Video: Ensuring we all play our part

Transcript

I wanted to take a moment with our JCR and MCR presidents to remind everyone what is expected of all of us and why.

Reopening for the start of term has taken a tremendous amount of effort and teamwork across the St Catharine’s community, often working closely the University and other Colleges. I cannot stress enough the commitment of our student representatives, staff and Fellows to providing the best possible environment for us all to live, work and learn.

We are now relying on the whole College community to respect this hard work and trust that everyone will behave in ways that help protect ourselves and each other.

Failing to act responsibly could have many serious consequences:

• Fundamentally, our actions can help or hinder the spread of infection – and none of us want to see significant increases in cases at St Catharine’s or among the wider Cambridge community. While COVID-19 is in most cases a mild condition for younger people, there is still a risk to different groups in our community – particularly those with an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases – and at-risk groups who live with our students, staff and Fellows.
• Irresponsible behaviour will also trigger internal disciplinary action, which extends from an informal warning to a hearing in front of the College’s Disciplinary Committee, who have the power to impose very significant sanctions. In fact, sanctions have already had to be imposed on our own students this term, after a small number of isolated, but entirely avoidable, incidents. I sincerely hope these will not be repeated.
• Behaviour by any member of our community anywhere in Cambridge is also subject to national laws. If you break the COVID-19 laws that exist, you could face stiff penalties such as fines.
• In the event of large numbers of infections among students, staff and Fellows, the consequences would include, I’m sad to say, disruption to life at St Catharine’s and the services that we currently enjoy. Ultimately, the College might need to look at shutting down facilities, which we are keen to avoid with your help.
• Larger numbers of cases could also overwhelm the local community and NHS, forcing healthcare professionals and government officials to make tough decisions affecting everyone in Cambridge this winter.

We can try our very best to avoid these consequences by following the guidance published by the Government, the University of Cambridge and the College. This must be a priority for us all this term.

There will be opportunities to connect with others and have fun this term – as long as we all take care to follow the guidance, which includes a few essential steps.

First off, we all need to be ready to report symptoms and get tested. It’s important to be open and honest about this: it’s not your fault, and it’s not the end of the world if you have to self-isolate for a bit – but it will make a big difference in the long run by helping to contain the number of infections. As soon as you think you have symptoms, self-isolate and let your household know they must self-isolate while you get a test, and remember to let the College know (covid19@caths.cam.ac.uk) so they can support you.

Help support efforts to monitor the virus by participating in the asymptomatic testing programme for Cambridge students and by installing the NHS Test & Trace app, which is designed to support contact tracing.

We all need to keep a safe distance. This means trying to stay at least 2 metres or 6 and a half feet away from anyone not in our household.

It is important to wash our hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitiser, including the sanitiser stations around College, if soap and water are not available.

It’s also mandatory unless exempt to wear a face covering. The main exceptions being if you are clearly 2 meters apart or only in the company of others from your own household.

Look out for information points or visit the College website for guidance on how to use different spaces in College. Rules may vary as you move about the city so be prepared to follow directions in each building that you enter.

Any visitors to St Catharine’s must be in line with the latest visitor policy and we need to make sure visitors follow the College’s rules – remember you are primarily responsible for your visitors’ conduct when they come to see you.

We know that the start of term can be exciting, sometimes it can be overwhelming, but now it’s up to all of us to do our best to protect ourselves and those around us.

The JCR and the MCR have been working really closely with College to ensure arrangements are as easy and practical as possible.

The care we take in the days and weeks ahead is going to make all the difference to what life in College will look like - so stay well, work hard, play hard as much as you can, and help get us all safely to the end of term.

Thank you for your support. Visit www.caths.cam.ac.uk/covid19