> # ⚠️ AI-generated demonstration, not a verified historical record
>
> **Every part of this document was produced by an AI system working from the preserved newsletters and the published case data. No human has checked it.**
>
> Some things here are checked mechanically and some are not, and the difference matters more than a general disclaimer would suggest. Every quotation is verified as an exact substring of the document it cites, so the words inside blockquotes really do appear in the source. **Everything around them is unverified**: whether the right events were selected, whether each one has been read correctly, whether the categories and dates are right, whether the commentary is sound, and whether anything important is missing. The lag figures depend on pairings an AI system judged to be causal, and those judgements have not been reviewed.
>
> Treat this as a **demonstration of what the underlying dataset makes possible**, not as a chronology of UCL's pandemic response to rely on, quote or cite. Anyone wanting to use a fact from here should follow its link to the preserved newsletter and read it in context first.

# UCL and the pandemic: a chronology

347 dated events between 9 March 2020 and 11 May 2022. 283 of them are UCL's own decisions, taken from 133 of the 168 COVID-19 update newsletters it sent its staff and students; 26 are the national and sector measures those decisions respond to, taken from 8 retrieved primary documents; and 38 are readings from the case series UCL published between October 2020 and May 2022.

Every event on the first two tracks carries a verbatim quotation from the document that announced it, and every one of those quotations is checked mechanically against the preserved source before this document is built. Nothing here rests on a recollection of what a source said.

## How to read this

Each entry states what UCL decided, when, and in what words. The date is the date of the event rather than the date of the newsletter, so a decision taken on a Friday and reported on the following Monday is filed under the Friday; the metadata line says which kind of date it is. **Announced** is the day the decision was made public, **took effect** the day it began to bind, **reported** the day the newsletter carried it without either being separable, and **observed** a measurement rather than a decision.

The blockquote under each entry is the newsletter's own wording, not a summary of it. The paragraph above it is a plain-language reading of what was decided; the paragraph below it, where there is one, is context or a caveat that the newsletter itself does not supply. Where the two are in tension the quotation is the record and the paragraphs are commentary.

Where a UCL action responds to a national or sector one, the two are shown side by side at the head of the phase with the **lag in days** between them. A negative lag is UCL moving before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL moving after it. 18 of these pairings are measured. A further 2 are declared but not measured, because the national measure has not yet been established from a primary source; they are listed at the end rather than given a number that would look like evidence.

## Contents

1. [First wave and the first lockdown](#1-first-wave-and-the-first-lockdown) · 9 March 2020 to 1 July 2020 · 142 events
2. [Summer easing](#2-summer-easing) · 4 July 2020 to 26 August 2020 · 41 events
3. [Autumn resurgence and tiering](#3-autumn-resurgence-and-tiering) · 1 September 2020 to 14 December 2020 · 55 events
4. [Winter, Alpha and the second closure](#4-winter-alpha-and-the-second-closure) · 19 December 2020 to 8 February 2021 · 13 events
5. [The roadmap out of lockdown](#5-the-roadmap-out-of-lockdown) · 22 February 2021 to 1 June 2021 · 14 events
6. [Delta and the summer reopening](#6-delta-and-the-summer-reopening) · 14 June 2021 to 1 November 2021 · 19 events
7. [Omicron](#7-omicron) · 30 November 2021 to 18 February 2022 · 18 events
8. [Living with COVID](#8-living-with-covid) · 21 February 2022 to 11 May 2022 · 7 events

Tracks in this build: 283 UCL, 24 national, 2 sector, 38 data.

## 1. First wave and the first lockdown

*Phase window 1 January 2020 to 3 July 2020. 142 events and 0 case-data readings, running 9 March 2020 to 1 July 2020.*

UCL's response opens on 9 March 2020 with a mitigation group meeting daily across fifteen strands of activity and a campus still open on Public Health England's advice, and arrives fourteen days later at a national lockdown with the buildings shut and the institution working from home. This is the densest concentration of events in the whole record, carried by a newsletter that appeared almost every weekday. Two of them fix the shape of the lag analysis: face-to-face teaching ceased on 13 March, ten days before the national lockdown, and staff were barred from campus on 24 March, one day after it.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Prime Minister announces the closure of schools for most pupils | 18 March 2020 | Day Nursery to stay open only for national-interest and essential staff | 19 March 2020 | +1 day |
| The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown | 23 March 2020 | Face-to-face teaching ceases; teaching moves online from 16 March | 13 March 2020 | -10 days |
| The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown | 23 March 2020 | Students strongly advised to return home | 17 March 2020 | -6 days |
| The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown | 23 March 2020 | Most UCL buildings and all libraries close | 20 March 2020 | -3 days |
| The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown | 23 March 2020 | Staff must not attend campus unless authorised key workers | 24 March 2020 | +1 day |
| The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown | 23 March 2020 | The Student Centre closes and Bidborough House is restricted | 24 March 2020 | +1 day |
| The Prime Minister announces a conditional plan for lifting the lockdown | 10 May 2020 | Gold team has post-lockdown plans ready ahead of the government announcement | 7 May 2020 | -3 days |
| The Prime Minister announces a conditional plan for lifting the lockdown | 10 May 2020 | Staff asked not to return to campus despite the easing of restrictions | 11 May 2020 | +1 day |
| Schools in England begin a phased reopening | 1 June 2020 | Campus reopening pilots aligned with the dates schools were due to return | 26 May 2020 | -6 days |
| Face coverings become mandatory on public transport in England | 15 June 2020 | Face coverings required on campus where distancing is not possible | 22 May 2020 | -24 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

### March 2020

**A mitigation working group meets daily across fifteen strands of activity**  
*9 March 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 1](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/000_9_March__Issue_1_.html)

Deans, heads of department, senior management and Students' Union UCL, meeting daily, with Education Committee weekly.

> The working group of Deans, Heads of Department, members of the senior management team and Students’ Union UCL has been established to mitigate the short and longer term risks to the university across 15 strands of activity.

The fifteen strands are the earliest statement of what UCL thought was at risk. Issue 2 records the group meeting daily and Education Committee weekly.

**Campus remains open on Public Health England advice**  
*9 March 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 1](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/000_9_March__Issue_1_.html)

UCL's opening position: follow PHE, NHS and FCO advice rather than act independently.

> On the advice of PHE, the university remains open and we recommend that students, staff and visitors attend their scheduled activities as normal.

The baseline against which every later closure is measured. Four days later face-to-face teaching ceased.

**UCL begins a daily coronavirus update for staff**  
*9 March 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 1](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/000_9_March__Issue_1_.html)

The first of what became 165 numbered issues, running to 4 May 2022. The stated reason is that the situation was changing faster than the FAQ page could carry.

> we have decided to issue a daily update for the time being

The newsletter series begins seven months before the case statistics, which start 2020-10-09. The timeline's first act has no data track.

**Students who choose not to attend teaching will not be penalised**  
*10 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 2](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/001_10_March__Issue_2_.html)

Teaching continued in person, but attendance stopped being compulsory. The first crack in normal operation.

> UCL will not penalise any students who choose not to attend teaching events

**UCL advises against all international UCL trips**  
*10 March 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 2](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/001_10_March__Issue_2_.html)

Applied in both directions and to contractors and visitors as well as staff and students.

> UCL is advising against all international UCL trips for staff, undergraduate students, contractors and visitors, in-bound and out-bound

**International travel on UCL business halted until 1 May**  
*11 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 3](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/002_11_March__Issue_3_.html)

Advice of the previous day hardened into an instruction, with delegations cancelled and incoming visitors postponed.

> As of today, staff and students should not travel internationally on UCL business until 1 May 2020

Same day the WHO declared a pandemic. Whether UCL was responding to that is not stated in the newsletter and should not be asserted.

**First confirmed coronavirus case in the UCL community**  
*12 March 2020 · epidemiology · observed* · [issue 5](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/005_13_March__Issue_5_.html)

A student, reported to staff on 12 March and referred back to in issue 5 the following day.

> I wrote to you yesterday to let you know that one of our students has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19).

Filed on 12 March, the date of the event, though the source is the newsletter of 13 March. Seven months before the case statistics begin, so this case appears in no dataset.

**Study Abroad and affiliate students formally recalled**  
*12 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 4](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/003_12_March__Issue_4_.html)

Students already overseas were asked to return to the UK or their home country; those about to depart were told not to go.

> the university is formally recalling students who are taking part in Study Abroad, Double or Dual degree, or international Affiliate programmes

**UCL-managed halls to stay open all year even if UCL closes**  
*12 March 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 4](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/003_12_March__Issue_4_.html)

An early and load-bearing commitment: accommodation was decoupled from campus operation from the outset.

> all UCL-managed halls will remain open as usual throughout the year, even if UCL is closed

Held to. Eight days later students were urged to leave, but the halls stayed open for those with nowhere to go.

**Walk-in service at the partner GP surgery suspended**  
*12 March 2020 · wellbeing · took effect* · [issue 4](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/003_12_March__Issue_4_.html)

Ridgmount Practice moved to telephone triage on PHE advice.

> the walk-in service at Ridgmount Practice (UCL's partner GP surgery) is suspended until further notice

**All term 3 teaching to be delivered online via Moodle**  
*13 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html)

Decided in March for a term beginning in April, so UCL had committed to a remote summer term before the first lockdown began.

> All teaching in term 3 will be delivered online via Moodle as far as possible.

**Alternative assessment replaces exams for taught students**  
*13 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html)

Open-book assessment and coursework, so that students could complete the year away from campus.

> Alternative forms of assessment will be put in place for all other taught students, such as open book assessments and further coursework, to enable students to complete assessments away from the university.

**Clinical academics released to support the NHS**  
*13 March 2020 · civic · announced* · [004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html)

A standing release rather than a case-by-case one, and the first of UCL's civic contributions in the record.

> Not only have we agreed to release all our clinical academics from their UCL responsibilities if they wish to support the NHS service during the coronavirus outbreak

Category civic, so that the civic contributions can be filtered out of the lag analysis. See TIMELINE-PLAN.md open question 3.

**Face-to-face teaching ceases; teaching moves online from 16 March**  
*13 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html) · lag **-10 days**

Approved by Academic Committee on 13 March and announced the same day in both the Provost's View and issue 5.

> Face-to-face teaching will cease with effect from today, 13 March, with as much teaching as possible moving online from Monday 16 March until the end of term 2.

Ten days before the national lockdown of 23 March 2020, and the clearest case in the record of UCL acting ahead of national policy. The lag is negative. Also carried verbatim in issue 5 the same day.

**Formal assessment for first-year undergraduates to be reduced**  
*13 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/004_Provost_s_View__13_March__UCL_s_response_to_the_coronavirus_outbreak.html)

Framed as reducing the burden on staff rather than on students.

> We will seek to significantly reduce the amount of further formal assessment for first-year undergraduates this year.

Hardened a week later into outright cancellation and a pass/fail capstone.

**Second confirmed case at UCL, a contractor's employee**  
*13 March 2020 · epidemiology · observed* · [issue 5](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/005_13_March__Issue_5_.html)

Reported the day after the first student case.

> we have been notified today of a further case

UCL was naming individual cases at this stage. By October 2020 it was publishing aggregate counts, which is the series the archive preserves.

**All staff able to work remotely told to do so from 17 March**  
*16 March 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 6](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/006_16_March__Issue_6_.html)

Campus stayed open for those who could not work from home.

> Although campus remains open, all staff who are able to work remotely should do so from tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March.

Announced 16 March, effective 17 March. The one-day gap is why date_kind exists.

**External events suspended and the theatre, galleries and museums closed**  
*16 March 2020 · civic · took effect* · [issue 6](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/006_16_March__Issue_6_.html)

Covered offer-holder events, the Bloomsbury Theatre, all UCL galleries and museums, and staff recruitment that could not be held remotely.

> As of today, Monday 16 March, all external events are suspended until 1 May.

The 1 May horizon recurs across March 2020 decisions and is consistently too optimistic.

**Staff over 70 or with health conditions must work from home**  
*16 March 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 6](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/006_16_March__Issue_6_.html)

An instruction rather than advice, extended to those living with or caring for people at higher risk.

> All staff aged over 70 and those with pre-existing health conditions must work from home.

Predates the national shielding programme, which opened to letters from 21 March 2020. Needs checking against the primary record in stage 2 before the comparison is made in the rendering.

**Coronavirus sickness absence exempted from absence triggers and paid in full**  
*17 March 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html)

Regardless of length of service or sick pay status.

> sickness absence for coronavirus will not count towards the number of days’ absence which would trigger a formal process for managing absence under our usual policy

**Remote working extended to research, facilities and services**  
*17 March 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html)

The Provost's own decision, taken in response to the government's recommendation of the previous evening.

> In light of the government’s recommendation, I have taken the decision to extend remote working to all of our research as well as facilities and services.

An explicit statement of national policy being the cause, which is rarer in the record than one might expect and is what makes this row usable for lag analysis.

**Students strongly advised to return home**  
*17 March 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html) · lag **-6 days**

With accommodation offered to any student unable to travel.

> We now strongly advise all students to return home as soon as they can, as we are aware that travel will become more restrictive in the coming days and weeks.

Six days before the national lockdown, and anticipating the travel restrictions rather than following them.

**Summer placements, summer schools and pre-sessional teaching cancelled**  
*17 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html)

> all summer placements, summer schools and pre-sessional teaching have now been cancelled

**UCL to stay on a remote working footing until 15 April**  
*17 March 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html)

Explicitly framed as not a closure, with teaching, assessment and research continuing remotely.

> The university will remain on a remote working footing until 15 April 2020, after the Easter closure.

The stated end date passed without campus reopening. The horizon UCL set in March was wrong by more than a year for most activity.

**The Prime Minister announces the closure of schools for most pupils**  
*18 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [source](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-coronavirus-timeline/)

Schools closed at the end of Friday 20 March and did not reopen on Monday 23 March, which is why the newsletters and this source date the same measure differently.

> announcing closure of schools for most pupils from 23 March

UCL restricted its Day Nursery to national-interest and essential staff the next day, a lag of one. The UCL note described this as closure "by 20 March" and the Commons Library timeline as closure "from 23 March"; both describe the same break, from opposite ends of the weekend.

**All library loans renewed to 5 June and recalls suspended**  
*18 March 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 8](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/008_18_March__Issue_8_.html)

> We arranged yesterday to renew all books on loan until 5 June and all recalls have been suspended.

**Mitigation group restructured into subgroups under the Provost**  
*18 March 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 8](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/008_18_March__Issue_8_.html)

With trade union and Students' Union representation, and epidemiological advice from Professor Andrew Hayward.

> The Coronavirus Mitigation Group is assuming a new structure to allow us to continue our meetings effectively and make timely decisions while staff are working remotely.

Effective 20 March per issue 9. The decision-making structure itself changed to survive remote working.

**Day Nursery to stay open only for national-interest and essential staff**  
*19 March 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 9](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/009_19_March__Issue_9_.html) · lag **+1 day**

Narrowed from the previous week's position that it remained open to all staff and students.

> The UCL Day Nursery will stay open as long as possible for the children of staff undertaking research in the immediate national interest or whose work onsite is essential to the continued operation of the university.

Follows the government's announcement of 18 March that schools and nurseries would close by 20 March. A one-day lag.

**Staff with caring responsibilities to keep normal pay without taking leave**  
*19 March 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 9](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/009_19_March__Issue_9_.html)

> Please be assured that we wish to support you and will understand that you may have to change work routines, take holiday at short notice and perhaps not work your normal number of hours.

Restated more firmly on 23 March: caring for dependents became an authorised absence.

**First-year undergraduate assessments cancelled and replaced by a capstone**  
*20 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 11](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/011_23_March__Issue_11_.html)

A single pass/fail piece of reflective work with a late June deadline, required to progress to year two.

> On Friday 20 March, we contacted all undergraduate first year students to tell them their assessments have been cancelled.

Filed on 20 March, the date of the action; the source is issue 11 of 23 March, which reports it retrospectively. Students had petitioned for deferral instead and UCL declined.

**Most UCL buildings and all libraries close**  
*20 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html) · lag **-3 days**

The Student Centre, accommodation services, some residences and buildings supporting essential research stayed open.

> To facilitate the latter, the Student Centre, UCL Accommodation services, some student residences and buildings linked to essential research will remain open. All other UCL buildings and libraries will be closed.

Three days before the national lockdown. The Student Centre closed on 24 March, the day after it.

**Only research in the immediate national interest may continue on site**  
*20 March 2020 · research · took effect* · [issue 7](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/007_17_March__Issue_7_.html)

Announced 17 March with a deadline of 5.30pm on Friday 20 March.

> From the end of Friday, the only research that will take place in our buildings will be in the immediate national interest, for example work on coronavirus.

Filed on the effective date, 20 March; announced 17 March. Faculties coordinated the shutdown of experiments in the intervening three days.

**Students may self-certify extenuating circumstances for the rest of the year**  
*20 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 10](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/010_20_March__Issue_10_.html)

> UCL has agreed that students can self-certify if they have Extenuating Circumstances for the remainder of the 2019/20 academic year.

**Students urged to vacate halls; no Term 3 accommodation fees**  
*20 March 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 10](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/010_20_March__Issue_10_.html)

Halls stayed open for students with nowhere else to go, consistent with the commitment given on 12 March.

> we have urged students who have access to an alternative safe and secure source of accommodation to vacate UCL halls of residences

The fee waiver applied to students who had already checked out as well as those planning to.

**UCL PCR machines made available to the NHS for testing**  
*20 March 2020 · civic · announced* · [issue 10](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/010_20_March__Issue_10_.html)

Alongside medical students volunteering and clinical academics released to the NHS.

> We are also making UCL’s Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines available to the NHS to expand the capacity for coronavirus testing.

**The Prime Minister announces the first national lockdown**  
*23 March 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Announced on the evening of 23 March; the measures became law three days later.

> PM announces the first lockdown in the UK, ordering people to “stay at home”

The counterpart for five UCL rows, and the anchor of the lag analysis in both directions. UCL had already stopped face-to-face teaching ten days earlier and barred staff from campus the day after this.

**All staff must work from home; campus only for key workers**  
*23 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 11](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/011_23_March__Issue_11_.html)

Campus access restricted to key workers and Dean-authorised national-interest research.

> All staff must work from home wherever possible. This is to limit the spread of infection to you and to others.

Published the same day as the national lockdown announcement, but the substance had been in force since 20 March. The national announcement came in the evening; issue 12 the next day is the response to it.

**Contractor staff get sick pay from the first day of absence**  
*23 March 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 10](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/010_20_March__Issue_10_.html)

Axis, Sodexo and Aramark staff brought into line with directly employed staff. Agreed with UNISON for July and brought forward.

