Students living in accomodation are to be required to self-isolate if one of their flatmates develops symptoms of Covid-19.
Although students have not been allocated shared bedrooms this year in College accommodation, students living together in an apartment are recognised as a household.
Speaking to Trinity News, a spokesperson for College said that students sharing an apartment are “considered one group”, meaning if one student has symptoms of Covid-19 and is awaiting a test, then all the students in that apartment will have to restrict their movements.
As no student will be sharing a bedroom in College accommodation this year, it is to be possible for students awaiting a test to isolate themselves in their room.
Explaining the process, College stated that if this student’s test comes back as positive, they “may continue to remain in their own accommodation if they can self-isolate safely and independently”.
Any student who lives in Ireland outside of the academic year may also return home if they wish, “without using public transport”. Students can only return home if they have previously visited their home within the last two weeks and if they do not pose a risk to any vulnerable individual in their home.
College explained: “If a student is unable to self-isolate independently in their own accommodation then they must move to a designated isolation area and will be directed in doing so by the Accommodation Office.”
All the students who were sharing the apartment with the student who has contracted Covid-19 will be considered close contacts, meaning they must be tested for Covid-19.
They will be contacted by the HSE who will organise the tests following a positive test in accommodation.
At the moment, close contacts are tested on two occasions, seven days apart, and only tested for a second time if the first test is negative.
College said that “it is possible to share accommodation with someone who has Covid-19”. “This will require cooperation from all the students living in an apartment.”
According to the HSE, it is possible to live with others when you are self-isolating, but you must “keep away from other people in your home as much as you can” and “stay in a separate room with a window you can open”.
It is advised that if you are self-isolating and sharing accommodation, you should remain 2 meters away from roommates and do not share any items you’ve used with other people.
Speaking about how they will support students during this time, College said they are “supporting students by providing meals which the student will pay for” and “by providing accommodation for students who are unable to self-isolate in their own apartments”.
All individuals can limit the spread of the virus by restricting the number of people they come into close contact with, by cleaning all shared surfaces before and after they use them which applies to kitchens and bathrooms, by washing their hands frequently and using hand sanitiser when it is not possible to wash their hands, by practicing good cough etiquette and by wearing face coverings in communal areas,” College said.
