Covid-19 case reporting update

New guidance on managing Covid-19 outbreaks has been issued by the University.

From Monday 3 October, line managers and halls wardens will be responsible for reporting suspected outbreaks among staff or students in their areas. These should be reported using the University’s online form for reporting all health or safety incidents.

Individual cases will no longer have to be reported online, so if you test positive or suspect you have Covid-19 we would encourage you to instead report this to your line manager.

These changes bring the University’s management of Covid-19 in line with updated national guidance and with wider arrangements to respond to outbreaks of other infectious diseases. It ensures the University has a clear policy in place to respond to outbreaks, while recognising that vaccination programmes have substantially reduced the severity of infection and hospitalisation rates resulting from Covid-19.

The new guidelines will apply on all the University’s UK campuses, including Henley Business School, Thames Valley Science Park and RUSU.

A range of measures to prevent outbreaks of Covid-19 remain in place, including:

• Encouraging all students to register with the University Medical Group or local GP
• Encouraging all members of our community to get vaccinated
• Staying at home and avoiding contact with others following a positive test or displaying symptoms, listed on the NHS website.
• Regular hand washing
• Keeping windows open and colleagues having the ability to report poorly ventilated spaces to line managers
• Restricting lift capacity to one person, giving priority to those with greater need. This is an important measure to reduce exposure for vulnerable people who may have no option but to use lifts due to disability.

Any suspected outbreaks reported through the online incident reporting route will be investigated by the University’s Health & Safety Services team. A Major Incident Team will be invoked if necessary and decisions will be communicated with relevant teams.

The Covid-19 policy will continue to be regularly reviewed, in line with all University policies relating to infectious diseases.

The guidelines will also be amended as appropriate if updated advice is issued by UK Government or the UK Health & Security Agency.

Download the full updated policy here.