> staff employed by UCL’s suppliers Axis, Sodexo and Aramark will be able to access sick pay from the first day of an absence, in line with staff employed directly by the university

Announced 20 March, effective 23 March. UCL contractors also honoured all contracted hours whether staff worked or not.

**Day Nursery fees refunded and places held during closure**  
*23 March 2020 · wellbeing · took effect* · [issue 20](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/020_3_April__Issue_20_.html)

> fees paid in advance for the period from 23 March 2020 will be refunded. Further fees will not be collected during this period, but all places will be held until the nursery is able to open again.

Filed on 23 March, the date the refund period begins; announced in issue 20 of 3 April.

**UCL joins the national coronavirus genome sequencing consortium**  
*23 March 2020 · research · reported* · [issue 11](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/011_23_March__Issue_11_.html)

Professor Judith Breuer of the UCL Pathogen Genomics Unit named among the scientists mapping the spread of the virus.

> Professor Judith Breuer, Director of UCL Pathogen Genomics Unit (UCL-PGU), has been announced as one of the leading UK scientists to be part of a major new genome sequencing consortium which will map the spread of coronavirus.

The consortium is COG-UK, though the newsletter does not name it. Do not add the name to the ledger without a primary source.

**Staff must not attend campus unless authorised key workers**  
*24 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 12](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/012_24_March__Issue_12_.html) · lag **+1 day**

UCL's direct response to the stay-at-home order announced the previous evening, with authorisation letters and ID required.

> Following yesterday’s announcement by the UK Government requiring everyone to stay at home, you must not now physically come into work unless you are one of our authorised key workers and/or you are undertaking research in the immediate national interest.

One day after the national announcement of 23 March 2020. The clearest positive lag in the record and the counterpart to the negative lag of 13 March.

**The Student Centre closes and Bidborough House is restricted**  
*24 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 12](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/012_24_March__Issue_12_.html) · lag **+1 day**

The last general-access buildings shut, four days after the main closure.

> The Student Centre is now closed. Bidborough House also has very limited access and only for key workers and those undertaking research in the national interest.

On 23 March the Student Centre was still open for staff who could not work at home. The national order closed it.

**REF 2021 data submission postponed by the funding bodies**  
*25 March 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 13](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/013_25_March__Issue_13_.html)

> The funding bodies have agreed to postpone the Research Excellence Framework 2021 data submission until further notice.

A sector-level decision reported by UCL. The sector track should carry the funding bodies' own announcement once retrieved in stage 2; this row records UCL relaying it.

**The first lockdown measures come into force**  
*26 March 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Three days after the announcement.

> Lockdown measures legally come into force

The gap between announcement and legal force is why the ledger separates announced from effective dates.

**Remote, Not Distant at UCL launched to support remote working**  
*26 March 2020 · wellbeing · reported* · [issue 14](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/014_26_March__Issue_14_.html)

An HR website covering workspace setup, staying connected, managing teams remotely and mental health. It recurs in the newsletters for the next two years.

> today colleagues in Human Resources have launched Remote, Not Distant at UCL , a new website to help you and those around you adapt to remote working

The start date of a recurring thread, which the plan's inclusion test admits even though the later repetitions do not earn rows.

**Students in shared-bathroom halls moved to en-suite rooms on PHE advice**  
*26 March 2020 · accommodation · took effect* · [issue 14](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/014_26_March__Issue_14_.html)

So that a student who fell ill could self-isolate without exposing others. No extra fees, and UCL arranged the moves.

> On the advice of Public Health England, we are relocating some students who are staying with us in UCL halls and are currently living in accommodation with shared bathrooms to halls with en-suite facilities.

An infection-control measure inside UCL's own estate, distinct from the national restrictions, and among the earliest.

**Students told alternative assessments will be confirmed by 6 April**  
*27 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 16](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/016_30_March__Issue_16_.html)

With an assurance that no assessment would fall earlier than previously advertised.

> We have told students that they will receive more information about their assessments by 6 April 2020.

Filed on 27 March, the date students were contacted; reported in issue 16 of 30 March.

**UCL Together launched to redeploy staff to teams needing support**  
*27 March 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 15](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/015_27_March__Issue_15_.html)

An HR initiative matching volunteers to teams under pressure, and to the NHS and emergency services outside UCL. Individual registration opened 30 March.

> colleagues in Human Resources have developed UCL Together, a new initiative to connect teams in need of more support, with offers of help from other areas of the university

**UCL laboratories donate nitrile gloves to UCLH**  
*27 March 2020 · civic · observed* · [issue 15](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/015_27_March__Issue_15_.html)

Collected at the North Lodge on Gower Street for delivery to the hospital.

> UCL staff working in our laboratories are donating supplies of nitrile gloves to UCLH, which is in urgent need of Personal Protective Equipment for NHS workers treating coronavirus patients.

**All 2020 graduation ceremonies cancelled**  
*30 March 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 16](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/016_30_March__Issue_16_.html)

June, July and September 2020 ceremonies, with an alternative celebration promised for the following year.

> All graduation ceremonies this year have been cancelled. This covers ceremonies in June, July and September 2020.

**UCL-Ventura breathing aid approved for NHS use in ten days**  
*30 March 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 16](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/016_30_March__Issue_16_.html)

Developed by UCL engineers with Mercedes Formula One and UCLH clinicians. One hundred devices sent to UCLH for trials.

> UCL engineers have worked with Mercedes Formula One and clinicians at UCLH to produce a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients stay out of intensive care. The device was developed and approved for use in the NHS in just ten days

The single most visible UCL civic contribution of the pandemic. Category civic so it can be filtered out of the lag analysis.

### April 2020

**Government orders up to 10,000 UCL-Ventura breathing aids**  
*1 April 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 18](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/018_1_April__Issue_18_.html)

Two days after regulatory approval, with mass production targeted for the following week.

> The Government has now ordered up to 10,000 of the devices, known as UCL-Ventura, which gained regulatory approval for use in the NHS in just ten days.

**Over 300 final-year medical students fast-tracked into the NHS**  
*2 April 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 19](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/019_2_April__Issue_19_.html)

Part of the government's response; around 200 were already volunteering.

> More than 300 of UCL’s final year medical students are being fast-tracked through graduation this week, ready to be made frontline NHS doctors, as part of the Government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

**Pay deductions for March strike action cancelled**  
*2 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 19](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/019_2_April__Issue_19_.html)

Framed as recognition of the effort staff were making to move teaching and assessment online.

> We have agreed to cancel the payroll deductions for all strike action taken by staff in March, in recognition of the incredible contribution that our people are making in these very challenging circumstances.

The UCU strike ran into March 2020 and was called off as the pandemic took hold, noted in issue 10.

**Buildings to stay closed after Easter, with a review on 1 May**  
*3 April 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 20](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/020_3_April__Issue_20_.html)

The first of many review dates that passed without reopening.

> In line with Government advice, UCL buildings will remain closed after the Easter break and you should continue to work remotely until further notice, unless you are one of our key workers. We will review this decision on 1 May

Explicitly attributed to government advice, so usable for lag analysis.

**Final-year PGR writing-up extended and hardship fund raised to £3,000**  
*3 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 20](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/020_3_April__Issue_20_.html)

With UCL lobbying UKRI, Wellcome and government through the Russell Group for sector-wide support.

> We’ve agreed that the writing-up period for all PGR students in their final year will be extended, and we’ve also agreed to ensure that the hardship fund will support those students in need for the duration of the crisis, with an increase in the amount claimable to £3,000.

**Disturbance allowance introduced for on-site key workers**  
*6 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 21](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/021_6_April__Issue_21_.html)

£350, £175 or £75 a month by days on site, extended to clinical staff seconded to the NHS, temporary staff and outsourced workers.

> our onsite key workers will receive a disturbance allowance in addition to their usual pay

One of the few decisions in the record that treats the people who could not work from home as a distinct group.

**Term 4 accommodation fees waived as well as Term 3**  
*7 April 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 22](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/022_7_April__Issue_22_.html)

> We will not be charging accommodation fees for students for this Term 4 period who will no longer be staying with us, as we have done for the Term 3 period.

**UCL adopts a no-detriment principle for summer assessments**  
*7 April 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 22](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/022_7_April__Issue_22_.html)

Exceptional amendments to Academic Regulations, guaranteeing classifications at least in line with work to date.

> We have written to all students to let them know that UCL has adopted a “no detriment” principle, which recognises students’ academic performance so far and ensures that academic outcomes won’t be negatively impacted by the alternative assessments due to take place this summer.

**UCL-Ventura designs released worldwide free of charge**  
*7 April 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 22](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/022_7_April__Issue_22_.html)

Published so manufacturers anywhere could produce the device.

> All the details required to make the UCL-Ventura device have now been made available online and at no cost so it can be produced by manufacturers around the world.

By the following day 233 download requests had come from 25 countries.

**Annual leave carry-over raised from five days to seven**  
*8 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 23](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/023_8_April__Issue_23_.html)

A one-off change for the year, with no limit for key workers who had worked throughout.

> UCL has increased the number of days of annual leave that can be carried forward from this leave period to the next, from five to seven.

**Cyber-attacks on universities reported up 37% since the outbreak**  
*8 April 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 23](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/023_8_April__Issue_23_.html)

UCL identified its high-profile pandemic work as raising its own exposure.

> there has been a significant increase in cyber-attacks on universities, with some reports showing an increase of 37% above previous levels

UCL is relaying an external claim without attributing it. Do not repeat the 37% figure as established. Checked twice and still unattributable: the newsletter names no source, and the archive's inventory of every link in that issue shows the only security link goes to UCL's own Stay Secure pages. There is no trail to follow, which is itself the finding. This is the one claim of the three stage 1 flagged that could not be verified.

**Travel restrictions extended to 1 August after FCO advice**  
*15 April 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 24](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/024_15_April__Issue_24_.html)

Following the FCO advising against all but essential international travel indefinitely. UCL stopped accepting expense claims for travel booked from that day.

> In light of this advice, UCL is extending its travel restrictions as of today. Staff and students should not travel internationally on UCL business until 1 August 2020 .

A direct extension of the 11 March restriction, whose original horizon of 1 May had become untenable. Names the FCO advice as the cause.

**Copyright restrictions relaxed so teaching material could be digitised**  
*16 April 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 25](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/025_16_April__Issue_25_.html)

> Some copyright restrictions have been temporarily relaxed to allow more educational material to be digitised and made available online, to support taught courses during the pandemic.

A sector-level change UCL is relaying, not a UCL decision. The publishers' and Jisc side belongs on the sector track if it is retrieved in stage 2.

**Assessment programme confirmed: 3,333 assessments across 2,367 modules adjusted**  
*17 April 2020 · assessment · reported* · [issue 26](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/026_17_April__Issue_26_.html)

Equating to 130,000 individual student assessments, 31% of the total. Of 2,000 invigilated exams, 1,061 became coursework, 667 became 24-hour timed exams, 237 were excluded and 40 deferred.

> In total, 3,333 assessments across 2,367 modules have been adjusted, equating to 130,000 individual student assessments – or 31% of the total.

The clearest quantification in the whole record of what moving a university online actually cost in work.

**Gold, Silver and Bronze crisis structure endorsed by UCL Council**  
*17 April 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 26](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/026_17_April__Issue_26_.html)

Led by the Provost and covering business continuity, education, research and external engagement.

> A new Gold / Silver / Bronze structure, led directly by me and endorsed by UCL Council, our governing body, has been in place for several weeks and is functioning well.

The emergency-services command model, adopted by a university. Supersedes the mitigation-group structure of 18 March.

**Coronavirus: The Whole Story podcast launched**  
*20 April 2020 · research · reported* · [issue 27](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/027_20_April__Issue_27_.html)

A weekly podcast presented by Vivienne Parry, running through the pandemic and referenced in newsletters for the next two years.

> Coronavirus: The Whole Story is UCL’s new weekly podcast that explores the pandemic from the perspective of researchers across UCL.

First appearance of a recurring thread, so it earns a row; the later weekly mentions do not.

**Grand Challenges initiative on recovery from Covid-19 opened**  
*20 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 27](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/027_20_April__Issue_27_.html)

Expressions of interest to 4 May 2020, aimed at researchers unable to continue their usual work.

> UCL Grand Challenges invites you to engage with our new initiative to address the urgent issues posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

**PhD students given automatic writing-up extensions and stipend underwriting**  
*20 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 27](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/027_20_April__Issue_27_.html)

Financial Assistance Fund raised to £3,000, a new Emergency Assistance Grant of up to £500, and final-year funded students underwritten at the minimum UKRI rate for up to three months.

> We are also providing all PhD students with an automatic writing-up (CRS) extension to cover the closure period.

UCL acting ahead of the funders while lobbying them, which the Provost states explicitly: this is not a problem UCL can solve on its own.

**Learning Opportunities Fund reopened for students affected by strike action**  
*21 April 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 28](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/028_21_April__Issue_28_.html)

Grants of up to £500 for students whose learning was disrupted by the industrial action of 24 February to 20 March 2020.

> The Learning Opportunities Fund has reopened for applications from students whose learning was affected by the strike action that took place between 24 February and 20 March 2020.

A pre-pandemic disruption being settled during the pandemic. The strike ended four days before the national lockdown.

**Biosafety guidance approved for work with coronavirus samples**  
*23 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 30](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/030_23_April__Issue_30_.html)

Covering research using samples from confirmed or suspected patients and work with the virus directly.

> The UCL Genetic Modification & Biosafety Committee has approved new guidance for those planning to work with samples from confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients, or those planning to work with the virus directly.

**UCL Together has supplied 497 days of redeployed support in four weeks**  
*23 April 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 30](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/030_23_April__Issue_30_.html)

> To date, we have provided 497 days of additional support to teams across the university by matching volunteers to those departments who have requested help.

A measured outcome for the scheme launched on 27 March, which is rare in the record; most initiatives are announced and never quantified.

**Recruitment freeze and capital spending paused as income falls**  
*24 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 31](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/031_24_April__Issue_31_.html)

With drastic cuts to non-pay expenditure to build cash reserves, and additional borrowing drawn down.

> We have, of course, taken immediate action to cut costs: introducing a recruitment freeze (so we prioritise those who are already part of our community); pausing or cancelling significant elements of capital expenditure

The pivot from crisis response to financial survival, one month into lockdown.

**Single-year budgeting adopted with the contribution model set aside**  
*24 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 31](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/031_24_April__Issue_31_.html)

Normal processes suspended through Term 1, pending clarity on tuition fee income.

> We will do single-year budgeting, in which we set temporarily aside our usual processes through Term 1.

**UCL declines an across-the-board pay freeze adopted by other universities**  
*24 April 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 31](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/031_24_April__Issue_31_.html)

> You may be aware that other universities have announced an across-the-board pay freeze. This is something that we are not yet considering and we will exhaust all other options before we do so.

A rare explicit contrast with sector practice, and one the sector track should be able to test once the comparator institutions are identified in stage 2.

**Looking out for our students phone campaign launched**  
*27 April 2020 · wellbeing · reported* · [issue 32](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/032_27_April__Issue_32_.html)

Staff volunteers calling students to check how they were coping, committing at least one day a week to the end of May.

> Colleagues from across UCL have launched ‘Looking out for our students’, a new phone call campaign to keep in touch with our students and help them feel cared for during the coronavirus outbreak.

**Building closures to be reviewed on 8 May, with 15 May the earliest reopening**  
*28 April 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 33](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/033_28_April__Issue_33_.html)

Explicitly contingent on whether the national lockdown was extended again.

> We will review our building closures and remote working policy again on Friday 8 May, and the earliest date that we could start reopening our buildings would be Friday 15 May.

The second review date to pass without reopening, after 1 May. Campus did not reopen to most staff in 2020 at all.

**Furloughed staff barred from any work, including writing up UCL results**  
*30 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 35](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/035_30_April__Issue_35_.html)

> It is important to note that any staff on furlough cannot undertake any work for UCL. This means that activities such as writing up results obtained at UCL and analysing UCL data are not allowed.

A condition of the national scheme with a sharp effect on research careers, and the clearest instance in the record of national policy constraining UCL rather than merely prompting it.

**Grant-funded staff offered furlough with UCL topping pay up to 100%**  
*30 April 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 35](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/035_30_April__Issue_35_.html)

Staff due to leave in May or June had leaving dates extended to the end of June; those due to leave in July or August were extended to the end of August on core funding.

> We will offer those grant-funded staff who were expecting to depart UCL during May and June 2020 the opportunity to be furloughed, and have their leaving date extended until the end of June.

UCL's use of the national Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The newsletter notes the government share fell to about 60% in higher education because of pension arrangements, and that UCL made up the difference.

### May 2020

**Self-funded PhD students given until 31 July to pay final fee instalment**  
*1 May 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 36](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/036_1_May__Issue_36_.html)

Extended from 2 May, alongside Financial Assistance Fund grants of up to £3,000 prioritised for self-funders.

> the third and final instalment of tuition fees has now been extended from 2 May until 31 July 2020

**UCL-Ventura designs downloaded by over 1,800 teams in 105 countries**  
*1 May 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 36](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/036_1_May__Issue_36_.html)

Twenty-four days after the designs were released free of charge, with prototypes built in Mexico, South Africa, Canada, Bulgaria and Russia.

> In the 24 days since they were published, the designs have been downloaded by over 1,800 teams in 105 countries, representing non-profits, manufacturers, health experts and research institutes.

**Extenuating circumstances self-certified with no evidence required**  
*6 May 2020 · assessment · took effect* · [issue 39](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/039_6_May__Issue_39_.html)

Introduced immediately before the summer assessment period began.

> changes have been made to UCL’s Extenuating Circumstances process, to reduce any burden on our students. Students can now self-certify and no longer need to provide evidence when applying.

Extends the self-certification agreed on 20 March by removing the evidence requirement entirely.

**ONS finds Black adults far likelier to die of COVID-19 after adjusting for age**  
*7 May 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [source](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronavirusrelateddeathsbyethnicgroupenglandandwales/2march2020to10april2020)

Deaths from 2 March to 10 April 2020 in England and Wales. The published figures are 4.2 for Black males and 4.3 for Black females against White males and females.

> When taking into account age in the analysis, Black males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a COVID-19-related death and Black females are 4.3 times more likely than White ethnicity males and females

UCL relayed this on 2 June 2020 and stage 1 flagged it as not to be repeated until the primary source was checked. It checks out: UCL's "four times" is a fair reading of 4.2 and 4.3. The ONS analysis adjusts for age only; the publication is explicit that it does not by itself establish cause.

**Faculties told to decide which modules not to run in 2020-21**  
*7 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 40](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/040_7_May__Issue_40_.html)

Faculty Delivery Teams identifying modules best suited to online delivery rather than moving everything online.

