Health, safety and travel

We expect that further social distancing measures will be enacted by the UK Government, so the University is urgently planning to prepare for this. We will be making the transition so that only “essential-services” will operate on campus from Tuesday 24th March.

Essential services include campus-based research related to Covid-19 as well as services which support NHS clinical activities, our student accommodation, data centres and animal welfare. We will update you as soon as we can with information on further building closures, with clear protocols about access for essential staff. 

The Pharmacy and the University Health Centre are essential public health services and will remain open.  

The Pharmacy and University Health Centre are essential public health services and remain open. Both services can be accessed via 6 Bristo Square, in the Health Centre building.

The Pharmacy is also offering a delivery service to support social and physical distancing measures. For more information, please call 0131 650 2525 or email Pharmacy@ed.ac.uk.

There is the unfortunate possibility that current events might cause an increase in incidents of racial harassment, aggression or abuse which some students and staff might face either on or off campus. This is never acceptable. If you face any negative or abusive comments or behaviour from anyone, you should tell someone and seek support from your Student Support team, personal tutor or supervisor, from the Students’ Association Advice Place, or from the Human Resources team. Any conversations will be handled with due care and confidentiality, and our staff will work with you to find the appropriate means of safety and redress.

Students who experience a crisis outside normal working hours can contact the University for support through the University Security 24/7 contact number 0131 650 2257.

Students in accommodation can contact Residence Life on 0131 651 2004 or accom.reslife@ed.ac.uk.

Out-of-hours student support

Students’ Association Advice Place

Human Resources (staff)

We appreciate that staff and students are concerned for themselves and others, in particular if they are aware of individuals who have recently returned from affected areas and may be unwell.

All staff and students will have received various communications from the University regarding measures to be taken if they have returned from a risk area and / or may be unwell. If you think others have not seen these communications, please direct them to this webpage and encourage them to follow the guidance as appropriate.

However, we are unable to breach the confidentiality of any staff or student member who has advised us of their recent travel, or who on the advice of the NHS may be self-isolating, or who may be getting tested for Covid-19.

It is possible that some criminals will use the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak as an opportunity to carry out fraudulent activity. 

This could take many forms, but the most likely will be the use of phishing emails. We therefore want to remind all students and staff to be particularly careful of any emails that mention the following:

• 'check remote connectivity’
• ‘maintain remote access’
• ‘help your organisation/the University check remote access’
• ‘latest updates here’ or similar messages

Whilst there might be an increase in remote working during this period, the University would not send you an email asking you to ‘click on a link to check remote connectivity’. 

If you do receive any emails asking you to do this, please do not click on any links but follow existing reporting processes and report it to the IS Helpline.

Following the recent government and public health guidance surrounding the measures being put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 we will suspend user activity at all Sport & Exercise facilities from close of business on Wednesday 18th March until further notice.

Please see Sport & Exercise FAQs for more information.

All current events and conferences have been cancelled or postponed in line with Government advice.

If your event is taking place beyond the current period outlined in the Government advice, you should also consider whether you be able to make the necessary arrangements in preparation for the event taking place. You may also need to consider staffing requirements as a result of the Government’s working from home advice.

If you are required to self-isolate, because you have received medical advice from your GP or the NHS 111 service or because you or anyone in your household is showing the specified symptoms below, you must stay at home for 7 or 14 calendar days, see below for clarification.

If you are in a University Residence and are required to self-isolate, you can request limited assistance from the University. Please contact your Residence Manager if you are in this situation.

If you or someone in your household has symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) – i.e. a new, continuous cough and/or high temperature - you must self-isolate, i.e. stay at home, for:

• 7 days from when your symptoms started if you live alone, or
• 7 days if you are the first in your household to develop symptoms, or
• 14 days if you live with others and they have symptoms.

This action will help protect others in your community whilst you are infectious. Further explanation of the self-isolation period can be found on the NHS Scotland website.

Further information on when and how to self-isolate is available on the Public Health England website.

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) are recent onset of:

• new continuous cough and/or
• high temperature

You do not need to call NHS 111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days then use the NHS Scotland online Coronavirus service. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

You must not go to the GP (doctors) surgery or hospital without calling ahead first.

Further information can be found on the NHS Scotland website.

The UK Government has advised that the following groups should take additional measures to keep themselves safe. These groups include those who are:

• aged 70 or older - regardless of their medical condition
• under 70 with an underlying health condition (i.e. anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds) or complex health condition.
• are pregnant.

