Some Questions for the University of Oxford about their Covid-19 Advice

Written by University of Oxford DPhil Student, Tena Thau

Yesterday, Oxford sent out an email to students, informing us that we would be asked to sign this Covid-19 Student Responsibility Agreement, before the start of term in October. The email also linked to some further Covid-19 guidance. Here are some questions that I had, while reading through these materials.

1. Given that much, if not most, transmission is asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, what is the rationale for only testing those with symptoms, rather than frequently testing everyone (as some universities are doing, and as this recent BMJ editorial advocates)?
2. Ventilation is important – yet it was not mentioned in the student agreement. What steps is the university taking to increase ventilation in shared indoor spaces?
3. Given that nearly all ‘superspreader’ incidents have occurred indoors, why not emphasise the importance of moving social activities outdoors?
4. Given that the risk of transmission via contaminated surfaces is vanishingly low, why do the guidelines emphasise wiping down surfaces? (Promoting ineffective measures, besides not being helpful, can cause net harm, if they deflect our attention from those measures that are actually useful.)
5. The situation playing out now in the US should be warning sign for UK universities. Some universities in the US have over a thousand cases already – and classes there have only just begun. What is Oxford doing differently to prevent something like that from unfolding here?