> An excellent teaching programme for 2020-21 will necessarily be different from what we might have planned in more conventional times – and will require decisions about what not to run.

**Gold team has post-lockdown plans ready ahead of the government announcement**  
*7 May 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 40](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/040_7_May__Issue_40_.html) · lag **-3 days**

Prepared in advance of the Prime Minister's expected statement on easing restrictions.

> UCL’s Gold team has developed plans for post-lockdown operations and an action plan has been considered over the last couple of weeks, which will be updated as soon as there is any Government announcement.

Evidence of UCL preparing before rather than after a national announcement, which is what the lag analysis is meant to distinguish. The response itself came on 11 May, one day after the announcement of 10 May.

**Provost asks staff to prioritise education over research for the crisis period**  
*7 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 40](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/040_7_May__Issue_40_.html)

With an assurance that the prioritisation would be recognised in appraisals and promotion cases.

> For this crisis period, I find myself needing to go further to ask you to prioritise education for the next few months, wherever and however you can.

Justified in the same message by the dependence of research funding on overseas tuition fee income, which is the plainest statement in the record of why the teaching decisions mattered financially.

**The Prime Minister announces a conditional plan for lifting the lockdown**  
*10 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

The first easing of the first lockdown, including a return to the workplace for those who could not work from home.

> PM announces a conditional plan for lifting lockdown, and says that people who cannot work from home should return to the workplace but avoid public transport

UCL diverged from this the next day, asking staff not to return to campus. That is the clearest case in the record of UCL declining an easing rather than following one.

**First timed alternative assessments taken by over 800 students**  
*11 May 2020 · assessment · observed* · [issue 42](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/042_12_May__Issue_42_.html)

Nineteen papers released on 11 May, the first test of the assessment redesign agreed in March.

> Over 800 students tackled one of 19 papers released yesterday.

Filed on 11 May, the date of the assessments; reported in issue 42 of 12 May. Roughly eight weeks from the decision of 13 March to the first paper sat.

**No member of staff to be compelled to return for the pilots**  
*11 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 41](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/041_11_May__Issue_41_.html)

Transport, caring responsibilities and health concerns all accepted as reasons to decline.

> Please be assured that no one will be compelled to return to UCL for the pilots.

**Phased return to begin with a small number of pilots, most likely in June**  
*11 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 41](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/041_11_May__Issue_41_.html)

Aimed at laboratory and research work that could not be done from home, with nobody compelled to take part.

> The first stage of reopening will comprise a small number of pilots, where we will consult with colleagues in specific areas to identify opportunities to start working on campus again, most likely in June.

**Reopening made explicitly conditional on the national reproduction number**  
*11 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 41](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/041_11_May__Issue_41_.html)

> If the rate of infection (R) rises again nationally, then we acknowledge that we may have to row back on this cautious reopening plan.

The clearest statement in the record that UCL's campus policy was indexed to a national epidemiological measure rather than to its own case counts, which did not yet exist. Directly relevant to the blog post's claim that the on-campus line tracks policy.

**Staff asked not to return to campus despite the easing of restrictions**  
*11 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 41](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/041_11_May__Issue_41_.html) · lag **+1 day**

UCL's response to the Prime Minister's announcement of 10 May 2020, published the following day.

> We are asking everyone not to return to UCL for the time being, unless you are one of our key staff who have been on-site throughout the lockdown period.

A one-day lag, and the substance is divergence rather than compliance: national restrictions eased and UCL did not. The counterpart to 13 March, where UCL moved first in the other direction.

**Furloughed staff guaranteed against later detriment**  
*12 May 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 42](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/042_12_May__Issue_42_.html)

> I want to be particularly clear that furloughed staff will not be subject to any disadvantage or detriment at a later date as a result of having been placed on Furlough Leave

**UCL furloughs staff who cannot work remotely, on full pay**  
*12 May 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 42](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/042_12_May__Issue_42_.html)

Following advice from the Higher Education Minister that universities should use the national scheme. UCL topped the capped government contribution up to full salary and benefits.

> We have now been advised by the HE Minister, Michelle Donelan, that universities should make use of the national Coronavirus Job Retention (or Furlough) scheme to cover the salaries of staff who are currently unable to work. Following this advice, we have decided to furlough staff for whom remote working is not possible.

Names the minister and the advice, so the national event is identifiable and the lag computable once the ministerial statement is retrieved in stage 2.

**UCL-Ventura in use at 46 NHS hospitals across the UK**  
*13 May 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 43](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/043_13_May__Issue_43_.html)

With prototypes manufactured for testing in eleven countries.

> The UCL-Ventura breathing aid, a low-flow Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device, is now being deployed to treat coronavirus patients in 46 NHS hospitals across the UK

**Reopening plan drawn up with UCL's own health and behaviour researchers**  
*15 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 45](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/045_15_May__Issue_45_.html)

A bespoke plan rather than a direct application of the government guidance, explicitly drawing on internal expertise.

> we are drawing on the expertise of our researchers, including specialists in health, education, human behaviour and infection prevention, to develop a bespoke plan that protects our community

A university using its own epidemiologists to set its own policy. Relevant to the blog post's claim that the campus signal informed decisions, though the case statistics did not begin until October.

**UCL Covid-19 Rapid Response funding call opened**  
*19 May 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 47](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/047_19_May__Issue_47_.html)

Projects of six to twelve months costing £20,000 to £50,000, supported by the UCL Coronavirus Response Fund with UCLH and Moorfields NIHR Biomedical Research Centres. First deadline 2 June 2020.

> Applications are now invited for projects focused on rapid responses and novel solutions to understand and tackle the challenges faced during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

**Much of 2020-21 teaching to be remote, with face-to-face set by social distancing**  
*20 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 48](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/048_20_May__Issue_48_.html)

UCL naming Manchester and Cambridge as institutions that had already said large-group teaching would be online.

> we have to plan that much of our teaching will have to be delivered remotely and that the opportunities for face-to-face will be dictated to a significant extent by the social distancing constraints in place at the time

The decision that shapes the whole 2020-21 year and therefore the autumn case data. Made in May for a September term, under acknowledged uncertainty.

**UCL signs the Wellcome Statement on Open Data**  
*21 May 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 49](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/049_21_May__Issue_49_.html)

With its own statement on research transparency during the pandemic.

> UCL has signed The Wellcome Statement on Open Data and issued its own statement to make clear our position on supporting research transparency in the context of the pandemic.

**Face coverings required on campus where distancing is not possible**  
*22 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 50](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/050_22_May__Issue_50_.html) · lag **-24 days**

Alongside temperature checks, frequent handwashing, a one-way system and increased cleaning.

> we will be asking everyone on campus to wear face coverings when moving around or when social distancing is not an option, check their temperature, wash their hands frequently and use a one-way system onsite

Well ahead of national requirements: face coverings became mandatory on public transport in England on 15 June 2020 and in shops on 24 July. Both national dates need retrieving in stage 2 before the comparison is stated in the rendering.

**Two reopening pilots named for the first weeks of June**  
*22 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 50](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/050_22_May__Issue_50_.html)

Pilot 1 from 1 June covered the Cancer Institute, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Chemical Engineering and the Student Centre; Pilot 2 from 8 June the Main Library, Institute of Child Health, MRC LMCB and Chemistry.

> Pilot 1 (w/c 1 June): The Cancer Institute, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Chemical Engineering and the Student Centre (for staff who cannot work remotely)

The first named reopening of any part of the estate since the closure of 20 March, ten weeks earlier.

**Campus reopening pilots aligned with the dates schools were due to return**  
*26 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html) · lag **-6 days**

> we have aligned our campus reopening pilot activity with the proposed dates for schools to return, although we know that not all children will be returning

A direct dependency of UCL's timetable on a national schools decision, and a clean case for the lag analysis.

**Face-to-face teaching to be limited to groups of about fifteen**  
*26 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html)

With significant parts of delivery online until a vaccine or treatment was available globally.

> Depending on room size, this will likely be in groups of 15 or fewer.

**Staff consultation launched on education principles for 2020-21**  
*26 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html)

Open to all staff until 1 July, feeding Education Committee on 8 June and Academic Committee and Council in June and July.

> Today we are launching a consultation to gather your views on what will be needed to support you and your students through Term 1 and beyond.

Two documents were put out with it, the UCL Commitment to Students and Connected Learning at UCL.

**Term 1 plans forced early by the UCAS deadline and OfS expectations**  
*26 May 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html)

UCL stating that decisions on 2020-21 had to be taken before June so offer holders could choose.

> in line with comments from the Office for Students last week , we need to confirm our plans to prospective students as they decide which of their offers to accept

An explicit sector-level constraint on the timing of a UCL decision. The OfS statement is a stage 2 retrieval target; reference [38] in the research document is the OfS coronavirus briefing series.

**UCL working with Camden and Newham on local pandemic projects**  
*28 May 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 53](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/053_28_May__Issue_53_.html)

Including support for autistic young Londoners, translation for the Hasidic community and free legal advice for residents.

> we are also having a huge impact at a local level, working with our neighbours in Camden and Newham on projects including supporting autistic young Londoners, providing translation services for the Hasidic community and offering free legal advice to residents in need

The only borough-level civic work named in this period, and the local counterpart to the Camden case comparator in the data track.

**Keeping safe on campus guidance published**  
*29 May 2020 · testing · reported* · [issue 54](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/054_29_May__Issue_54_.html)

Risk assessments, reduced occupancy, flexible hours to avoid peak commuting, temperature checks and face coverings.

> We will also be encouraging temperature checks, and asking all staff to wear a face covering when moving around campus. You can find out more, including who to contact if you have any questions, on our new Keeping safe on campus site .

First appearance of a heading that recurs in 110 of the 168 newsletters, so this is the start date of the standing on-campus safety regime.

**Reopening pilots developed with the recognised trade unions**  
*29 May 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 54](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/054_29_May__Issue_54_.html)

> The pilots are being carried out in line with UK Government guidance, drawing on the advice of UCL’s recognised unions and the expertise of our researchers, including specialists in health, education, human behaviour and infection prevention.

**UCL healthcare staff invited to the Oxford vaccine trial at UCLH**  
*29 May 2020 · vaccination · announced* · [issue 54](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/054_29_May__Issue_54_.html)

Open to clinical and non-clinical healthcare staff other than office-based roles.

> UCL staff who have a healthcare role – for example as a member of staff at one of our partner hospitals – are invited to take part in a UCLH trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed at the University of Oxford.

The first vaccination row in the ledger, and it is a trial rather than a rollout. Vaccination proper does not reach UCL until December 2020.

### June 2020

**Schools in England begin a phased reopening**  
*1 June 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

The date UCL aligned its first campus reopening pilots with.

> Phased re-opening of schools in England

UCL said on 26 May that it had aligned its pilot activity with the proposed dates for schools to return, which makes this a dependency of a UCL timetable on a national schools decision.

**Student Centre reopens as staff workspace, capped at 130 users**  
*1 June 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html)

Open 10.00 to 20.00 Monday to Friday for staff unable to work remotely, by pre-booking.

> The Student Centre will open during the week commencing Monday 1 June as a UCL staff workspace, with capacity capped at 130 users in the building 10.00–20.00, Monday–Friday.

The Student Centre closed on 24 March. It reopens ten weeks later, to staff only and at a fraction of capacity.

**Temporary Operating Model for 2020-21 published and sent to all students**  
*1 June 2020 · teaching · reported* · [issue 55](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/055_1_June__Issue_55_.html)

Approved by Academic Committee on 29 May and communicated to current students and offer holders via Portico, with a dedicated helpline for offer holders.

> The Temporary Operating Model for 2020-21, setting out at a high-level how teaching will be operating next year, is available on the coronavirus information hub .

The formal statement of how UCL would run the year in which the case statistics begin. Everything in the autumn 2020 data happens under this model.

**Oxford vaccine phase III trial to vaccinate 500 UCLH staff volunteers**  
*2 June 2020 · vaccination · reported* · [issue 56](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/056_2_June__Issue_56_.html)

UCL's Vax-Hub collaboration with the Jenner Institute supplied the manufacturing platform the Oxford team adapted.

> Screening for the ‘phase III’ trial of the vaccine began at the end of May, and researchers plan to begin vaccinations in 500 healthy UCLH staff volunteers in June.

Six months before the national rollout began. UCL's involvement in the vaccine is upstream of the vaccination programme, not part of receiving it.

**Student Centre entry conditional on temperature check, booking and face covering**  
*2 June 2020 · testing · took effect* · [issue 56](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/056_2_June__Issue_56_.html)

Bookable Monday to Friday, 100 people a day maximum, ID and confirmation required at reception.

> You will be asked to take your temperature at the entrance of the Student Centre.

The daily cap tightened from the 130 announced on 26 May to 100 in practice.

**UCL cites ONS finding that Covid deaths are four times likelier among black adults**  
*2 June 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 56](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/056_2_June__Issue_56_.html)

Used to argue that the disparity could not be explained by health inequalities alone.

> According to the ONS, Covid-19 deaths are four times more likely among black adults than those of white ethnicity in the UK.

UCL relaying an ONS finding, and it checks out: the ONS publication of 7 May 2020 gives 4.2 for Black males and 4.3 for Black females against White males and females, after adjusting for age. Now carried on the national track with the ONS wording. The ONS is explicit that adjusting for age alone does not establish cause.

**UCL commits to racial equality action in the context of coronavirus**  
*2 June 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 56](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/056_2_June__Issue_56_.html)

An institutional plan for 2020-21 covering fair admissions after exam disruption, the BAME degree awarding gap, belonging, and hardship including digital poverty.

> UCL’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team are currently working at speed on an institutional plan for 2020-21 and it will include specific action on racial equality in the context of coronavirus.

Published four days after the killing of George Floyd. The newsletter connects it to the pandemic through the disproportionate mortality figures cited in the same issue.

**UCL works with Camden Council to make commuting possible without public transport**  
*3 June 2020 · civic · announced* · [issue 57](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/057_3_June__Issue_57_.html)

Aimed at making cycling viable for staff returning under the pilots.

> we’re working with Camden Council and other local organisations to make it easier to commute to UCL without using public transport

Transport is named repeatedly as the constraint on returning to campus, and here as a reason for a borough-level partnership.

**Face-covering guidance issued distinguishing coverings from PPE**  
*4 June 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 58](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/058_4_June__Issue_58_.html)

Coverings required when moving around, removable at a desk two metres from others, with PPE reserved for those who need it and exemptions acknowledged.

> Importantly, a face covering is a precautionary measure and not the same as personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes surgical masks and tight-fitting face masks. PPE must continue to be reserved only for those who need it.

Exemptions are named explicitly for respiratory conditions and for deaf staff and those with hearing loss who rely on lip reading.

**Gold, Silver and Bronze structure replaced by a Crisis Leadership Team**  
*8 June 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 59](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/059_5_June__Issue_59_.html)

The command structure adopted in April gave way to an implementation framework once the closure and planning work was done.

> We now need to focus on implementing plans and have moved away from the GSB structure towards a new framework. The focus of the new framework, starting from 8 June, continues to be set by the Provost and is supported by a Crisis Leadership Team.

Filed on the effective date of 8 June; announced 5 June. The second reorganisation of UCL's decision-making in three months.

**UCL sets policy for staff caught by the new quarantine on UK arrivals**  
*8 June 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 58](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/058_4_June__Issue_58_.html)

Staff abroad were told to return two weeks before they were needed and to work from home, volunteer through UCL Together, stay on furlough or take paid leave.

> Staff currently living abroad or wishing to travel abroad should be aware that the Government has introduced a two-week self-isolation period for anyone entering the UK on or after 8 June

Filed on 8 June, the date the national rule took effect; UCL's guidance was published on 4 June, four days ahead of it. A negative lag.

**All library loans extended to 1 October with no late penalties**  
*9 June 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 61](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/061_9_June__Issue_61_.html)

Correcting a technical fault that had brought some due dates forward.

> All library loans are now due on 1 October or for some students, at the end of their programme of study.

Extends the 5 June date set on 18 March.

**Provost asks for review of buildings named after eugenicists**  
*11 June 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 63](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/063_11_June__Issue_63_.html)

Following the recommendations of the Inquiry into the History of Eugenics at UCL, chaired by Professor Iyiola Solanke, with a recommendation due to Council on 18 June.

> UCL’s President & Provost Professor Michael Arthur has today formally asked the university’s ‘Buildings Naming and Renaming Committee’ immediately to start the process of reviewing the current naming of spaces and buildings after two prominent eugenicists Francis Galton and Karl Pearson.

Not part of UCL's pandemic response, and included only because the pandemic newsletters were the channel that carried it. Filter on category governance if the timeline is read as a pandemic record.

**Face coverings become mandatory on public transport in England**  
*15 June 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/592/made)

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/592.

> These Regulations come into force on 15th June 2020

UCL had required face coverings on campus where distancing was not possible from 22 May, twenty-four days before this. The date was carried for a while on a UCL newsletter's authority and then withdrawn, because reference 7 gives 15 June as the day non-essential shops reopened and says nothing about transport. Both are true of that day; the regulations are what establish the second.

**Connected Learning Essentials staff development course launched**  
*15 June 2020 · teaching · reported* · [issue 72](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/072_24_June__Issue_72_.html)

Over 800 colleagues had engaged with it within nine days.

> Connected Learning Essentials, UCL’s staff development course, is designed to help colleagues with the move to online and socially distant teaching. More than 800 colleagues have engaged with the course since it launched on Monday 15 June.

Filed on 15 June, the launch date; reported in issue 72 of 24 June.

**Library Click and Collect service to open at the Main and Science Libraries**  
*15 June 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 51](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/051_26_May__Issue_51_.html)

Requesting, collecting, borrowing and returning books, 12.00 to 16.00 Monday to Friday.

> We are aiming for a ‘Click and Collect’ service to go live from Monday 15 June in the Main and Science Libraries for users to request, collect, borrow and return books.

Filed on 15 June, the target date; announced 26 May. Issue 51 exists partly to correct a wrong date given in issue 50 on 22 May, which is itself a caution against trusting a single newsletter mention.

**Over 180 live UCL projects investigating coronavirus, almost half externally funded**  
*15 June 2020 · research · reported* · [issue 65](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/065_15_June__Issue_65_.html)

> There are now over 180 live projects across all UCL’s faculties investigating coronavirus and its impact. Of these, almost half are externally funded.

Up from the hundred reported on 15 May.

**Reopening widens from nine areas to about forty**  
*15 June 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 65](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/065_15_June__Issue_65_.html)

With line managers contacting staff individually and no compulsion to return.