If you are over 70, have an underlying health condition or are pregnant, you should follow the UK Government's social distancing protocols and remain at home. 

The most effective way to prevent the spread of respiratory infections is by practising good respiratory hygiene, such as:

• avoiding direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth
• maintaining good hand hygiene; washing hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser, after coughing or sneezing, after going to the toilet, and prior to eating and drinking
• when coughing or sneezing cover your nose and mouth with disposable tissues and disposing of them in the nearest waste bin after use

Staff and students should register with a Doctor within the UK. 

Students are advised to register with a local Doctor / General Practitioner (GP). Do not wait until you are ill or require treatment to register.  Registering with a GP is easy and free.  See here for more information.

The Government has launched a hand washing campaign ​and the University have disseminated 'how to' posters on best hand washing technique.

Hand washing

You can reduce your risk of acquiring and spreading respiratory infections by practising good hygiene:

• avoiding direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
  • When you arrive at work or home
  • after coughing or sneezing,
  • after going to the toilet,
  • and prior to eating and drinking
• If you are unable to use soap and water, hand santiser could be used but you must ensure it is 60% alcohol to be effective and you must wash your hands as soon as you are able to. 

Although you may now be working from home, please ensure you continue to frequently wash your hands, in particular, if you have been outside and before eating.

Hand washing posters

Hand washing posters have been displayed at all sinks around the estates. If you require to, you can download and print off the poster here:

• Hand washing poster

Hand sanitisers

Hand sanitisers will not be provided to buildings and we would not expect local areas to provide these unless there is a need, for example, no hand washing facilities. If supplied, they must be at least 60% alcohol to be effective. Washing hands with soap and water is the most effective means of preventing a spread and using hand sanitisers can give a false sense of cleanliness, in particular if their use is not followed up by proper hand washing.

Hand driers

We are aware of a confusion regarding hand driers and whether paper towels are 'safer' to use.  As long as hands are washed correctly, as above, then either paper towels or hand driers can be used.

The advice from Health Protection Scotland continues to be that there is no need for people to wear a face mask in the local community. To protect yourself from infection, good hand hygiene is important and avoiding large crowds if you have any concern.​​​​​

There are a number of reasons why the wearing of masks and gloves in non-healthcare settings is not advised. These include the following:

• Mask and gloves must be changed frequently and disposed of appropriately - they will become soiled very quickly with, for example, sweat build up
• It is known that people tend to touch their face more frequently when wearing masks as they can become uncomfortable or not be sitting correctly on the face. One of the main focus of the current situation is not to touch your face to avoid infection
• The virus may still be on gloves, same as it would be on hands, but people may wash their gloved hands less as they think they are protected. The virus does not go through skin, but in through the mouth and eyes.

Current knowledge on how Covid-19 is spread has been published by Health Protection Scotland and Public Health England in various online guidance documents which are publicity available, such as the ‘COVID-19 - Guidance for Non-Healthcare Settings’. 

There are two routes by which it is spread; droplets via coughs and sneezes which then reach others standing within 2 meters of them and/or droplets on hard surfaces, such as tables and door handles, from, for example, the hands of someone who has coughed or sneezed and not washed their hands prior to touching this surface. This is why hand and respiratory hygiene, as well as social distancing, is vitally important for limiting the spread of covid-19.

There is currently no evidence to suggest these droplets can become aerosolised and move over long distances in the air, such as within air handling units – droplets which are sneezed or coughed out travel around 2 meters because of the force behind the sneeze or cough.

The University is in constant contact with Health Protection Scotland and we will update any guidance given based on information discussed with the local NHS Health Protection Team. 

All cafes across the University are now closed. Catered Halls in Pollock Halls remain open with enhanced social distancing measures in place with ongoing operational review based on Government advice.

Accommodation, Catering and Events delivered catering service to University buildings will close to bookings on Monday 23 March.

In a situation where a person has suffered illness or accident, the first aiders who arrive on scene are taught to consider not only the condition of the casualty, but also, first and foremost, to ensure their own safety. This includes any hygiene and infection risk from the casualty. First aiders are trained therefore to consider any risk from the casualty from poisons or infectious agents, and to make a decision on the basis of the evidence available at the time. The decision in these circumstances may be to administer CPR by carrying out chest compressions, but not delivering rescue breaths. There is some evidence that adequate ventilation may be achieved if the airway is kept open during such chest compressions.

