted fears that infections could spread to the local communities. 

In a joint letter to higher education minister Michelle Donelan yesterday education unions also called on the government to put a working test-and-trace system in place as a matter of urgency to control infections on campuses.

Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “We are seeing significant outbreaks in university campuses across the country, so it’s essential that government takes the necessary steps to keep students, staff and the wider community safe.

“That means ensuring that all campuses are Covid-secure, with readily available access to testing for staff and students.”

The letter, signed by Unison, GMB, Unite, UCU and the EIS also called on the government to extend the job-retention scheme to safeguard thousands of support staff at universities who otherwise face redundancy. 

Unison senior education officer Ruth Levin said: “Thousands of university jobs hang in the balance, and sadly many support staff have already lost their jobs. More government help is a must.”