> We are now in the third week of pilot schemes, with nine areas of UCL reopened. From today, we’re planning to restart activity in some 40 more areas of the university.

The step from pilot to programme. Three months after the closure of 20 March.

**All staff and postgraduate researchers asked to complete a workstation assessment**  
*18 June 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 68](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/068_18_June__Issue_68_.html)

A display screen equipment assessment for the home working environment, with issues referred to line managers.

> To ensure you can work comfortably, UCL is asking all staff and postgraduate researchers to complete an online workstation assessment.

Three months into remote working, which is when the temporary arrangement started being treated as a workplace.

**Emergency Timetabling Policy approved by the Crisis Management Team**  
*18 June 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 68](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/068_18_June__Issue_68_.html)

With a revised timetabling process for 2020-21 and FAQs on how the Temporary Operating Model would work in practice.

> An Emergency Timetabling Policy has been approved by the Crisis Management Team and our Timetabling FAQs provide some further granularity about how the Temporary Operating Model will operate in practice.

The mechanism by which the Temporary Operating Model reached individual rooms and hours, which is what determined how many people were on campus in autumn 2020.

**Face-to-face invigilated exams ruled unlikely for 2020-21**  
*18 June 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 68](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/068_18_June__Issue_68_.html)

Replaced by short, timed, online and un-invigilated exams, with staff required to confirm assessment modes by 24 July for the August Module Catalogue update.

> It is highly likely that we will be unable to deliver face-to-face invigilated exams next year, and students need clarity about how they will be assessed.

Consumer legislation is given as the reason for the July deadline, which is a legal rather than epidemiological constraint on the timing.

**REF2021 submission deadline reset to 31 March 2021**  
*19 June 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 69](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/069_19_June__Issue_69_.html)

With the impact assessment period extended to 31 December 2020 and the exercise resuming on 31 July 2020. The staff census date of 31 July 2020 was unchanged.

> The revised REF submission deadline is now noon on 31 March 2021 for all elements of submissions. They have also confirmed an extended assessment period for impact to 31 December 2020.

Resolves the indefinite postponement announced on 25 March. A sector-level decision by the funding bodies; the primary announcement belongs on the sector track in stage 2.

**UCL denames the Galton and Pearson spaces**  
*19 June 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 69](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/069_19_June__Issue_69_.html)

Decided by the Provost and ratified by Council, with signs removed immediately.

> UCL has today announced it will dename spaces and buildings named after two prominent eugenicists Francis Galton and Karl Pearson.

Eight days from the Provost's request to the decision. As above, contemporaneous with the pandemic rather than part of the response to it.

**Library Click and Collect opens at the Portico entrance**  
*22 June 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 69](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/069_19_June__Issue_69_.html)

Up to ten books per request, collected 12.00 to 15.00 Monday to Friday, with ID, confirmation email and a face covering required on campus.

> Requesting will be made available on Explore on Friday 19 June and fetching will begin next Monday, 22 June.

Filed on 22 June, the date collection began. The first library service of any kind since the closure of 20 March, and it is contactless.

**Weekly Your Wellbeing check-in survey launched for staff and researchers**  
*22 June 2020 · wellbeing · reported* · [issue 70](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/070_22_June__Issue_70_.html)

Reported to the Crisis Leadership Team and to faculty level, and designed partly to test whether crisis measures were harming under-represented staff.

> The UCL Your Wellbeing check-in survey launches today. This short, weekly survey is the way to check in with you regularly to find out how you are coping with the coronavirus crisis and the immense amount of change that it has caused.

A weekly internal measurement running alongside, and four months before, the published case statistics. The survey results are not in the archive; only the fact of their collection is.

**The Prime Minister announces a relaxing of the 2 metre distancing rule**  
*23 June 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

The move that became the "1 metre plus" guidance, taking effect with the wider easing of 4 July.

> PM says UK’s “national hibernation” coming to an end – announces relaxing of restrictions and 2m social distancing rule

The source records a relaxing of the 2 metre rule and does not use the phrase "one metre plus"; the headline follows the source rather than UCL's wording for it. UCL kept 2 metres for Term 1 timetable planning, which is the sharpest deliberate divergence in the whole record.

**Fieldwork permitted to restart under Dean-approved risk assessment**  
*25 June 2020 · research · took effect* · [issue 73](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/073_25_June__Issue_73_.html)

Conditional on voluntary participation, the reopening plans, and UK and destination travel rules. International travel on UCL business remained barred until 1 August.

> Fieldwork can restart from this week, as long as individuals wish to take part

**UCL passes £1m raised for its pandemic response**  
*25 June 2020 · research · reported* · [issue 73](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/073_25_June__Issue_73_.html)

Directed at research on tracking, treating and preventing the virus, at societal recovery, and at student hardship.

> UCL has raised over £1m to drive the university’s response to the pandemic, through generous donations from our supporters, alumni and friends.

**Virus Watch launched with 42,500 participants**  
*25 June 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 73](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/073_25_June__Issue_73_.html)

Regular symptom surveys, a movement-tracking app, and blood tests and swabs for 10,000 participants, intended to inform government and NHS planning.

> This week UCL launched Virus Watch, one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of COVID-19 in the UK, with 42,500 people taking part to help us learn more about the next phase of the pandemic.

UCL running national community surveillance while having no case data of its own. Its own counting begins 12 October 2020.

**Undergraduate bursaries increased for 2020-21**  
*26 June 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 74](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/074_26_June__Issue_74_.html)

The lowest income band rose from £2,500 to £3,350, with uplifts across all four bands, applied automatically and extended to students who joined from 2017-18.

> UCL is increasing the amount of financial support available as part of our Undergraduate Bursary for the academic year 2020/21.

Categorised accommodation as the nearest available slot for student financial support; the category list has no hardship or finance value.

**The first local lockdown is announced for Leicester**  
*29 June 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Announced by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

> Matt Hancock announces that the UK’s first local lockdown would be applied in Leicester and parts of Leicestershire

UCL cited this on 8 July as a reason for caution in its own planning.

**Government research support package announced in two parts**  
*June 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 83](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/083_9_July__Issue_83_.html)

A COVID-19 Grant Extension Allocation to sustain UKRI and National Academies awards to September 2021, and a Research Stabilisation Package of low-interest loans with some grants.

> At the end of last month, the UK Government announced a support package for research, made up of two elements.

Dated to June 2020 with month precision, because the newsletter says only 'at the end of last month'. Day precision would assert more than the source supports. The primary announcement is a stage 2 retrieval target and the row should be re-dated to day precision once it is found.

### July 2020

**Staff allowed onto campus by rota to collect belongings**  
*1 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 76](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/076_30_June__Issue_76_.html)

Buildings opened on set dates in morning or afternoon slots, by request through Faculty Directors of Operations or Security.

> From tomorrow, Wednesday 1 July, it will be possible to collect personal belongings from campus on a pre-arranged, rota basis.

Filed on 1 July, the effective date; announced 30 June.

## 2. Summer easing

*Phase window 4 July 2020 to 31 August 2020. 41 events and 0 case-data readings, running 4 July 2020 to 26 August 2020.*

With the campus closed and the term over, UCL spent the summer deciding how much of it to reopen and on what terms. The decision that mattered most was taken on 8 July: the Prime Minister had announced a relaxing of the 2 metre distancing rule on 23 June, and fifteen days later UCL confirmed it would keep a 2 metre guideline for Term 1 timetable planning anyway, a divergence that set room capacities for the whole of the autumn and so determined how many people were on campus once the case counting began in October. Face coverings became mandatory across campus on 10 July, ahead of the national requirement in shops that UCL recorded on 24 July, and the newsletter dropped from daily to twice weekly at issue 100 on 3 August.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Prime Minister announces a relaxing of the 2 metre distancing rule | 23 June 2020 | UCL keeps 2 metre distancing after the government moves to one metre plus | 8 July 2020 | +15 days |
| The first local lockdown is announced for Leicester | 29 June 2020 | UCL cites the Leicester local lockdown as a reason for caution | 8 July 2020 | +9 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

### July 2020

**The first local lockdown comes into force in Leicester**  
*4 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

The same day as the wider easing in the rest of England.

> UK’s first local lockdown comes into force in Leicester and parts of Leicestershire. More restrictions are eased in England, including reopening of pubs, restaurants, hairdressers.

The two limbs of this entry are why 4 July is the phase boundary in this chronology: England eased and one city did not.

**Taught postgraduates given access to Student Centre and Click and Collect**  
*6 July 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 79](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/079_3_July__Issue_79_.html)

For students unable to study remotely, by advance booking, with distancing and face coverings in force.

> From Monday 6 July taught postgraduate students who are unable to study remotely may use the pilot Student Centre learning spaces and the Click & Collect service for the Main and Science Libraries

The first return of any students to campus since March, and it is limited to those who cannot work at home.

**UCL signs the London Higher COVID-19 Secure Charter**  
*6 July 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 80](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/080_6_July__Issue_80_.html)

Ten principles for a safe return to campus, adopted by more than twenty London institutions.

> London Higher has today published their COVID-19 Secure Charter. The charter sets out ten key principles that member institutions are working on to ensure a safe return to campus for students across London this autumn.

A sector-level commitment with a named document. London Higher is a stage 2 retrieval target for the sector track.

**Wellbeing survey results reviewed weekly by the Provost and Crisis Leadership Team**  
*6 July 2020 · wellbeing · reported* · [issue 80](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/080_6_July__Issue_80_.html)

> The Provost and Crisis Leadership Team review these results in person every week. They form a central part of their decision-making process

Establishes that a weekly internal data feed was already part of decision-making before the case statistics existed. Relevant to how the October 2020 case page was used.

**Digital first recommended for Term 1, with local teams deciding specifics**  
*8 July 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html)

A mix of asynchronous and synchronous learning with some campus-based, laboratory and studio teaching, and decisions devolved to programme teams.

> In Term 1, UCL recommends a ‘digital first’ approach (a mixture of asynchronous and synchronous learning), with some campus-based face-to-face as well as lab- and studio/practice-based teaching activity for students, led by academic or teaching staff.

Names Tier 4 visa requirements and the implications of wholly online programmes as planning considerations, which is an immigration constraint on teaching mode.

**Four additional closure days added, extending the Christmas break to two weeks**  
*8 July 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html)

Friday 28 August before the bank holiday, and 21 to 23 December, closing UCL from 18 December 2020 to 4 January 2021.

> UCL will be closed from 5:30pm on Friday 18 December 2020 until 9am on Monday 4 January 2021.

Decided in July. The closure period turned out to coincide with the Alpha wave and the second national lockdown, and with the highest weekly case count in the whole UCL series.

**Roadmap for returning to campus published, targeting 25% of staff on site**  
*8 July 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html)

Setting out which buildings would reopen and when, while most staff continued to work from home.

> we are also beginning to work towards a return to something approaching normality, with the launch today of our roadmap for returning to campus . This sets out the plan and supporting guidance for reopening buildings gradually and safely, so that around 25% of staff can be back on site at any one time.

The 25% ceiling is the planning assumption behind the autumn 2020 campus population, and therefore behind the on-campus case counts when they begin in October.

**Temperature checks extended from the Student Centre across campus**  
*8 July 2020 · testing · took effect* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html)

Alongside handwashing, distancing, additional cleaning, face coverings and PPE where appropriate.

> trialling temperature checks at the Student Centre, which we’re now rolling out across campus

Temperature screening was later widely judged ineffective for COVID-19. Recorded as what UCL did, not as a measure that worked.

**UCL cites the Leicester local lockdown as a reason for caution**  
*8 July 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html) · lag **+9 days**

> The local lockdown announced in Leicester last week, and the possibility of lockdowns in some London boroughs, show us that we cannot yet take our safety for granted.

An explicit reference to a national event shaping a UCL decision. The Leicester lockdown of 29 June 2020 is a stage 2 retrieval target.

**UCL joins the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme**  
*8 July 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html)

So that staff with non-visible disabilities could signal a need for help while returning to campus.

> UCL has recently signed up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme , which allows colleagues to discreetly signal to others that they may need additional help

**UCL keeps 2 metre distancing after the government moves to one metre plus**  
*8 July 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 82](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/082_8_July__Issue_82_.html) · lag **+15 days**

Justified by reference to the Chief Medical Officer's advice and PHE guidance, and by the need for flexibility if guidance changed or a second wave came.

> although the government has announced its “1 metre plus” approach to social distancing, we have confirmed that we will continue to use a 2 metre guideline for timetable planning for Term 1

The clearest deliberate divergence from national policy in the record, and in the cautious direction. It set the room capacities for the whole of Term 1 and so directly shaped how many people were on campus in autumn 2020.

**Face coverings made mandatory on campus for staff, students and visitors**  
*10 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 84](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/084_10_July__Issue_84_.html)

Required when moving between or around buildings and wherever 2 metres could not be maintained, with a published exemptions policy and Sunflower lanyards for invisible disabilities.

> Face coverings must be worn by all staff, students and visitors on campus when walking between or around buildings and where it is not possible to maintain 2 metre social distancing from others.

Fourteen days before face coverings became mandatory in English shops on 24 July 2020, and framed as protecting others from an asymptomatic wearer rather than protecting the wearer.

**Bloomsbury Café reopens as the first Students' Union outlet on campus**  
*week of 13 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 89](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/089_17_July__Issue_89_.html)

Monday to Friday, 11.00 to 15.00, with other outlets to follow in September.

> Students’ Union UCL are beginning to reopen their outlets and commercial spaces on campus, starting with the Bloomsbury Café which reopened earlier this week.

Week precision: issue 89 of 17 July says only 'earlier this week', so the exact day is not established. Filed at the start of that week.

**Advisory report models an Rt of 1.7 from September as its worst-case scenario**  
*14 July 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [source](https://acmedsci.ac.uk/file-download/51353957)

"Preparing for a challenging winter 2020/21", produced at the request of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

> The model assumes that Rt rises to 1.7 from September 2020

UCL relayed this on 16 July 2020 and stage 1 flagged the Rt figure as not to be repeated until checked. It checks out, with a distinction worth keeping: 1.7 is an assumption the model was run under to explore a reasonable worst case, not a forecast of what Rt would be. Reporting it as a prediction would misstate what the report did.

**Council postpones performance-related pay for grade 10 staff to August 2021**  
*14 July 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 86](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/086_14_July__Issue_86_.html)

Framed as intergenerational fairness, with staff at lower grades unaffected.

> we have taken the difficult decision to postpone any performance-related pay awards for grade 10 staff until August 2021

One of three payroll measures confirmed by Council on 14 July, and the only one that is not voluntary.

**Voluntary Retirement Scheme opened for staff aged 66 and over**  
*14 July 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 86](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/086_14_July__Issue_86_.html)

Open until 31 October 2020, with eligibility set at age 66 on 1 October 2020, alongside voluntary unpaid leave, career breaks and temporary part-time working.

> Later this month we will also launch a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for staff aged 66 and over.

Explicitly to preserve the jobs of staff earlier in their careers. UCL still had not made compulsory redundancies at this point.

**Travel ban partially lifted for the Common Travel Area and FCO-exempted countries**  
*15 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 87](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/087_15_July__Issue_87_.html)

Only essential travel permitted elsewhere until 1 October 2020, and all international travel to be booked through Key Travel.

> Travel on UCL business is now permitted within the CTA or to FCO exempted countries. Until 1 October 2020 only essential travel outside this area is permitted.

Follows the FCO relaxing its advice the previous week. The first loosening of the travel restriction imposed on 11 March 2020, four months earlier.

**Advisory report warns of an Rt of 1.7 from September as a reasonable worst case**  
*16 July 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 88](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/088_16_July__Issue_88_.html)

'Preparing for a challenging winter 2020/21', produced by 37 experts including UCL academics at the request of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

> ‘Preparing for a challenging winter 2020/21’ has found there is a high degree of uncertainty about how the pandemic will evolve in the UK over the coming months, but suggests we should prepare for a ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ where the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to (Rt value) rises to 1.7 from September 2020 onwards.

UCL relaying a report its own academics contributed to, and it checks out against the Academy of Medical Sciences report itself. One distinction the newsletter loses: 1.7 is an assumption the model was run under to explore a reasonable worst case, not a forecast. The warning is issued two months before the autumn term and the surge that followed it.

**Recruitment freeze partially relaxed where student numbers exceed forecast**  
*17 July 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 89](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/089_17_July__Issue_89_.html)

A phased relaxation for some academic and professional services posts, with the freeze otherwise still in force and internal sourcing required first.

> In the light of our latest student number projections, we can start a phased and controlled relaxation of the recruitment freeze for some academic and professional services posts in Schools where student numbers look likely to exceed previous forecasts.

The first sign that the feared collapse in student numbers was not materialising. It reverses part of the emergency measure of 24 April.

**Term 1 room allocations issued under social distancing, with a 10 August timetable deadline**  
*23 July 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 93](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/093_23_July__Issue_93_.html)

Departments required to enter all online and on-site synchronous activity into CMIS.

> This week colleagues will be contacted with information about departmental room allocations for Term 1, in line with social distancing guidelines.

The point at which the 2 metre decision of 8 July becomes a concrete allocation of rooms, and therefore the mechanism setting autumn campus occupancy.

**Eugenics inquiry group to report an implementation plan by December**  
*24 July 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 94](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/094_24_July__Issue_94_.html)

With a second working group set up on the recommendations from the staff and student Town Hall on Race, also reporting before the end of the year.

> The group looking at the recommendations from the Inquiry met for the first time this week, and will produce an implementation plan by December.

As with the denaming rows, this is contemporaneous with the pandemic rather than part of the response to it, and is filed under governance so it can be filtered out.

**UCL funds local pandemic projects in Newham, one of the worst-affected boroughs**  
*24 July 2020 · civic · reported* · [issue 94](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/094_24_July__Issue_94_.html)

Small grants to projects co-developed with local groups, support for artists and researchers in the Olympic boroughs, and work with east London schools.

> Throughout the pandemic we have remained committed to being a good neighbour to communities in east London, especially in Newham, which is sadly one of the boroughs most affected by COVID-19.

The second borough-level civic strand after Camden. UCL's claim about Newham's standing is not evidenced in the newsletter and should not be repeated without checking.

**UCL notes face coverings becoming mandatory in English shops**  
*24 July 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 87](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/087_15_July__Issue_87_.html)

UCL convened a group with its own experts and Students' Union leaders to consider whether to extend campus requirements further.

> Since then, the Government’s guidance has changed and face coverings will now be mandatory in shops and supermarkets from 24 July.

Filed on 24 July, the national effective date; reported by UCL on 15 July. UCL's own campus mandate had come into force on 10 July, ahead of it. The national date is a stage 2 retrieval target.

