College affirms that new lockdown will not change teaching
Imperial College's senior staff says that teaching will not be affected by the second lockdown
Senior College staff have promised that despite the change in governmental Covid-19 restrictions, teaching will not change and muti-mode teaching will continue.
The College has said that work completed over the summer included precautions against further tightening of coronavirus public health measures and so say that timetabled teaching will not be affected as students will continue with planned, multi-mode teaching that incorporates both face to face and online teaching.
However, the new restrictions have affected students in other ways. From the 5th November, students will not be allowed to return home until the estimated date of 2nd December, though the government has admitted that this date is liable to change in response to infection rates in the country.
In addition to this, students will no longer be allowed to meet up in doors with any inside with anyone not in their household and will only be allowed to see one person not in their household outside.
Students also face more restrictions on returning home for Christmas holidays with ministers proposing solutions including two weeks of quarrantine before students may return to their famalies. Student social activities and society events have also seen a retightening of resttrictions. From 5th November, the Union has closed the 568 and Union bar as well as all Move Imperial facilities in accordance with government rules as well as informing students that they must move all society events online. The College has stressed that it fully supports the government’s position. However, Imperial libraries will remain open, albeit with social distancing requirements.
Provost Ian Walmsley highlighted the uncertainty of the situation saying “We will not always get our approach right the first time, but we learn from feedback every day, and adapt to make sure our community’s needs are met. As we prepare for a second national lockdown, and continue our discussions with government regarding plans for the winter break, it is important we take a flexible approach.”
Students who are struggling either emotionally, physically or finacially are advised to talk to the Sudent Hub which will assiste students in accessing the resources and support that they need. The College has also introduced new measures to proactively identify aerosol Covid-19 particles in order to minimise transmission.
More information about measures the College is taking to reduce Covid-19 transmission as well as infection rates can be found on the Imperial College Covid-19 pages
