Any resident of Trinity accommodation with immunocompromised relatives will not be required to leave their accommodation, and the belongings of residents who have temporarily left College will not be thrown out, according to the head of Trinity’s Scholars.
An email circulated to all Scholars, signed by secretary Felix Frank and assistant secretary Ryan Alberto Ó Giobúin, said: “If you had temporarily left college, there is no longer any need to return to college to collect your belongings.”
“Belongings will not be thrown out.”
The email, seen by The University Times, also stated that “there are no confirmed cases among residents”.
Today’s news appears to contradict a directive sent by the College to all residents out last night.
Yesterday’s email – signed by Provost Patrick Prendergast, Head of Accommodation Neal Murphy, Registrar of Chambers Philip Coleman and Roja Fazaeli, the warden of Trinity Hall – stated that all residents must leave College by 8pm tonight, or if the resident is an international student by 5pm tomorrow.
Students living overseas, the email said, should aim to leave their Trinity accommodation by 5pm this Wednesday, March 18th.
Students can stay on campus if they face homelessness, have the virus or are self-isolating, have a family member with the virus, have immigration or visa restrictions, have extremely limited internet connectivity in their home, or are conducting research on campus for a PhD.
Those remaining on campus must notify College by March 19th, after which they will be locked out of their accommodation. “We’re taking these steps so that we have a clear picture of who remains on campus”, Prendergast, Coleman, Murphy and Fazaeli wrote.
Students on campus and in Halls will be compensated on a pro rata basis for their early exit from accommodation. College says it will “offer full support” to students living in Binary Hub and Kavanagh Court – privately owned luxury student accommodation complexes that have agreements with Trinity – if they pursue compensation.
The decision, Trinity says, “has been taken because large, highly concentrated numbers of students living on campus will increase the chance of rapid transmission of the coronavirus”.
In the email – which acknowledges that the situation “will be distressing” for those leaving campus tomorrow – Prendergast, Coleman, Murphy and Fazaeli added: “We are very sorry to have to take this action. We know it will be difficult for some of you but the situation is serious and it is vital to take drastic action now for your own safety and well-being and also to minimize the transmission rate of the virus as quickly as possible.”