**Individual Risk Assessments offered to staff worried about returning**  
*27 July 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 95](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/095_27_July__Issue_95_.html)

With the explicit possibility that the outcome is not returning to campus at this stage.

> You may be asked to complete an Individual Risk Assessment to help understand your concerns and identify any measures that might manage any risks to your health and take into account your circumstances. In some cases that may mean that you do not return to campus at this stage.

**Staff who can work remotely may do so until January 2021**  
*27 July 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 95](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/095_27_July__Issue_95_.html)

With an option to work on campus from 1 September when most buildings opened, subject to the 25% occupancy cap.

> If your role means you don’t need to attend site to do your work , you may be able to continue working remotely until January 2021, when this policy will be reviewed.

The policy under which the whole of autumn 2020 was run, and therefore the policy behind the on-campus case counts when the series begins on 12 October.

**UCL installs 600 cycle racks in response to commuting fears in the wellbeing survey**  
*27 July 2020 · civic · announced* · [issue 95](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/095_27_July__Issue_95_.html)

With a cycling buddy scheme, the tax-free cycle scheme, and advice on off-peak travel and part-journey walking.

> Many of you have let us know through the Your Wellbeing survey that commuting to work is an area of concern.

A traceable line from an internal data collection to a physical change on campus, which is the pattern the case statistics later followed.

**UKRI allocates UCL £10.8m to sustain grant-funded research**  
*28 July 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 96](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/096_28_July__Issue_96_.html)

About 6% of UCL's UKRI award portfolio, prioritising projects ending before 31 March 2021 and those with staff who had been furloughed.

> UCL has been allocated £10.8m, which is equivalent to about 6% of our current UKRI award portfolio.

The concrete outcome of the government research support package recorded in June. UKRI also asked that the money mitigate disadvantage to protected groups.

### August 2020

**Provost takes a 20% pay reduction donated to the student hardship fund**  
*1 August 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 31](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/031_24_April__Issue_31_.html)

For six months from 1 August 2020, alongside a Give as You Earn scheme opened for the Senior Management Team.

> I have volunteered to take a pay reduction of 20% of my salary, which will be donated to the student hardship fund, for six months from August 1st.

Filed on the effective date of 1 August 2020; announced 24 April in issue 31.

**Newsletter cadence drops from daily to twice weekly at issue 100**  
*3 August 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 100](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/100_3_August__Issue_100_.html)

Mondays and Wednesdays, in response to a reader survey asking for fewer emails.

> With that in mind, from today you’ll receive an update twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The first cadence change in the series. It thins again to weekly on 12 October 2020 and to roughly monthly through 2022, so the frequency of the newsletters is itself a record of how urgent the situation felt.

**Staff quarantining after non-essential travel must use leave, not paid absence**  
*3 August 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 100](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/100_3_August__Issue_100_.html)

Prompted by the Foreign Office revoking Spain's travel corridor at short notice on 27 July, and Luxembourg soon after.

> From 3 August, where travel is not for agreed essential UCL work, the default position is for the member of staff to work remotely during their period of self-isolation if possible, by agreement with your line manager. If that is not possible, you should take any remaining annual leave entitlement followed by unpaid leave.

A tightening. In June, staff caught by quarantine were offered paid leave as a fallback; from August the fallback is unpaid.

**UCL reports shutting over 200 buildings and delivering 647 online exams**  
*3 August 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 100](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/100_3_August__Issue_100_.html)

A hundred-working-day retrospective, also recording 147 student interns appointed to move teaching materials online.

> Colleagues from every Faculty, Vice Provost’s Office and Professional Services department have, at speed, first shut down over 200 buildings on campus

UCL's own summary of the first phase, and the source of the 647 online exams figure. Both numbers are UCL's own and are not independently checkable from the archive.

**No Detriment Principle for Staff published, covering promotions and appraisals**  
*5 August 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 101](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/101_5_August__Issue_101_.html)

UCL estimated around 40% of employees had been caring for children or loved ones during the pandemic.

> UCL leadership have therefore set out clearly how we are going to ensure that all this is taken into account in our No Detriment Principle for Staff .

The staff counterpart to the student no-detriment principle adopted on 7 April 2020, four months earlier.

**UCL undertakes not to reuse teaching recordings without the originator's consent**  
*10 August 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 102](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/102_10_August__Issue_102_.html)

Setting aside the position in the Intellectual Property Policy, which assigns film and sound recordings to UCL, for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.

> UCL has committed, notwithstanding the position in the UCL Intellectual Property Policy, not to use teaching-related film and sound recordings created during academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 without the originators’ consent

A staff concern created directly by the move online: recording lectures turned teaching into an asset the policy already claimed.

**Face covering policy widened to inside offices, labs and teaching spaces**  
*12 August 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 103](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/103_12_August__Issue_103_.html)

Strongly encouraged throughout campus and mandatory within two metres of another person, with clear-panel coverings procured centrally for classroom teaching.

> Face coverings are now strongly encouraged when you’re on campus, both inside buildings and when moving around campus. This includes in offices, labs and teaching spaces.

The third tightening in two months: 22 May when distancing was impossible, 10 July mandatory when moving around, 12 August extended indoors throughout.

**Protecting Time for Work recommendations issued in response to workload data**  
*12 August 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 103](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/103_12_August__Issue_103_.html)

Meetings in core hours, hour-long meetings cut to 50 minutes, and email and meeting efficiency measures.

> Our weekly Your Wellbeing survey continues to highlight that many of you are struggling with your workloads.

A second traceable line from the weekly survey to a policy change, after the cycle racks in July.

**All Term One core teaching to be online, with 1 to 2 hours a week face to face**  
*17 August 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 104](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/104_17_August__Issue_104_.html)

Students free to study on campus or from anywhere in the world, and to change their mind mid-term without penalty.

> We’re currently anticipating a maximum of 1-2 hours a week of face to face teaching time, although this will vary depending on programme.

The most concrete statement of how much on-campus contact autumn 2020 actually involved, and essential context for reading the on-campus case counts that begin in October.

**UCL accepts all students meeting their original offer after the A level U-turn**  
*17 August 2020 · assessment · reported* · [issue 104](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/104_17_August__Issue_104_.html)

Following the government's decision to use teacher-predicted grades rather than the Ofqual algorithm.

> We are delighted to accept all students who meet the terms of their original offer.

The decision that produced the exceptionally large first-year intake, which UCL names on 26 August as one cause of the study-space shortage. It is therefore upstream of how crowded campus was in autumn 2020.

**Campus Opening Guide sets out a four-stage building reopening process**  
*19 August 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 105](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/105_19_August__Issue_105_.html)

Planning, building preparation, approval to open and confirmation, with each department nominating a liaison to the Estates team.

> Each department must nominate a dedicated person to liaise with the Estates Team throughout the building reopening process.

The procedure by which all campus buildings were open by 2 September 2020.

**Fieldwork framework published to govern planning, approval and management**  
*19 August 2020 · research · reported* · [issue 105](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/105_19_August__Issue_105_.html)

Working alongside existing risk assessments, with pre-conditions and a checklist before approval, overseen by a dedicated group.

> A framework has been developed which informs the planning, approval and management of fieldwork and works alongside the existing risk assessments.

Formalises the fieldwork restart permitted on 25 June 2020. Added after a coverage check flagged issue 105 as decision-bearing but uncited.

**Visitors to campus must declare symptoms and register where they went**  
*24 August 2020 · testing · reported* · [issue 106](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/106_24_August__Issue_106_.html)

Contact details and areas visited collected so UCL could respond to cases.

> They will also be asked to supply their contact details and the areas of campus they are visiting. We will use this information to make sure campus is as safe as possible and respond to any potential cases of COVID-19 should they occur.

UCL building its own contact-tracing capability three weeks before the case reporting tool was announced.

**Staff offices released to students as study space after distancing cuts capacity**  
*26 August 2020 · accommodation · announced* · [issue 107](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/107_26_August__Issue_107_.html)

Floors in Bidborough House and Torrington Place given over to students, against the 6,000 study spaces available the previous year.

> Social distancing put in place to ensure the safety of everyone on campus means that the number of student study spaces on campus will be much reduced compared with the 6,000 we had last year.

Names three compounding causes: distancing, growth in postgraduate applications, and the large first-year intake following the A level U-turn. A direct consequence of the 2 metre decision of 8 July.

## 3. Autumn resurgence and tiering

*Phase window 1 September 2020 to 18 December 2020. 55 events and 3 case-data readings, running 1 September 2020 to 14 December 2020.*

Term 1 began on 28 September with students back in London and UCL still holding no measurements of its own. That changes on 12 October, when UCL published a webpage of confirmed cases among staff and students, fixed the case definition that governs every figure in the dataset, and moved the newsletter to a weekly Monday cadence; testing is the largest single category of decision in this phase. The second national lockdown did not close the university, and the Provost's observation that universities were meant to stay open this time is the single sentence that explains why the case series behaves so differently in the two lockdowns.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Prime Minister announces a second national lockdown for England | 31 October 2020 | UCL to remain open through the second national lockdown | 1 November 2020 | +1 day |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

**Case data.** 3 readings enter the record in this phase.

- **9 October 2020** · UCL begins publishing daily confirmed case counts. First row of the published series. 336 readings follow, to 2022-05-11.
- **December 2020** · Monthly cases falls to 11 for students, on campus. 43 in November 2020, 11 in December 2020, a change of -74%.
- **December 2020** · Monthly cases falls to 28 for students, off campus. 76 in November 2020, 28 in December 2020, a change of -63%.

### September 2020

**Presumption of return from 1 September for staff whose work requires the site**  
*1 September 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 95](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/095_27_July__Issue_95_.html)

Covering face-to-face teaching, some professional services and technical services in laboratories.

> If you need to be onsite to do your job (e.g. to deliver face to face teaching, some Professional Services support or technical services in a laboratory), then there is a presumption that you will return to campus for the number of hours required in order to fulfil your role from 1 September.

Filed on 1 September, the effective date; announced 27 July. The two limbs of this policy — presumption to return for some, remote until January for others — are what the on-campus and off-campus split in the case data is measuring.

**All campus buildings open on schedule for the new academic year**  
*2 September 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 108](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/108_2_September__Issue_108_.html)

Over 100 buildings requiring safety and statutory checks, completed to the July roadmap.

> With thanks to the Estates Operations team and colleagues across UCL, all buildings on campus are now open, on schedule and in time for the start of the new term.

Five and a half months after the closure of 20 March 2020. Open, but under the 25% occupancy cap and 2 metre distancing.

**Pre-enrolment data used to forecast how many students would be on campus**  
*2 September 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 108](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/108_2_September__Issue_108_.html)

> It is particularly urgent this year, as we will use this to forecast student numbers on campus and manage activities within our 2-metre social distancing guidelines.

UCL predicting campus occupancy from enrolment before it could measure it. The case statistics that began six weeks later gave it a measurement instead.

**Zoom licensed for a year because it was the most reliable platform for China**  
*2 September 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 107](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/107_26_August__Issue_107_.html)

Supported by ISD from 2 September alongside Blackboard Collaborate and Microsoft Teams.

> UCL has purchased a 12-month licence for Zoom, as it is currently the most reliable platform for access from China.

A platform decision driven by where students physically were. Many were expected to study the whole of Term 1 from outside the UK.

**Student Success Advisers appointed, one for every 200 undergraduates**  
*7 September 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 109](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/109_7_September__Issue_109_.html)

Embedded in academic departments and contacting students before and after arrival.

> Each Adviser will be responsible for around 200 students, acting as their first point of contact for any questions or problems they may have, and proactively contacting them before and after they arrive.

**Student Support Fund opened for students facing severe financial hardship**  
*7 September 2020 · wellbeing · announced* · [issue 109](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/109_7_September__Issue_109_.html)

Prioritising students from low-income families and BAME backgrounds, disabled students and those with experience of care or homelessness, and receiving the Provost's donated salary.

> We know that many students are experiencing severe financial hardship this year. The situation for some is so critical that they are being forced to consider leaving UCL.

The destination of the 20% salary reduction announced on 24 April, now opened to staff donations.

**No national pay uplift for 2020-21; UCL raises London weighting by 2%**  
*9 September 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 110](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/110_9_September__Issue_110_.html)

National negotiations agreed no uplift because of the sector's financial position. UCL kept automatic incremental progression on grades 1 to 9 and backdated the London weighting rise to 1 August.

> UCL, like most universities in the UK, takes part in national pay negotiations where it was agreed there would be no pay uplift for 2020–21, due to the financial impact of COVID-19 on the sector nationally.

A sector-level decision by UCEA that UCL partly offset locally. The UCEA settlement is a stage 2 retrieval target for the sector track.

**Provost notes the national daily case count clearly rising again**  
*9 September 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 110](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/110_9_September__Issue_110_.html)

Written the week the rule of six was introduced and three weeks before term began.

> with the daily national number of new cases clearly on the rise again, it remains a time of great uncertainty

UCL watching national figures because it had none of its own. The reporting tool announced in the same issue is the answer to exactly this.

**UCL announces a reporting tool to monitor and respond to cases at UCL**  
*9 September 2020 · epidemiology · announced* · [issue 110](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/110_9_September__Issue_110_.html)

Due mid-September, designed with UCL public health experts who had been advising the government.

> This guidance will remain in place until mid-September, when we will launch a new reporting tool to monitor and respond to coronavirus cases at UCL. This system is being designed with UCL public health experts who have been advising the Government.

The origin of the dataset this archive preserves. The published case page first appears in the archive on 12 October 2020, about a month after this announcement, and the first published figure is dated 2020-10-09. This row is the single most important link between the newsletter track and the data track.

**The rule of six bans social gatherings above six in England**  
*14 September 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Applied indoors and outdoors.

> ‘Rule of six’ – indoor and outdoor social gatherings above six banned in England

UCL noted it on 9 September while saying it had not yet decided what to do, which is rare candour in the record.

**Quality assurance processes temporarily relaxed to cut administrative workload**  
*14 September 2020 · assessment · announced* · [issue 111](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/111_14_September__Issue_111_.html)

Internal Quality Review deferred a year for most departments, extenuating circumstances reporting suspended, the emergency module amendment procedure continued, and peer observation reporting suspended.

> A series of temporary modifications to quality assurance processes at departmental level has been agreed for 2020-21, to uphold UCL’s academic standards while reducing administrative workload.

**Rule of six noted as UCL considers its response**  
*14 September 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 110](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/110_9_September__Issue_110_.html)

> the Government has reported a rise in coronavirus cases and limited social gatherings to six people from Monday. UCL is monitoring the situation and considering our response.

Filed on 14 September, the Monday the national limit took effect; reported by UCL on 9 September. A rare case of UCL saying openly that it had not yet decided what to do.

**Asymptomatic testing ruled out as a routine offer**  
*16 September 2020 · testing · announced* · [issue 112](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/112_16_September__Issue_112_.html)

> Testing of asymptomatic staff or students will only be undertaken where our public health advisers consider this appropriate, and will not be offered routinely.

Load-bearing for reading the case data. The published counts are confirmed cases arising largely from symptomatic testing, so they undercount by design and the size of the undercount is unknown.

**UCL to provide up to 1,000 tests a day for symptomatic staff and students**  
*16 September 2020 · testing · announced* · [issue 112](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/112_16_September__Issue_112_.html)

Built on an August pilot in the Paul O'Gorman Building, complementing rather than replacing national testing, with positives referred to NHS Test and Trace.

> We will provide up to 1,000 tests every day for symptomatic staff and students across UCL by the start of term.

Prompted by the widely reported failure of NHS testing capacity in September 2020. UCL built its own because the national system could not be relied on.

**UCL to work with Camden and Islington public health teams on case response**  
*16 September 2020 · testing · announced* · [issue 112](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/112_16_September__Issue_112_.html)

> We will, of course, continue to work with Camden and Islington public health teams and with the London Coronavirus Response Cell.

Names Camden explicitly as a public health partner, which is the institutional counterpart to the Camden case comparator in the data track.

**Connect to Protect reporting tool launched for staff and students**  
*17 September 2020 · testing · took effect* · [issue 113](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/113_21_September__Issue_113_.html)

Collecting symptoms, testing status, self-isolation status and areas of campus recently visited, to monitor the number and location of potential cases.

> When you log-in, you will be asked about any symptoms you have, if you are being tested for coronavirus, if you are self-isolating, and if you have visited any areas of campus recently. We will use this information to monitor the number and location of any potential coronavirus cases, and take action where necessary to keep our campus as safe as possible.

Filed on 17 September, the day issue 112 said the tool would be available; the description here is from issue 113 of 21 September. This is the collection mechanism behind the published case counts.

**Scenario plans published for positive cases and further lockdowns**  
*21 September 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 113](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/113_21_September__Issue_113_.html)

Including criteria for closing buildings, additional cleaning, and how people at risk would be notified.

> Colleagues across UCL have also completed detailed planning in case any students or members of staff test positive for coronavirus, or if further lockdown restrictions are introduced by Government.

**Face coverings extended to UCL's outdoor spaces**  
*23 September 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 114](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/114_23_September__Issue_114_.html)

Expected everywhere on campus and mandatory within two metres of another person.

> All staff, students and visitors are expected to wear face coverings, if they can, when on campus, both inside buildings and when moving around UCL's outdoor spaces;

The fourth and widest version of the policy, five days before term began.

**NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app launched and promoted to UCL staff**  
*24 September 2020 · testing · reported* · [issue 115](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/115_28_September__Issue_115_.html)

Recommended alongside, not instead of, reporting symptoms through Connect to Protect.

> The NHS has launched a new contact tracing app, which notifies individuals if they have been in significant proximity with anyone who later tests positive for coronavirus, without personal data leaving your smartphone.

Filed on 24 September, the national launch date of the app in England and Wales; reported by UCL on 28 September. The national date needs confirming against a primary source in stage 2.

**Community Commitment to Protect Each Other issued with the Students' Union**  
*28 September 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 115](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/115_28_September__Issue_115_.html)

Setting expectations on respecting others, reporting sickness and safety on campus and beyond, sent to all students on the first day of term.

> Central to this is the newly developed Community Commitment to Protect Each Other . This outlines what is expected of everyone – staff and students alike – with expectations about respecting and protecting each other, reporting sickness and keeping safe on campus and in the wider community.

Issued alongside student disciplinary guidance for breaches of safety requirements, so the commitment was backed by sanction.

**Free seasonal flu vaccination vouchers offered to all UK staff**  
*28 September 2020 · vaccination · announced* · [issue 115](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/115_28_September__Issue_115_.html)

In partnership with Boots, framed as reducing the burden of respiratory disease on the NHS.

> UCL is supporting a seasonal flu vaccination programme for all staff in the UK during the Autumn Term in partnership with Boots Pharmacies.

