Will European and American colleges close campuses again because of "Delta"?

Source: Global Times

With the launch of mass vaccinations in some countries, many Chinese students were expecting to return to normal campus life in the upcoming new semester in September. However, the ravages of the Delta mutation strain have brought new uncertainties to global epidemic prevention, and the future plans of international students have been wavering.

The US epidemic prevention measures have been tightened again

In April, the U.S. Department of State issued a notice that from August 1, students with student visas to the United States could travel directly from China, which would have made it possible for international students to return to school this fall. However, the recent outbreak of the Delta strain has made the epidemic worse, and the number of cases in many parts of the United States has rebounded, which has also complicated the attitude of international students towards the start of the fall semester.

As early as the summer vacation, the number of vaccinations increased, and major colleges and universities in the United States have begun to gradually open their campuses, allowing faculty and staff to return to offices, libraries, laboratories, etc., and reopening some canteens, gymnasiums and other facilities, and the undergraduate dormitories that were once closed have also re-admitted students. Many international students told the Global Times reporter that with the spread of "Delta", many states in the United States have resumed the implementation of strict mask orders, "hard-to-open campus venues and facilities will be closed again, and everyone's expectations for the resumption of campus life in the new semester may be empty and happy."

Because of distance teaching, a large number of students in the United States have returned to China or moved to other cities. Wang, who studied at a college in California, told reporters that the consumption in the city where her school was located was too high, so after the school changed to online classes, she moved to a city with lower rents, and was not sure whether she should move back to the school before the start of school. "Now all the non-local students are waiting for the final notice of the school, but there is no news for a long time, and we don't know if we should return the lease and move." International students at home are even more anxious, unsure whether they should go to great lengths to return to the United States. ”

Europe is as open as possible to face-to-face teaching

Although many European countries have successively relaxed their epidemic prevention policies to varying degrees this summer, the local epidemic is far from over. For the opening of colleges and universities in September, the actual situation varies greatly from place to place.

The British "Independent" said that the British government will conduct trials in 20 primary schools, using air fresheners and ultraviolet light devices to deal with diseases such as new coronavirus, influenza and hay fever, and once the trial is successful, the British Ministry of Education will use it fully in England. British universities have recently expressed their intention to prepare for the start of the school year in September. Wierger, vice-chancellor for teaching at the University of Cambridge, said the school would provide face-to-face instruction as much as possible if it met public health requirements. Imperial College said students must return to campus for the fall semester unless the courses they take are taught entirely online.

Stern, head of the International Affairs Department of the British University Alliance, which represents more than 100 universities in the UK, told the Global Times reporter that for Chinese students, the most important thing at present is to actively maintain contact with the school before enrollment and understand the details of the epidemic prevention policy and post-school arrangements of British universities. Take the University of the Arts London (UAL), which will implement a mixed teaching model that combines online and offline from September. However, according to the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration Service, students with student visas are required to go to the school for blended learning in the autumn semester, which means that Chinese students are not eligible for the epidemic absence waiver and must be in school themselves. UAL said it is actively working with other schools to give feedback to the UK government to allow international students to apply for online classes at home in the first semester.

A similar situation can be seen in other European countries. French Education Minister Blanguet said in a recent interview with the media that French universities will open as scheduled from September 1 and will not change due to the epidemic. The French Embassy in China recently announced that it has begun to accept Chinese students studying in France. The French Higher Education Agency recently announced the health and epidemic prevention requirements and three sets of plans for the opening of the autumn semester, which will be divided into three ways: 100% offline teaching, 100% online teaching and mixed two. Some schools said that Chinese and Indian students can choose to study at the school's Singapore campus if they are worried about the epidemic in Europe.

Austrian Education Minister Fasman recently said that the local university will also start as scheduled in the fall semester. Universities other than normal universities have autonomy in organizing teaching, and most universities have accumulated sufficient experience in the past semester to be able to respond quickly to different situations. In addition, Austrian universities will also adjust their teaching models at any time according to the "signal light" epidemic early warning system like primary and secondary schools.

Pay attention after vaccination

Fortunately, the Global Times reporter observed that the Chinese student population did not suffer from the phenomenon of new crown pneumonia on a large scale. Some students said that Asian students are generally more cautious, while young people have better physical fitness, and many international students have been vaccinated as quickly as possible with the help of the school.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 680 colleges and universities in the United States now require returning students to provide proof of vaccination. The vast majority of vaccines accepted by U.S. universities include vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and sinopharm and Kexing vaccines have been recognized by WHO, so students who receive related vaccines in China can return to school with peace of mind. For students who have not completed the approved vaccination for various reasons, they can contact the relevant departments of the school for help. Most U.S. colleges and universities offer free vaccinations before they start school. The enthusiasm of Chinese students to get vaccinated is generally relatively high, so people are more worried about whether the vaccine that has been vaccinated really has a defensive effect on the Delta strain than "need to submit a vaccine certificate".

The Global Times reporter learned that from the current point of view, the United Kingdom is largely no longer considering the implementation of strict lockdown measures, but hopes that more young people will be vaccinated and the social epidemic prevention capacity will be improved. According to the Oxford University research team's "See the World with Data" website, as of the latest data on the 13th, the Uk has injected about 87.6 million doses of vaccine, and about 40.37 million people have completed two doses of vaccination, and the proportion of completed two injections has reached 60.6%. But high vaccination rates do not mean that the epidemic does not have to worry. The Guardian quoted data from the COVID-19 Surveillance Research System (zoe) as showing that the number of daily infections in the UK has recently begun to rise again. British government Education Minister Williamson recently said that the summer epidemic is mainly caused by infections among young people aged 12-24 years old to a certain extent, and vaccination of adolescents will effectively cut off the chain of high incidence of infection.