Sheffield University union furious after lecturer 'catches coronavirus from student in class'

Sheffield UCU, which represents staff at the University, said the affected staff member believes the transmission occurred during a seminar in the Hicks building.

The union represents about 2,000 staff members and has been raising concerns over face-to-face working since August. Last month, they wrote to Sheffield University Vice-Chancellor Koen Lamberts alongside other unions to “reiterate our united opposition to this irresponsible plan”.

A UCU spokesperson said they were “deeply sorry and angry” to find out a staff member has tested positive after being exposed to the virus while at work.

They added: "We’re hearing there’s a lot of anxiety [among members]. Some members were keen to get back in the classroom, alongside those who are cripplingly anxious about getting back.

“Our position is that face-to-face teaching shouldn’t be happening where it doesn’t need to happen.”

Following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, face-to-face teaching at the University will be largely suspended from Friday until Monday, October 19 – but the union says this ‘does not go far enough’.

Covid-19 cases at Sheffield University have been rising on a daily basis, a trend the Sheffield UCU spokesperson described as “hugely, hugely concerning.”

As of Wednesday, 7 October 619 students and five staff members had tested positive.

Across the city, there were 358 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 4 October. The average area in England had 62.

In another open letter to Koen Lamberts, Chris Millard, a history lecturer at the University, said the pursuit of face-to-face teaching ‘puts the cart before the horse’ and staff members employed on shorter-term contracts may be afraid to speak out against the plans.

The UCU spokesperson added: “Since Covid has kicked in staff across the higher education field have been under increasingly undurable strain.”

A Sheffield University spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear about any member of our university community becoming unwell and we wish them well in their recovery.

“The safety of our students and staff is our utmost priority and we have been working closely with local and national partners, as well as our own public health experts, to ensure we are taking appropriate precautions to keep our staff and students as safe as possible on campus. We also have processes and procedures in place for positive cases, including tracking and tracing to reduce onwards transmission."

They added: “In response to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the city and within our University community, we have temporarily suspended face-to-face teaching between Friday 9 October and Sunday 18 October, in order to manage the transition of additional precautionary measures in line with Department for Education guidelines.

“Students have told us about the benefits of on-campus teaching and we recognise the value of this on both learning and wellbeing. We will be working hard to resume these activities, whilst continuing to limit the number of people on campus and keeping the risk of infection to a minimum.”