Following updates from the Department for Health and Social Care, Liverpool City Council and our Public Health partners, we have made some necessary changes to our on-campus COVID-19 testing provision.
Testing will still be available for all students and staff experiencing symptoms (PCR testing) as well as those without symptoms (lateral flow testing) who are testing regularly as part of our campus safety measures.
The updates relate to:
- The process you need to follow if you receive a positive lateral flow (quick results) test for those with no symptoms
- The frequency of testing for those working or studying on campus (or living in our halls of residence)
We recommend you also regularly check our Campus Safety webpages which will hold the latest information and advice.
Change to lateral flow positive result process
If you receive a positive result after taking a lateral flow test (a quick results test for those with no symptoms) you should self-isolate immediately for 10 days and follow these self-reporting steps. Once your result is passed onto the University Contact Tracing team, they will begin contact tracing and ask you to book a PCR test as soon as possible.
The Department for Health and Social Care has now advised that confirmatory PCR tests are no longer required for people who are positive with lateral flow tests (now established as a reliable test of infectiousness).
However, in line with the latest developments to the Liverpool City Region testing programme, we are asking all staff and students who receive a positive lateral flow test to continue to take a follow up PCR test to enable us to support identification of virus variants. If the PCR test is negative then the individual can stop self-isolating, however they may need to seek further advice from the University Contact Tracing team if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
Step by step process following a positive lateral flow (no symptoms) test
If you receive a positive lateral flow test result you will need to:
- Self-isolate immediately for 10 days following your test
- Self-report symptoms and test bookings as well as positive COVID-19 test results for any test using the University’s new Case Management System. The data will be accessed by the University’s Contact Tracing Team, who will then be in touch to follow track and trace protocol. For the majority of students (those not on a clinical course), reporting on this system will mean that you do not need to also contact your School or Department to advise them of your test results. However, any student studying on a clinical course will also need to report positive test results directly to your School. You can find contact details on the drop-down list on our campus safety webpages.
- Students also need to update the COVID student intranet pageto tell us that you are self-isolating, whether that is because you have symptoms, have a positive test result, or are a contact of somebody with COVID-19. By letting us know you are isolating, we are then able to reach out and offer you support, even if you are not on campus.
- Let anyone you have been in close contact with know that they will need to isolate for 10 days from the last date you were with each other
- If you live in University halls you should let your hall manager or hall reception know. If you are in private halls of residence, you must inform your halls’ nominated contact. If you are unsure who this is contact the hall reception.
- If you live in private rented accommodation you are not required to let your landlord know, but you will need to inform your housemates, and any other close contacts that they should start to self-isolate (whether or not they have symptoms). If you do not have contact details of your housemates your landlord will be able to pass on the information to all other residents.
- If you are employed outside of the University you should also let your employer know
Protecting your data
Self-isolation for 10-days following a positive lateral flow test is a legal requirement. As a result of this we have introduced an additional step at the University COVID testing centre to allow us to initiate our COVID Response Procedure and support the individual with contact tracing.
The University does not have access to any data captured as part of the test registration process so if you are attending a quick result lateral flow test (for those with no symptoms) at our University testing centre you will now be asked for your name and contact details when you arrive on site. This will allow our team to track the results and provide support if you test positive.
Personal information will be treated safely and only used if someone tests positive. If you do receive a positive test result, the information you provided will be given to our COVID Contact Tracing Team. Contact tracing is conducted over the telephone and any personal information collected on site is then destroyed at the end of each day.
Frequency of testing
Following the winter break we asked all members of our community who may be attending campus for work or study, as well as all those living in University Halls of Residence, to access a quick result test for those without symptoms every five days. The latest UK Government guidance on this issue recommends more frequent testing, so from today any student who is regularly on campus in Liverpool (i.e. every week) will need to access ‘no symptoms’ testing every three days. For students who attend campus on a more infrequent basis, they must ensure that they have a test before they visit, remembering that no activity should be started until a negative test result is obtained.
This is an important part of helping to keep our campus and our Halls of Residence safe and we ask that you please engage with this process and make sure you are taking your responsibility seriously.
COVID-19 symptoms
Anyone experiencing the main symptoms of COVID-19 must isolate immediately and access a PCR test as soon as possible. The main symptoms of coronavirus have not changed, but as a reminder they are:
- A high temperature. You might feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- A new, continuous cough. This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or four more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- Or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. This means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
Local public health officials are also encouraging residents to get tested if they are displaying a wider list of symptoms. Liverpool City Council published more information on the wider set of symptoms last week. It is hoped that by taking this additional precaution, it will help continue the success Liverpool have had in recent weeks in stopping the spread of the virus and reducing the infection rate.
Further advice and guidance
- Tests can be booked on our campus safety webpages.
- Advice and guidance can be obtained from the COVID Contact Tracing team by emailing covort@liverpool.ac.uk or telephoning the helpline on 0151 795 9500.
- If you need help or support whilst you are isolating please email Student Services on advice@liverpool.ac.uk.
- Self-isolation guidance is available.