We have had several enquiries from University of Edinburgh trained first aiders regarding the situation during the current coronavirus outbreak. The advice is to follow the procedure outlined above, that is:

• Assess the situation and check for your own safety.
• Approach the casualty if safe to do so, then check the casualty for response, airway and breathing, as normal.
• If the casualty is not breathing, then make a decision on whether or not you should carry out normal CPR using the 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths cycle. If you decide it is not safe to carry out rescue breaths, then set the casualty’s head and neck as best you can to keep the airway open, and then begin chest compressions only. Keep doing this for as long as you can or until help arrives, checking occasionally that the airway is still open.

More detailed information from the UK Government, and the Resuscitation Council UK is available at the following links:

• Government guidance for first responders
• Resuscitation Council UK - first aid and community settings

The UK Government has withdrawn (on 13th March 2020) the advice which was previously available for those travellers entering the UK from a list of specified countries (which were split into category 1 and 2).

The advice has been replaced with advice for people with symptoms of Covid-19 to self-isolate for 7 days, see the FAQs above about self-isolation.

The University has now banned all non-essential international travel with immediate effect from 13 March 2020 for a period of 2 months.

All requests to travel internationally for essential work or study must be accompanied by both a justification and a careful risk assessment, and authorised by your relevant Head of School or Department. This is with immediate effect.

“Essential Travel” does not include field trips and international placements. If you are due to undertake a field trip or international placement before 31 May 2020, we advise that you do not proceed with the visit.

International travel, field trips and placements that are planned to start within the next 3-4 months should be kept under close review.

Please note that this does not mean we are seeking to recall students who are currently overseas on placements. We will continue to risk assess and make decisions on recall on a case by case basis.

Alternative learning arrangements

The University made the decision to recall all staff and students from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao and currently no travel is permitted to these areas on University business. This was communicated to all Heads of School by Gavin Douglas on 30 January 2020.  The communication from Gavin Douglas on 25 February 2020 confirmed that University travel to South Korea is also now prohibited. Please contact your Head of School if you have any questions.

In response to coronavirus measures the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently advises against all, and all but essential travel to some countries, cities and regions. You must check the travel advice to the country you are travelling to.

If you decide to proceed to countries, cities or regions against FCO advice, be aware of the travel restrictions being imposed that may impede your return to the UK. 

If you are a student currently on a study or work placement abroad, please visit the current students' FAQs for detailed information and guidance.

If you are a member of staff, please contact your line manager.

The University has now banned all non-essential international travel with immediate effect from 13 March 2020 for a period of 2 months.

Even for essential travel, we would encourage all areas to consider contingency arrangements should the advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and University change. The Covid-19 outbreak is a rapidly developing situation and it is difficult to predict how things may change in the UK or internationally over the coming weeks and months and it is difficult to anticipate what advice will be issued in the future, and the impact this will have on travellers. 

Consideration should be given to whether the travel is essential, whether it can be accomplished in another manner (for example Skype or in a different location) or postponed till a date in the future or indefinitely. What are the arrangements should individuals not be allowed to return from an area.  This should be taken into consideration when undertaking a Business Travel Risk Assessment.

We encourage all staff and students to undertake a travel risk assessment prior to any travel on University business. The Business Travel website contains a vast array of guidance and advice in relation to travel.

We remind staff that the Occupational Health Service provide travel health clinics, please see the Travel Health pages for more information. However, there is currently no advice regarding any vaccinations or other precautions, bar the advice highlighted by Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland.

University related travel for business or study should be booked using the University’s travel provider, Key Travel (secured).

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, Key Travel has seen a sharp increase in the number of calls and emails they are receiving.  All enquiries are being dealt with as quickly as possible, however to assist in dealing with enquiries, Key Travel has requested that travellers follow the advice below:

For existing bookings

• If you booked via email or phone - contact Key Travel via email for cancellations.
• If you booked online and are trying to cancel, please make your cancellation online.

Please do not send another email or call about a request already made as it adds to the large number of enquiries.

For all new travel enquiries:

• Please book online using their online tool KT Online (secured).
• For travel within the next week – please call Key Travel directly
• For non-urgent travel – please book online or send Key Travel an email

The University Insurance Office has published a number of travel insurance questions and answers. Please go their wiki page for the most up to date information.

• GOV.UK information on Covid-19: what you need to do
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice
• Scottish Government Student Information website
• NHS website: Covid-19
• World Health Organisation (WHO): Covid-19
• City of Edinburgh Council: Covid-19 updates
• Health Protection Scotland Covid-19 
• Universities UK Covid-19
• TravelHealthPro website