The only vaccination UCL could offer in autumn 2020. COVID-19 vaccination did not begin nationally until 8 December 2020.

**RegisterUCL attendance system introduced to meet public health requirements**  
*28 September 2020 · testing · reported* · [issue 115](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/115_28_September__Issue_115_.html)

> The Registrar has written to Faculty Tutors and DOOs explaining how attendance must be captured in the coming year to ensure we are complying with Public Health England’s regulations to keep our campus safe.

A second presence-recording system alongside Connect to Protect. Neither is the same as the on-campus marker in the published case data, which records a visit of 15 minutes or more in the two days before symptoms or test.

**Term 1 begins on 28 September, coinciding with Yom Kippur**  
*28 September 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 111](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/111_14_September__Issue_111_.html)

Departments asked to be flexible about start-of-term requirements for Jewish students observing the fast.

> Yom Kippur this year coincides with the first day of term on Monday 28 September, and we would like to encourage all departments to be flexible about start of term requirements and activities

Establishes the first day of Term 1 as 28 September 2020, which is the reference point for reading the October case surge. The published case series begins eleven days later.

**China Connect launched to give students in China reliable access to teaching**  
*30 September 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 116](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/116_30_September__Issue_116_.html)

Routing connections from mainland China to London via Shanghai.

> This week ISD launched a new service, China Connect, to ensure students in China have reliable and consistent access to the resources they need to support their teaching and learning activities.

By 6 October over 2,800 users were on it, which is a measure of how many students were studying Term 1 from outside the UK and therefore absent from the campus case counts.

### October 2020

**Busiest online teaching day so far, with 166,000 Moodle visits**  
*5 October 2020 · teaching · observed* · [issue 119](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/119_12_October__Issue_119_.html)

Nearly 59,000 Moodle users, over 2,800 Zoom sessions and 763 Blackboard Collaborate sessions in one day, with nearly 250 virtual common rooms set up.

> 5 October was the busiest online day so far, with nearly 59,000 Moodle users logging over 166,000 visits on this day alone.

A measure of how much of teaching was happening off campus in the week the case counting began.

**Crisis structure stood down and a Public Health Advisory Panel created**  
*5 October 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 117](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/117_5_October__Issue_117_.html)

Normal management resumed, with a new expert panel chaired by Professor Graham Hart, Dean of Population Health Sciences, to inform planning and coordinate public health activity.

> The Provost has taken the decision to stand down UCL’s crisis structure and revert to the university’s normal ways of working, with the Senior Management Team continuing to function as an advisory body for the Provost.

The third and final reorganisation: mitigation group in March, Gold/Silver/Bronze in April, Crisis Leadership Team in June, and now back to normal with a standing public health panel. It happens one week before the case page goes live and four weeks before the second national lockdown.

**UCL antigen testing facility begins issuing home self-test kits**  
*5 October 2020 · testing · took effect* · [issue 117](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/117_5_October__Issue_117_.html)

For symptomatic students in UCL halls and symptomatic staff whose role required them on campus.

> UCL has established a COVID-19 antigen testing facility, which is providing home self-test kits to symptomatic students based in UCL halls and symptomatic staff whose role requires them to work on campus.

Narrower in practice than the 1,000 tests a day for all symptomatic staff and students announced on 16 September. Eligibility is restricted to hall residents and on-site staff.

**Case definition set as positive tests reported to the Public Health Daily Review Group**  
*12 October 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 119](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/119_12_October__Issue_119_.html)

> New cases are defined as new confirmed positive test results reported to UCL’s Public Health Daily Review Group.

The definition behind every number in the dataset. A case had to be tested, confirmed, and reported to UCL to be counted, which is three separate opportunities for undercounting.

**Case page updated weekday mornings, correct to 5pm the previous day**  
*12 October 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 119](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/119_12_October__Issue_119_.html)

Weekend figures folded into Tuesday's report.

> These data will be updated by 9am Monday to Friday. Figures are correct as of 5pm the previous day. Figures received over the weekend will be included in Tuesday’s report.

The primary source for two conventions the archive documents: that Tuesday's figure covers Saturday to Monday, and that each figure lags reality by up to a day. Both must be carried into any reading of the daily series.

**Newsletter cadence drops from twice weekly to weekly on Mondays**  
*12 October 2020 · governance · took effect* · [issue 119](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/119_12_October__Issue_119_.html)

> To reduce the pressure on your inboxes a little bit, you will now receive a coronavirus update once a week on Monday afternoons.

The second cadence change, in the same issue that launches the case page. From this point the newsletters thin while the data thickens.

**UCL publishes a webpage of confirmed COVID-19 cases among staff and students**  
*12 October 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 119](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/119_12_October__Issue_119_.html)

Showing cases in the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, and the total since Term 1 began on 28 September.

> UCL has published a webpage showing the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among UCL’s staff and students.

The page this whole archive exists to preserve. Announced on 9 September, launched here. The first published figure in covid_raw.csv is dated 2020-10-09, three days before this newsletter, so the page existed briefly before it was announced.

**A three-tier system of restrictions starts in England**  
*14 October 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

London moved to Tier 2 on 17 October and UCL stayed open.

> A new three-tier system of Covid-19 restrictions starts in England

The tier system is the mechanism by which national policy reached UCL geographically rather than sectorally.

**London moves to Tier 2 and campus stays open**  
*17 October 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 120](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/120_19_October__Issue_120_.html)

Indoor socialising outside the household banned, rule of six outdoors, no travel to Tier 3 areas. For students in halls, the household is everyone sharing a kitchen or bathroom.

> London has moved to a Tier 2 (high) alert level for COVID-19 and additional restrictions have been introduced to help reduce the spread of infection. Many of the restrictions are the same as before and campus remains open, with measures in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Filed on 17 October, when London entered Tier 2; reported by UCL on 19 October, a two-day lag. Face-to-face teaching continued unchanged, which is a decision as much as the tiering was.

**Cases found most frequently in student accommodation**  
*19 October 2020 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 120](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/120_19_October__Issue_120_.html)

With a contact defined as close proximity from two days before symptoms to ten days after onset.

> As we find cases of COVID-19 across UCL (most frequently in our student accommodation) the team will work with each case to understand who is a ‘contact’ and needs to self-isolate.

Directly relevant to reading the on-campus marker. If transmission was concentrated in halls rather than in teaching spaces, the on-campus flag records where people had been, not where they were infected — which is exactly what the archive documentation says it means.

**Monthly building safety inspections made mandatory**  
*19 October 2020 · governance · reported* · [issue 120](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/120_19_October__Issue_120_.html)

Approved by the Health and Safety Committee, with 30 departmental inspections across 25 buildings done and Safety Services having visited 58 buildings and 197 teaching spaces.

> UCL’s Health and Safety Committee has approved a mandatory safety monitoring programme, to ensure compliance with existing implemented COVID-19 risk control measures which began in August.

**UCL case management described as its own version of contact tracing**  
*19 October 2020 · testing · reported* · [issue 120](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/120_19_October__Issue_120_.html)

Run in partnership with Camden and Islington Public Health and linked to the national test and trace programme.

> This response includes case management, which is our version of ‘tracing’, and our internal testing provision, both of which are linked into the national ‘test and trace’ programme.

UCL running a parallel local system to the national one. The published counts come from this system, not from NHS Test and Trace.

**Terms 2 and 3 expected to run like Term 1**  
*26 October 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 121](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/121_26_October__Issue_121_.html)

Core teaching and assessment online with limited on-campus activity, communicated to students jointly with Students' Union officers.

> indicating it is likely that teaching in Terms Two and Three will be similar to Term One; all core teaching and assessment online, and a limited amount of educational activity on campus, with alternative activity for students not on campus

Signalled a week before the second national lockdown was announced, and formalised on 9 November.

**The Prime Minister announces a second national lockdown for England**  
*31 October 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Announced on a Saturday; the measures came into force on 5 November.

> PM announces a second lockdown in England to prevent a “medical and moral disaster” for the NHS

This source does not say that universities were to stay open. That is UCL's account of the policy, recorded in the UCL row of 1 November, and it still needs a primary source of its own. The distinction matters because the exemption is the reason the case series behaves differently in the two lockdowns.

### November 2020

**Provost notes universities were meant to stay open this time**  
*1 November 2020 · restrictions · reported* · [122_UCL_s_response_to_new_Government_national_restrictions_from_5_November_2020.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/122_UCL_s_response_to_new_Government_national_restrictions_from_5_November_2020.html)

> One of the main differences between this lockdown and the first earlier this year is the intention for schools, colleges and universities to remain open.

The single sentence that explains why the UCL case series behaves so differently in the two lockdowns. Needs a primary source for the government policy in stage 2.

**UCL to remain open through the second national lockdown**  
*1 November 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [122_UCL_s_response_to_new_Government_national_restrictions_from_5_November_2020.html](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/122_UCL_s_response_to_new_Government_national_restrictions_from_5_November_2020.html) · lag **+1 day**

The Provost's response to the announcement of 31 October, keeping libraries, study spaces, halls, catering and laboratories open, with face-to-face teaching under review.

> UCL will remain open, continuing to operate in a COVID-secure way.

A one-day lag on the announcement of Saturday 31 October, and the sharpest contrast with March 2020: the first lockdown closed UCL, the second did not, because government policy this time was for universities to stay open. Files 122 and 124 are the same message duplicated in the archive; only 122 is cited.

**Newsletter frequency increased again in response to the second lockdown**  
*2 November 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 122](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/123_3_November__Issue_122_.html)

> We will increase the frequency of these Coronavirus update emails to give you the information you need as soon as possible.

The only time in the record the cadence goes up rather than down, which makes the newsletter frequency a usable proxy for institutional alarm. Note this newsletter is dated 2 November in its body; UCL's index page titles it 3 November and is wrong.

**The second national lockdown comes into force in England**  
*5 November 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

A four-week closure of non-essential retail, with educational settings treated differently from the first lockdown.

> Second national lockdown comes into force in England

**COVID-19 Career Support Scheme opened for staff whose careers were set back**  
*9 November 2020 · research · announced* · [issue 123](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/125_9_November__Issue_123_.html)

Part of the Equity and Inclusion Plan 2020-21, funding things such as additional childcare or salary costs.

> this scheme invites staff whose careers are at risk of being negatively affected by the pandemic due to equity and inclusion-related circumstances to apply for support or funding to help mitigate this impact

**Temporary operating model for Terms 2 and 3 published**  
*9 November 2020 · teaching · reported* · [issue 123](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/125_9_November__Issue_123_.html)

Fundamentally the same as Term 1, with the flexibility to increase or decrease on-campus activity according to national, regional and local rules.

> The operating model for the rest of this academic year will fundamentally be the same as in Term 1 and will have the flexibility either to increase or decrease the face-to-face activity, teaching and learning, and research and innovation on campus based on the national, regional and local regulations and guidance.

An explicit statement that campus activity was indexed to external regulation rather than to UCL's own case counts. This is the mechanism the blog post's central claim depends on.

**Travel restricted to essential journeys only until 2 December**  
*9 November 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 123](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/125_9_November__Issue_123_.html)

With UCL's insurance cover reduced to a £50,000 limit for COVID-related changes and flexible tickets required.

> In line with the latest guidance from the UK Government Foreign & Commonwealth Office, only essential travel will be permitted within the UK or overseas until 2 December 2020.

Reverses the partial relaxation of 15 July. The 2 December end date matches the announced end of the second national lockdown.

**The Department for Education publishes Christmas travel guidance for students**  
*11 November 2020 · teaching · announced* · [source](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/christmasguidance-set-out-for-university-students)

Published by the Department for Education and the Minister of State for Universities.

> University students will be able to travel home to spend Christmas with their families once the national restrictions end on 2 December, following steps set out in new Government guidance published today.

The sector-specific counterpart to the second lockdown, and the reason UCL restricted travel to essential journeys until 2 December.

**Ramsay Hall becomes a COVID-19 testing centre for Camden residents**  
*16 November 2020 · civic · took effect* · [issue 124](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/126_16_November__Issue_124_.html)

A partnership between UCL, the London Borough of Camden and the Department of Health and Social Care, increasing testing capacity for the borough rather than for UCL.

> UCL’s Ramsay Hall will become a COVID-19 testing centre from today, as part of a partnership between the London Borough of Camden and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

UCL estate used for the borough's testing, not its own. Distinct from the Bidborough House centre for UCL students and staff, which opened a fortnight later.

**Asymptomatic lateral flow testing opens for students at Bidborough House**  
*30 November 2020 · testing · took effect* · [issue 126](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/128_30_November__Issue_126_.html)

Part of the national testing programme for universities, to support travel over the winter break. Free, voluntary, results in about two hours.

> Asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for UCL students starts today, as part of the national testing programme for universities to support students to travel over the winter break.

Reverses the position of 16 September, when asymptomatic testing was ruled out as a routine offer. It arrives as a national programme with a specific purpose: getting students home.

**Staff explicitly excluded from asymptomatic testing at its launch**  
*30 November 2020 · testing · announced* · [issue 126](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/128_30_November__Issue_126_.html)

> If you are a member of UCL staff, please do not book an appointment for an asymptomatic test. The Government has introduced the national testing programme specifically to support students who wish to leave university for the end of term.

Matters for reading the case data: through December 2020 the staff and student series were produced under different testing regimes, so a comparison between them in that period is not like for like.

### December 2020

**The second lockdown ends and England returns to the tier system**  
*2 December 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

London returned to Tier 2.

> Second lockdown ends after four weeks and England returns to a stricter three-tier system of restrictions

**Second national lockdown ends and London returns to Tier 2**  
*2 December 2020 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 126](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/128_30_November__Issue_126_.html)

> The current national lockdown period in England is due to end this Wednesday, 2 December, after which London will be in Tier 2 (High Alert) restrictions.

London moved to Tier 3 on 16 December and Tier 4 on 20 December, neither of which the newsletters cover, because the last update before the winter break was 14 December. Both need retrieving in stage 2 to explain the December case peak.

**The student travel window opens**  
*3 December 2020 · teaching · took effect* · [source](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/christmasguidance-set-out-for-university-students)

A six-day window with staggered departure dates set by each university.

> From 3 December to 9 December, which will be known as the ‘student travel window’, students will be allowed to travel home on staggered departure dates set by universities, who will work with other institutions in the region to manage pressure on transport infrastructure.

A national policy written specifically for universities, and one of the few that treats the student population as an epidemiological object in its own right.

**Coronavirus updates to pause from the start of Term 2**  
*14 December 2020 · governance · announced* · [issue 128](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/130_14_December__Issue_128_.html)

In line with the Working Smarter initiative and feedback about email volume, with The Week@UCL continuing and coronavirus emails restarting only as needed.

> we are planning to pause these coronavirus emails from the start of next term. You will still receive The Week@UCL every Thursday, and we will restart these coronavirus emails as and when we need to share important information.

The pause did not hold. Issue 129 followed on 5 January 2021, three weeks later, after the third national lockdown was announced. The intention to stop is itself evidence of how UCL read the situation in mid-December.

**Phased return of students planned for Term 2 on government guidance**  
*14 December 2020 · teaching · announced* · [issue 128](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/130_14_December__Issue_128_.html)

Departments prioritised practical, laboratory and studio subjects and early assessments, with students free to study remotely or on campus.

> Departments are writing to students today (Monday 14 December) with information about arrangements for the start of Term Two, in response to recent Government guidance about the phased return of students to universities across the country.

Overtaken within three weeks by the third national lockdown. The plan for a phased return in January never happened as described.

**Student study spaces in former offices running at over 80% capacity**  
*14 December 2020 · accommodation · reported* · [issue 128](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/130_14_December__Issue_128_.html)

Bidborough House, Torrington Place and 1 St Martin's Le Grand given over to study space and the national testing programme.

> These study spaces are currently operating at above 80% capacity, and the asymptomatic testing site is playing an important role in supporting our students to travel to and from London more safely.

Evidence that on-campus presence in December 2020 was substantial and concentrated in study space rather than teaching, which is context for the December case figures.

## 4. Winter, Alpha and the second closure

*Phase window 19 December 2020 to 21 February 2021. 13 events and 6 case-data readings, running 19 December 2020 to 8 February 2021.*

The thinnest stretch of the record for institutional decisions, set against case-data readings that move very sharply: staff cases off campus rise from 15 in December 2020 to 154 in January 2021 and fall back to 18 in February. UCL responded to the third national lockdown on 5 January by returning to work from home, and on 1 February moved all remaining teaching online for the rest of Term 2, a decision the newsletter attributes explicitly to government guidance rather than to UCL's own figures. On-campus student cases in January 2021 totalled nine, and that is the number the January 2022 comparison is measured against.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England enters the third national lockdown | 6 January 2021 | All teaching to remain online for the rest of Term 2 | 1 February 2021 | +26 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

**Case data.** 6 readings enter the record in this phase.

- **January 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 116 for students, off campus. 28 in December 2020, 116 in January 2021, a change of +314%.
- **January 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 154 for staff, off campus. 15 in December 2020, 154 in January 2021, a change of +927%.
- **January 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 90 for staff, on campus. 17 in December 2020, 90 in January 2021, a change of +429%.
- **February 2021** · Monthly cases falls to 18 for staff, off campus. 154 in January 2021, 18 in February 2021, a change of -88%.
- **February 2021** · Monthly cases falls to 26 for staff, on campus. 90 in January 2021, 26 in February 2021, a change of -71%.
- **February 2021** · Monthly cases falls to 27 for students, off campus. 116 in January 2021, 27 in February 2021, a change of -77%.

### December 2020

**Tier 4 announced for London and the South East**  
*19 December 2020 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

A new "Stay at Home" alert level, with the planned Christmas relaxation cut short.

> PM announces tougher restrictions for London and South East England, with a new Tier 4: ‘Stay at Home’ alert level. Christmas mixing rules tightened.

The start of the phase in which UCL's January 2021 rise occurs. Attributing that rise to the Alpha variant is an epidemiological claim none of the cached sources makes, so it is not made here: what the ledger supports is that the restrictions tightened and the figures rose.

### January 2021

**Twice-weekly asymptomatic testing extended to staff working on campus**  
*5 January 2021 · testing · announced* · [issue 129](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/131_5_January_2021__Issue_129_.html)

At Bidborough House, free and voluntary, using lateral flow tests.

> UCL and contracted staff who are working on campus and who do not have COVID-19 symptoms are encouraged to get tested twice a week at UCL’s testing centre in Bidborough House.

Five weeks after staff were told not to book asymptomatic tests. Encouraged on 5 January, expected by 18 January. A change in testing intensity that will show in the staff case counts independently of any change in infection.

