A Health Sciences student has tested positive for Covid-19, the second case of coronavirus within Trinity.
According to an email circulated to all staff and students, the Health Sciences student “is receiving the appropriate care”. The statement added: “We ask that you respect the privacy of these patients during what is a difficult time. The student was based outside the main campus and is now being treated in hospital.”
“The university will keep other possible measures under review,” College said, adding: “Our goal should be to decrease the number of instances that lead to students, staff, and visitors coming together in large groups in close proximity with each other.”
Medicine students have been temporarily withdrawn from placement due to the spread of the coronavirus, starting Thursday. Students were informed by their lecturers via email this evening and told that the decision will be reviewed in the coming days. College said that students will be withdrawn “until we can perform a fuller evaluation of risk for each placement location in association with our clinical colleagues”..
“We will work to notify the individual placement sites as soon as we can, but it will take some time in the morning to make contact with all the placement sites,” said one lecturer to his Occupational Therapy students in an email.
Yesterday Trinity took the decision to move all lectures online, while some schools within College have taken the decision to cancel all in-person classes.
For all departments where tutorials seminars and labs are continuing as usual, Trinity recommends maintaining “social distancing protocols” of several feet in order to minimise the risk of close contact and infection.
The first case of coronavirus within Trinity was confirmed last Thursday. The fourth floor and lifts of the Trinity Biomedical Science Institute (TBSI) were closed as a precaution. Hand sanitisers have been provided across campus and in off-campus locations in a bid to prevent a possible spread of infection. College has placed posters across campus with information on the virus, and has established a dedicated web page to provide updates and advice.
Trinity set up an expert working group to monitor the ongoing situation with the coronavirus in January.