**UCL responds to the third national lockdown: work from home if you can**  
*5 January 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 129](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/131_5_January_2021__Issue_129_.html)

Campus stayed open for estates, libraries, cleaning, catering and security staff, and for researchers needing specialist facilities. Clinically extremely vulnerable staff told not to attend.

> If you can work from home during this period, you must do so . However, campus will remain open and some colleagues will be required to work onsite, for example, staff in our estates and libraries teams, and with our cleaning, catering and security partners.

A one-day lag on the announcement of 4 January 2021. This is the policy under which UCL's on-campus student cases fell to their lowest point of the whole series in January 2021, which is the blog post's central claim.

**University staff classed as critical workers for school places**  
*5 January 2021 · governance · reported* · [issue 129](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/131_5_January_2021__Issue_129_.html)

Because universities were being asked to stay open and keep delivering learning, even remotely.

> Under the latest Government guidance, University staff are considered critical workers and are therefore eligible to send their children to school as usual. This is because we are being asked to keep universities open, and to continue to deliver learning (even if remotely).

Qualified on 1 February: UCL clarified that critical worker status was mainly for school eligibility and did not itself justify travel.

**England enters the third national lockdown**  
*6 January 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf)

Announced by the Prime Minister on the evening of 4 January and in force from 6 January.

> England enters third national lockdown

UCL responded on 5 January, between the announcement and the legal commencement. The ledger dates this row to the date this source gives, which is the commencement.

**2 metre distancing mandated as the default in all settings**  
*12 January 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 130](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/132_12_January_2021__Issue_130_.html)

Removing the flexibility previously allowed for critical laboratory work, which now needed Head of Department approval and a fresh risk assessment.

> In light of the recent increase in coronavirus cases and the tightening of Government restrictions, UCL is now mandating 2-metre social distancing as our default position in all settings, having provided some flexibility for critical lab-based activity if accompanied by a risk assessment.

UCL tightening beyond its own July position, which had already been stricter than the national one metre plus.

**Government redefines a contact as 15 minutes cumulative within two metres**  
*12 January 2021 · testing · took effect* · [issue 130](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/132_12_January_2021__Issue_130_.html)

Counting a single period or time accumulated over one day.

> Under the new guidance, this now includes anyone who has been within two metres of someone for more than 15 minutes, whether in a single period or cumulatively over the course of one day.

The 15-minute threshold in the national contact definition. The on-campus marker in UCL's published data uses a similar 15-minute rule for presence, which is a different thing measured with a similar rule; do not conflate them.

**UCL legally required to report case figures to Camden Council and the OfS**  
*12 January 2021 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 130](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/132_12_January_2021__Issue_130_.html)

Alongside responding to cases, informing the testing programme and identifying outbreaks.

> report coronavirus case figures to Camden Council and the Office for Students, which we are legally required to do;

The most important provenance fact about the dataset after the case definition itself. The numbers were not a voluntary publication: UCL had a statutory reporting duty to Camden and the OfS, and the public page sat on top of that obligation. The legal basis is a stage 2 retrieval target.

**All UK travel corridors removed and travel restricted to legally permitted reasons**  
*18 January 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 131](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/133_18_January_2021__Issue_131_.html)

With faculty approval, a risk assessment, TravelCert registration, a negative test up to three days before departure and self-isolation on return.

> Staff and students should not travel unless it is for a legally permitted reason . Please note that from today the Government has announced there are no longer any travel corridors .

The tightest travel position of the whole record, and the reversal of the partial reopening of 15 July 2020.

### February 2021

**All teaching to remain online for the rest of Term 2**  
*1 February 2021 · teaching · announced* · [issue 132](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/134_1_February_2021__Issue_132_.html) · lag **+26 days**

Except a small number of exempt courses, with a no-detriment package being developed for assessment.

> In response to the latest guidance from the UK Government , we are now planning for all teaching and other face-to-face activities to remain online for the remainder of Term Two, except for a small number of exempt courses.

The decision that keeps the on-campus student line flat through the Alpha wave. Explicitly a response to national guidance rather than to UCL's own case counts.

**Free face masks provided for the commute of staff who must attend campus**  
*3 February 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 132](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/134_1_February_2021__Issue_132_.html)

From 3 February to 8 March, collectable in Bloomsbury or posted to staff at outlying sites.

> UCL will be providing free face masks to wear during your commute from Wednesday 3 February until Monday 8 March when we will review the approach in line with Government guidance .

UCL intervening in the journey to work, which is outside its estate and outside its control, because commuting was the concern staff reported most.

**Confirmatory PCR no longer required after a positive lateral flow test**  
*8 February 2021 · testing · took effect* · [issue 133](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/135_8_February_2021__Issue_133__.html)

Isolation to begin from the day of the positive lateral flow result.

> In line with new Government guidance, anyone who has a positive LFT result no longer needs to take a confirmatory Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test afterwards.

A change in what counts as a confirmed case, and therefore a change in the meaning of the published series partway through it. Lateral flow positives now enter the count without PCR confirmation.

**No detriment package published for 2020-21 assessment**  
*8 February 2021 · assessment · reported* · [issue 133](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/135_8_February_2021__Issue_133__.html)

Developed with Students' Union UCL.

> UCL has today published details of its COVID-19 mitigation measures to support our students through their assessment in 2020-21. We have worked with Students’ Union UCL to develop a ‘no detriment’ package to make sure our students are not disadvantaged by the pandemic.

The second year's version of the principle first adopted on 7 April 2020.

## 5. The roadmap out of lockdown

*Phase window 22 February 2021 to 13 June 2021. 14 events and 1 case-data reading, running 22 February 2021 to 1 June 2021.*

Practical and practice-based teaching resumed on campus on 8 March 2021, and on 23 March UCL published its own roadmap tracking the government's four steps, which is the plainest instance in the record of an institutional timetable written as a function of a national one. Remaining students were told on 21 April to stay away until in-person teaching resumed, which they did on 17 May, and that instruction is why the on-campus line stays flat through the spring while national restrictions were easing. The single case-data reading in this phase is on-campus student cases rising from 1 in May 2021 to 54 in June.

**Case data.** One reading enters the record in this phase.

- **June 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 54 for students, on campus. 1 in May 2021, 54 in June 2021, a change of +5300%.

### February 2021

**The government publishes the roadmap out of lockdown**  
*22 February 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/timeline-coronavirus-lockdown-december-2021.pdf)

Four steps, replacing the regional tier system with uniform national easing.

> PM publishes a roadmap for lifting the lockdown

UCL published its own roadmap tracking these four steps on 23 March 2021.

**Government roadmap allows practical teaching to resume from 8 March**  
*22 February 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 134](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/136_23_February_2021__Issue_134_.html)

A four-step roadmap announced on 22 February, with higher education guidance limited at first to practical and practice-based courses needing specialist facilities.

> Universities can resume in-person teaching for students on practical or practice-based courses and who require specialist equipment and facilities from 8 March.

Filed on 22 February, the date of the announcement; UCL reported it on 23 February, a one-day lag. The 8 March date is the first loosening for universities since the January lockdown, and it is narrow.

### March 2021

**Practical and practice-based teaching resumes on campus**  
*8 March 2021 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 135](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/137_2_March_2021__Issue_135_.html)

Eligible students contacted directly through their programmes.

> As part of the Government’s four-step roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions, from 8 March 2021 UCL can resume in-person teaching for students on practical or practice-based courses and who require specialist equipment.

Filed on 8 March, the effective date; announced 2 March. The blog post notes the shaded campus-closed period running to 17 May 2021, so this partial return sits inside it and should be shown as such rather than as a reopening.

**One year of remote working measured in platform use**  
*16 March 2021 · teaching · reported* · [issue 136](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/138_16_March_2021__Issue_136_.html)

> in the last year, UCL has had 530 Zoom sessions, nearly 40,000 Lecturecast recordings, more than 1.5 million meetings on MS Teams, and over 16 million daily logins on Moodle during term-time

The Zoom figure of 530 is almost certainly wrong by orders of magnitude: issue 119 alone recorded over 2,800 Zoom sessions in a single day in October 2020. Quoted as printed and flagged; do not repeat the 530 figure as a fact.

**Future of Work survey opened on what should return to campus**  
*23 March 2021 · governance · announced* · [issue 137](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/139_23_March_2021__Issue_137_.html)

A seven-question survey open until 18 April 2021 on what worked remotely and what belongs on site.

> What you tell us now will help us decide what areas we should invest in for our future, what changes we should make to how we work and how we can optimise our workspaces to deliver UCL’s ambitions for years to come.

The first question in the record about what should be permanent rather than what should be endured.

**UCL publishes its own roadmap tracking the government's four steps**  
*23 March 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 137](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/139_23_March_2021__Issue_137_.html)

More campus spaces from 12 April including fitness, study space and outdoor dining, with a hoped-for full return no earlier than 21 June.

> We are now creating our own version of the roadmap for the university, underpinned by our people-first approach and commitment to maintaining our symptom-free testing service and the Connect to Protect reporting tool.

UCL committing to keep its own testing and reporting running through the reopening, which is why the case series continues past the point where campus restrictions ease.

### April 2021

**Free rapid testing opens to everyone in England**  
*9 April 2021 · testing · took effect* · [issue 139](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/141_12_April_2021__Issue_139_.html)

UCL encouraged twice-weekly use and kept its own Bidborough House centre for those who needed to be on campus.

> The Government have announced that access to free, regular, rapid coronavirus testing will be available to everyone in England from 9 April .

Filed on 9 April, the national effective date; reported by UCL on 12 April. From this point UCL's own testing provision is a convenience rather than a necessity, which changes what its case counts are capturing.

**UCL relays advice that COVID tests do not invalidate the Ramadan fast**  
*12 April 2021 · testing · reported* · [issue 139](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/141_12_April_2021__Issue_139_.html)

From the Department of Health and Social Care in consultation with the British Islamic Medical Association.

> Their position is that LFT and PCR COVID tests do not invalidate the Ramadan fast.

A testing-uptake measure aimed at a specific community, on the first day of Ramadan 2021.

**Remaining students told to stay away until in-person teaching resumes on 17 May**  
*21 April 2021 · teaching · announced* · [issue 140](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/142_21_April_2021__Issue_140_.html)

With an exception for students whose mental health or wellbeing was affecting their ability to study.

> Students should remain where they are to continue with their studies and not return to term-time accommodation before their face-to-face teaching resumes, unless they have mental health or wellbeing challenges impacting on their ability to study successfully.

An instruction not to return, which is why the on-campus student line stays flat through spring 2021 even as national restrictions eased.

### May 2021

**UCL sets a three-step return: 17 May, 21 June, then September**  
*4 May 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 141](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/143_4_May_2021__Issue_141_.html)

Students and paused research from 17 May, campus fully open from 21 June, majority of staff back for part of the week from September.

> In line with Government guidance, all remaining staff will be able to start returning to onsite working from 21 June, ahead of the start of the 2021/22 academic year.

Explicitly built on three inputs: the government roadmap, UCL's own public health experts, and staff feedback. The 21 June date later slipped by four weeks with the national step 4 delay.

**All remaining students may return to campus and face-to-face teaching restarts**  
*17 May 2021 · teaching · took effect* · [issue 141](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/143_4_May_2021__Issue_141_.html)

With parking, FFP2 masks, symptom-free testing and Connect to Protect offered as practical support.

> From Monday 17 May all remaining students who have been studying remotely can return to campus (including paused research projects), and face-to-face teaching and supervision can restart.

The end of the campus-closed period the blog post shades on its student figure, which runs January to 17 May 2021. Filed on 17 May, the effective date; announced 4 May.

**Travel permitted to Green and Amber list countries for essential reasons**  
*17 May 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 142](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/144_17_May_2021__Issue_142_.html)

With quarantine costs met by UCL or the grant where travel was essential, and flexible tickets required.

> Staff and students may now travel on UCL business to countries that are on the Green or Amber lists for essential reasons.

The first loosening since travel corridors were removed on 18 January 2021.

**Future of Work survey finds most staff want lasting flexibility**  
*24 May 2021 · governance · reported* · [issue 143](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/145_24_May_2021__Issue_143_.html)

Just over a third of staff responded. More than half reported an improved work-life blend, with commuting less and the financial effect named as gains.

> more than half of staff reported an overall improvement in their work-life blend and colleagues said they enjoy commuting less and the positive financial impact

The evidence base for the 40% on-campus expectation set in the same issue. Response rate is stated as just over a third, so the finding is not a census.

**Staff to spend a minimum of 40% of working time on campus from September**  
*24 May 2021 · governance · announced* · [issue 143](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/145_24_May_2021__Issue_143_.html)

With the exact proportion depending on role and departmental need, and no staff required to work remotely.

> we will typically expect all colleagues to spend a minimum of 40% of their working time onsite from September

The permanent settlement that came out of the pandemic, and the first policy in the record framed around what work should look like afterwards rather than during.

## 6. Delta and the summer reopening

*Phase window 14 June 2021 to 26 November 2021. 19 events and 5 case-data readings, running 14 June 2021 to 1 November 2021.*

Step 4 was delayed by four weeks on 14 June and UCL's return timetable slipped with it, which is the clearest case in the record of a UCL date moving purely because a national date moved. When the remaining legal restrictions ended, UCL kept face coverings in all indoor spaces, reviewed that policy on 31 August and again on 22 October, and deliberately kept it both times: a second divergence in the cautious direction, a year after the 2 metre decision. The limit of that autonomy is recorded on 14 September, when the Department for Education's position that students may decline a face covering left UCL holding an expectation it could not enforce.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 4 removes most legal limits on social contact in England | 19 July 2021 | One-way systems removed and social distancing relaxed at step 4 | 19 July 2021 | same day |
| Step 4 removes most legal limits on social contact in England | 19 July 2021 | Face coverings kept in all indoor spaces after legal restrictions ended | 26 July 2021 | +7 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

**Case data.** 5 readings enter the record in this phase.

- **21 August 2021** · Collection outage of 50 hours. The hourly scraper stopped for 50 hours, so any page updates in that window were not captured.
- **October 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 68 for students, on campus. 14 in September 2021, 68 in October 2021, a change of +386%.
- **November 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 61 for staff, off campus. 36 in October 2021, 61 in November 2021, a change of +69%.
- **November 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 62 for students, off campus. 33 in October 2021, 62 in November 2021, a change of +88%.
- **November 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 71 for staff, on campus. 32 in October 2021, 71 in November 2021, a change of +122%.

### June 2021

**Step 4 of the roadmap delayed by four weeks to 19 July**  
*14 June 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/timeline-coronavirus-lockdown-december-2021.pdf)

Delayed in response to the Delta variant.

> delayed by four weeks, until 19 July, as the government accelerates the vaccination programme.

UCL's return timetable slipped with it, which is the clearest case in the record of a UCL date moving purely because a national date moved.

**Step 4 delayed four weeks and UCL's return timetable slips with it**  
*14 June 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 144](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/146_15_June_2021__Issue_144_.html)

From 21 June to 19 July, with staff asked to keep working remotely until at least that date.

> The Government announced last night that stage four in the roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions will be delayed by four weeks, from Monday 21 June to Monday 19 July.

Filed on 14 June, the date of the announcement; UCL reported it on 15 June, a one-day lag. The clearest case of a UCL date moving purely because a national date moved.

**Staff asked to report every test result, positive or negative, to Connect to Protect**  
*15 June 2021 · testing · reported* · [issue 144](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/146_15_June_2021__Issue_144_.html)

> Once you receive your results, whether positive or negative, you should report your results through the NHS and through UCL’s Connect to Protect tool .

UCL asking for negatives as well as positives, though only confirmed positives reach the published page. The denominator was collected but never published, which is why a positivity rate cannot be recovered from the archive.

**UCL encourages students to register with a GP so they can be invited for vaccination**  
*15 June 2021 · vaccination · reported* · [issue 144](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/146_15_June_2021__Issue_144_.html)

> We are encouraging students to register with a GP so they can be invited to book their vaccination as the rollout continues and they become eligible.

A practical obstacle specific to students: eligibility depended on GP registration, and students often were not registered locally.

### July 2021

**Step 4 removes most legal limits on social contact in England**  
*19 July 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/timeline-coronavirus-lockdown-december-2021.pdf)

The end of the legal requirements, including distancing and face coverings.

> Most legal limits on social contact removed

UCL kept face coverings in all indoor spaces a week later, and this ends the 2 metre rule UCL had held since 8 July 2020.

**One-way systems removed and social distancing relaxed at step 4**  
*19 July 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 146](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/148_13_July_2021__Issue_146_.html) · lag **same day**

Most spaces returned to normal capacity, with face coverings still expected in crowded indoor areas.

> All remaining one-way systems will be removed and social distancing requirements will be relaxed, which will mean most spaces can return to their normal capacity.

Filed on 19 July, the effective date; announced 13 July. The end of the 2 metre rule UCL had held since 8 July 2020, sixteen months earlier, including through a period when the national rule was one metre plus.

**Face coverings kept in all indoor spaces after legal restrictions ended**  
*26 July 2021 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 147](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/149_26_July_2021__Issue_147_.html) · lag **+7 days**

Including lectures, seminar rooms, study spaces, offices and laboratories.

> Unless you are exempt, we expect everyone on campus to wear a face covering in indoor spaces, including in lectures, seminar rooms, study spaces, offices and labs.

A second deliberate divergence from national policy in the cautious direction, a year after the 2 metre decision. Legal requirements had ended a week earlier.

### August 2021

**Pilot Remote Working Policy published with hybrid working guidance**  
*2 August 2021 · governance · reported* · [issue 148](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/150_2_August_2021__Issue_148_.html)

> A new pilot Remote Working Policy and set of hybrid working FAQs have been produced to support existing guidance and policies on working from home and on campus, during the pandemic, including key dates and the expectations of our staff.

**Testing centre moves from Bidborough House to the Student Centre at reduced scale**  
*2 August 2021 · testing · took effect* · [issue 147](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/149_26_July_2021__Issue_147_.html)

Bidborough House closed on 30 July, with a smaller service opening at the Student Centre for those who preferred to test on site or needed help.

> The Lateral Flow Testing (LFT) centre on the ground floor of Bidborough House will close on Friday 30 July. A new LFT facility is due to open at the UCL Student Centre on Monday 2 August, providing a smaller-scale service

A reduction in UCL's own testing capacity, once home tests were universally available. Filed on 2 August, the opening date of the replacement.

**Your Wellbeing survey folded into a weekly People Pulse survey**  
*2 August 2021 · wellbeing · took effect* · [issue 148](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/150_2_August_2021__Issue_148_.html)

After just over a year, with a one-year review published.

> From Monday 2 August, the Your Wellbeing survey will be phased into the weekly People Pulse survey, to help us understand how our staff are coping as we transition into hybrid working.

The crisis instrument becomes a permanent one. The survey ran weekly from 22 June 2020, which is longer than the published case series.

**Face covering policy reviewed by senior management and deliberately kept**  
*31 August 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 149](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/151_31_August_2021__Issue_149_.html)

Staff had raised concerns about wearing coverings all day, and the Senior Management Team decided to maintain the requirement pending a further review on 22 October.

> However, we have determined that our current approach should be maintained, because it is an important way to help keep our community as safe as possible as larger numbers of staff and students return to campus.

A documented decision rather than a default, which is what makes it usable as evidence that UCL chose to stay stricter than the law required.

**NHS vaccination centre opens at UCL's Bidborough House**  
*31 August 2021 · vaccination · took effect* · [issue 149](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/151_31_August_2021__Issue_149_.html)

Run by UCLH staff in partnership with UCL, open to local residents and students for first or second doses, bookable through the national system.

> An NHS vaccination centre has been opened at UCL’s Bidborough House site on Mabledon Place, off Euston Road, giving local residents and students the ability to book an appointment in the heart of Camden.

The same building that housed the asymptomatic testing centre, and before that staff offices given over to student study space. The third repurposing of one building in a year.

### September 2021

**COVID-19 Visitor Policy withdrawn**  
*14 September 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 150](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/152_14_September_2021__Issue_150_.html)

Visitors still signed in but were no longer required to declare symptoms or register the areas they visited.

> The COVID-19 Visitor Policy is no longer in effect.

Ends the contact-tracing regime for visitors introduced on 24 August 2020.

**Department for Education says students may decline face coverings**  
*14 September 2021 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 150](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/152_14_September_2021__Issue_150_.html)

Setting departmental guidance against UCL's own expectation that everyone wear one indoors.

> Although this is UCL’s position, the Department for Education has said that students can choose not to wear face coverings and they must not miss out on educational sessions if they do so.

An explicit conflict between UCL policy and national guidance, stated in the newsletter. UCL kept its expectation but could not enforce it against students, which is the clearest limit on institutional autonomy anywhere in the record.

**Ventilation reworked across campus with a CO2 monitoring trial**  
*14 September 2021 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 150](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/152_14_September_2021__Issue_150_.html)

Air recirculation turned off in mechanically ventilated rooms, full fresh air supplied, maintenance brought forward before the autumn term.

> In rooms with mechanical ventilation, air recirculation has been turned off and full fresh air is being supplied;

A physical infection-control measure rather than a behavioural one, and the only one in the record that changed the buildings themselves.

**All remaining staff expected back on campus from the start of term**  
*27 September 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 150](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/152_14_September_2021__Issue_150_.html)

With an expectation of at least 40% of working time on site, agreed individually with line managers.

> From the start of term on 27 September, UCL expects all remaining staff to return to work from our buildings.

Filed on 27 September, the effective date; announced 14 September. Eighteen months after the closure of 20 March 2020, and the point at which campus population returns to something like normal — which is the context for the Omicron peak three months later.

**Face coverings expected during classroom teaching for the new academic year**  
*29 September 2021 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 151](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/153_29_September_2021__Issue_151_.html)

With no evidence required from anyone exempt, and a review scheduled for 22 October 2021.

> All staff, students and visitors are expected to wear face coverings whilst indoors in all UCL buildings including during classroom teaching, unless they are exempt.

The policy in force at the start of the academic year that ends with the Omicron peak of December 2021.

### October 2021

**Face coverings retained after a University Management Committee review**  
*22 October 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 153](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/155_25_October_2021__Issue_153_.html)

Reviewed on 22 October and kept, with a further review set for 6 December.

> Following a University Management Committee (UMC) review on 22 October, UCL will retain its existing guidance on face coverings. This will be reviewed again on 6 December.

Filed on 22 October, the date of the review; reported 25 October. The second documented decision to stay stricter than the law required.

**Traffic light travel system replaced by a Red List of seven countries**  
*25 October 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 153](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/155_25_October_2021__Issue_153_.html)

UCL permitted business travel to any country not on the Red List where the need was justified.

> The UK Government has replaced the “traffic light” system for international travel with a single Red List of seven countries where travel is not allowed.

The loosest travel position since March 2020. It lasted five weeks before Omicron.

## 7. Omicron

*Phase window 27 November 2021 to 20 February 2022. 18 events and 14 case-data readings, running 30 November 2021 to 18 February 2022.*

This is the phase in which UCL acts on its own case data rather than on national policy. The newsletter of 13 December states that cases were rising on campus as well as nationally, and the on-campus student series peaks at 525 in the week to 21 December, the highest seven-day total anywhere in the record, with on-campus staff peaking at 131 in the same week. Higher education was exempted from Plan B and the campus stayed open, which sets up the sharpest measurement in the dataset: 9 on-campus student cases in January 2021 against 696 in January 2022, a 77-fold rise, while Camden's own cases rose 2.4-fold across the same two months. Both series rise, and it is the difference in magnitude rather than in direction that the local epidemic cannot account for.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The government announces a move to Plan B measures in England | 8 December 2021 | Term 2 to open with face-to-face teaching, disruption anticipated | 17 December 2021 | +9 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

**Case data.** 14 readings enter the record in this phase.

- **December 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 140 for staff, off campus. 61 in November 2021, 140 in December 2021, a change of +130%.
- **December 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 178 for staff, on campus. 71 in November 2021, 178 in December 2021, a change of +151%.
- **December 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 219 for students, off campus. 62 in November 2021, 219 in December 2021, a change of +253%.
- **December 2021** · Monthly cases rises to 685 for students, on campus. 101 in November 2021, 685 in December 2021, a change of +578%.
- **21 December 2021** · Weekly cases peak at 131 for staff, on campus. The highest seven-day total for this series anywhere in the record.
- **21 December 2021** · Weekly cases peak at 525 for students, on campus. The highest seven-day total for this series anywhere in the record.
- **January 2022** · Monthly cases rises to 299 for staff, off campus. 140 in December 2021, 299 in January 2022, a change of +114%.
- **January 2022** · Monthly cases rises to 436 for students, off campus. 219 in December 2021, 436 in January 2022, a change of +99%.
- **January 2022** · On-campus student cases: 9 in January 2021, 696 in January 2022. The same calendar month under opposite campus policies. In January 2021 all teaching was online and students were told not to return; in January 2022 campus was open for face-to-face teaching under the higher education exemption from Plan B.
- **January 2022** · UCL rises 77-fold between the two Januaries, Camden 2.4-fold. Camden recorded 4,770 cases in January 2021 and 11,211 in January 2022, a factor of 2.4. UCL on-campus students went from 9 to 696, a factor of 77 — about 33 times the borough's growth.
- **10 January 2022** · Weekly cases peak at 104 for staff, off campus. The highest seven-day total for this series anywhere in the record.
- **13 January 2022** · Weekly cases peak at 159 for students, off campus. The highest seven-day total for this series anywhere in the record.
- **February 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 114 for staff, off campus. 299 in January 2022, 114 in February 2022, a change of -62%.
- **February 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 164 for students, off campus. 436 in January 2022, 164 in February 2022, a change of -62%.

### November 2021

**All UCL-sponsored staff social gatherings cancelled**  
*30 November 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 155](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/157_30_November_2021__Issue_155_.html)

Applying to any gathering where UCL contributed to costs, on or off campus, with teams strongly advised to postpone parties.

> In response to the uncertainty arising from the Omicron variant, we have agreed that all UCL-sponsored social gatherings should be cancelled or postponed until further notice.

Explicitly to protect teaching: cutting non-essential gatherings so that essential activity could continue. Lifted on 7 February 2022.

**Face coverings made mandatory indoors on campus as Omicron emerges**  
*30 November 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 155](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/157_30_November_2021__Issue_155_.html)

Following the Prime Minister's announcement of precautionary measures on 27 November.

> Face coverings are mandatory for all students and staff while you are indoors on campus, unless you are exempt.

A move from expected to mandatory. UCL's own advisory panel is named alongside government guidance as the basis.

**Staff encouraged to work remotely to December to cut campus footfall**  
*30 November 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 155](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/157_30_November_2021__Issue_155_.html)

With campus staying open for in-person teaching, research and support.

> However, to minimise footfall and ensure our spaces are as safe as possible for those staff who do need to work on campus, we encourage you to speak to your manager about whether more of your work could be carried out remotely until the end of December.

Two months after all staff were told to return. This is the reversal that precedes the highest weekly case count in the whole series.

### December 2021

**The government announces a move to Plan B measures in England**  
*8 December 2021 · restrictions · announced* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/timeline-coronavirus-lockdown-december-2021.pdf)

Guidance to work from home, with face coverings and the NHS Covid Pass.

> PM announces a move to ‘Plan B’ measures in England following the spread of the Omicron variant.

This source does not record the higher education exemption. That is UCL's account, and it is the reason UCL stayed open through the highest case counts in the whole series.

**Face masks become compulsory in most indoor venues under Plan B**  
*10 December 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/timeline-coronavirus-lockdown-december-2021.pdf)

> Face masks become compulsory in most public indoor venues under Plan B.

UCL had made face coverings mandatory indoors on campus on 30 November, ten days ahead of this.

**Plan B: office workers to work from home, with higher education exempted**  
*13 December 2021 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 157](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/159_9_December_2021__Issue_157_.html)

Face coverings required by law in most indoor public places from 10 December, NHS COVID Pass for large venues from 15 December, though not for teaching events.

> From Monday 13 December, office workers should work from home if they can, with Government exemptions for Higher Education staff (see below).

Filed on 13 December, the effective date; announced by the government on 8 December and by UCL on 9 December, a one-day lag. The higher education exemption is why UCL stayed open and why the December case counts are as high as they are.

**Staff permitted to move teaching online for the final week of Term 1**  
*13 December 2021 · teaching · announced* · [issue 158](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/160_13_December_2021__Issue_158_.html)

At the discretion of the programme and Head of Department, with no requirement to do so.

> Whilst campus remains open for face-to-face teaching and other activities until term ends on Friday, you may move your teaching online for the remainder of this week.

Permission rather than instruction, and taken eight days before the on-campus student peak of 525 cases in the week to 21 December 2021. Whether the permission was widely used cannot be established from the archive.

**UCL states cases are rising on campus as well as nationally**  
*13 December 2021 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 158](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/160_13_December_2021__Issue_158_.html)

> Just as numbers of COVID-19 cases are rising throughout the UK, including the new Omicron variant, so too are they on campus.

The clearest instance in the whole record of UCL acting on its own case data rather than on national policy: the newsletter cites the campus figures directly, and the on-campus student series peaks at its highest point of the entire dataset in the week to 21 December. This is the passage quoted in the blog post.

**Winter closure extended by a day to 23 December**  
*13 December 2021 · governance · announced* · [issue 158](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/160_13_December_2021__Issue_158_.html)

Running from 22 December 2021 to 4 January 2022.

> UCL's winter closure has been extended by one day to include Thursday, 23 December 2021 in recognition of our community's hard work over a difficult year

**Term 2 to open with face-to-face teaching, disruption anticipated**  
*17 December 2021 · teaching · announced* · [issue 159](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/161_17_December_2021__Issue_159_.html) · lag **+9 days**

Campus open, large teaching events online, all students including those overseas told to come to campus.

> Our plan for Term 2 is for campus to remain open and for face-to-face teaching to go ahead as it has this term, which means of course that large teaching events will continue online and all students, including students based overseas, have been told that they should come to campus.

Decided at the peak of the Omicron wave, with UCL's own case counts at their highest. Campus stayed open because government and UCL's public health experts both advised it.

**UCL expects two to three weeks of disruption at the start of January**  
*17 December 2021 · epidemiology · reported* · [issue 159](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/161_17_December_2021__Issue_159_.html)

From delayed student arrivals and from staff and student absence through self-isolation.

> we should anticipate that the first 2-3 weeks in January will be disrupted, including some students facing delays in getting back to London. We can also expect an increase in absences among students required to self-isolate

A forecast made in December that the January 2022 data can be read against. January 2022 is the month the blog post compares with January 2021.

### January 2022

**COVID absence paid and exempt from the sickness procedure for up to four weeks**  
*6 January 2022 · governance · announced* · [issue 160](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/162_6_January_2022__Issue_160_.html)

With no medical evidence required for the first 28 days of absences beginning between 10 December 2021 and 26 January 2022.

> Any COVID-19 related absence from work will be paid and will not trigger the usual Sickness Absence Procedure unless it lasts more than four weeks or 20 working days in total (pro-rata for part-time staff).

A limit put on the open-ended commitment of 17 March 2020, which had exempted COVID absence from the procedure entirely.

**Staff who are unvaccinated by choice must still attend campus**  
*6 January 2022 · restrictions · announced* · [issue 160](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/162_6_January_2022__Issue_160_.html)

Staff unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons were not required to attend and teaching staff in that group could work remotely.

> Colleagues who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons are not required to attend campus, and teaching staff in this category may deliver learning remotely. Staff who are unvaccinated through choice must attend campus as per the normal requirements of their duties.

The only place in the record where vaccination status carries a direct consequence for a member of staff's attendance, and it distinguishes medical exemption from choice.

**The Plan B face covering requirement in England expires**  
*26 January 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [source](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1400/made)

SI 2021/1400 amends regulation 15 of the Plan B face covering regulations, substituting 26th January 2022 for 20th December 2021, so the requirement lapses at the end of that day.

> They also extend the period during which the Regulations are in force until 26th January 2022

UCL kept face coverings mandatory on the day the legal requirement ended and narrowed them to teaching settings twenty-six days later. This is the second time the record shows UCL holding a measure after the law dropped it, the first being step 4 in July 2021.

**Face coverings kept mandatory at UCL after the legal requirement ended**  
*27 January 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 161](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/163_20_January_2022__Issue_161_.html)

> As part of our measures to reduce the risk of infection, face coverings will remain mandatory at UCL while you are indoors in our buildings, unless you are exempt.

The third and last documented divergence in the cautious direction, and the longest-running: UCL held a mask requirement from 10 July 2020 to 21 February 2022.

**Plan B removed and UCL reinstates the 40% on-campus expectation**  
*27 January 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 161](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/163_20_January_2022__Issue_161_.html)

Work-from-home guidance, vaccine certificates and the legal mask requirement all lifted nationally.

> From Thursday 27 January, we will reinstate UCL’s Interim People Management Guidance , including the expectation for all staff to work on campus for at least 40% of the time.

Filed on 27 January, the effective date; announced 20 January. Restores the settlement agreed in May 2021 after the Omicron interruption.

### February 2022

**Restriction on staff social gatherings lifted and event size limits removed**  
*7 February 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 162](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/164_7_February_2022__Issue_162_.html)

With risk assessments still encouraged and the face coverings policy still in force.

> The restriction on holding UCL-sponsored staff gatherings, introduced in December 2021 in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, has now been lifted.

Ten weeks after the December cancellation.

**UCL's asymptomatic testing centre closes**  
*18 February 2022 · testing · took effect* · [issue 163](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/165_14_February_2022__Issue_163_.html)

Replaced by a home test kit collection service on the Student Centre mezzanine.

> UCL’s asymptomatic testing centre in the Student Centre will close this Friday, 18 February. From Monday 21 February staff and students will be able to collect LFTs from the Home Test Kit Collection Service on the mezzanine level of the Student Centre

The end of UCL's own testing provision, fifteen months after it opened at Bidborough House. Case ascertainment falls from here on, so the declining case counts in spring 2022 partly reflect less testing.

## 8. Living with COVID

*Phase window from 21 February 2022. 7 events and 9 case-data readings, running 21 February 2022 to 11 May 2022.*

UCL narrowed its face covering expectation to teaching settings on 21 February 2022, and on-campus staff cases then rose from 142 in February to 339 in March, the last increase anywhere in the record. The final issue of 4 May 2022 withdrew the remaining expectations, closed the COVID-19 telephone helpline and dropped the twice-weekly testing advice as free national testing ended. The published series stops a week later on 11 May 2022, so the record closes because the counting stopped rather than because the pandemic did.

| National or sector event | Date | UCL response | Date | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Plan B face covering requirement in England expires | 26 January 2022 | Face coverings narrowed to teaching settings only | 21 February 2022 | +26 days |

A negative lag is UCL acting before the national measure, a positive lag is UCL acting after it.

**Case data.** 9 readings enter the record in this phase.

- **March 2022** · Monthly cases rises to 339 for staff, on campus. 142 in February 2022, 339 in March 2022, a change of +139%.
- **April 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 106 for staff, on campus. 339 in March 2022, 106 in April 2022, a change of -69%.
- **April 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 112 for students, on campus. 472 in March 2022, 112 in April 2022, a change of -76%.
- **April 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 53 for students, off campus. 168 in March 2022, 53 in April 2022, a change of -68%.
- **May 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 18 for students, on campus. 112 in April 2022, 18 in May 2022, a change of -84%.
- **May 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 21 for staff, off campus. 79 in April 2022, 21 in May 2022, a change of -73%.
- **May 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 21 for students, off campus. 53 in April 2022, 21 in May 2022, a change of -60%.
- **May 2022** · Monthly cases falls to 33 for staff, on campus. 106 in April 2022, 33 in May 2022, a change of -69%.
- **11 May 2022** · The published case series ends. Last row of the series. The scraper continued to 2022-07-29 against a page that had stopped changing.

### February 2022

**Face coverings narrowed to teaching settings only**  
*21 February 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 163](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/165_14_February_2022__Issue_163_.html) · lag **+26 days**

Strongly advised elsewhere in crowded and enclosed spaces, following discussion by the University Management Committee, the Workplace Health and Safety Committee and the Public Health Advisory Panel.

> From Monday 21 February, we expect students and staff to continue wearing face coverings in teaching settings and strongly advise you to continue to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces in other settings where you may come into contact with people you do not normally meet (unless you are exempt).

The first relaxation of the face covering policy since it was introduced, and it comes three and a half weeks after Plan B ended rather than with it.

### May 2022

**Unlimited COVID carers leave reverts to five days a year**  
*1 May 2022 · governance · took effect* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

> Parents and carers leave for COVID-19 related absences will no longer be unlimited and will revert to 5 days per year from 1 May

Closes the commitment made on 19 March 2020 that caring responsibilities would not cost staff leave or pay. Filed on 1 May, the effective date; reported 4 May.

**COVID-19 telephone helpline closed**  
*4 May 2022 · governance · reported* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

> The COVID-19 telephone helpline service has now ended.

The helpline had run since June 2020. Its closure in the final newsletter is the clearest marker that UCL considered the emergency over.

**Connect to Protect kept running for reporting positive cases**  
*4 May 2022 · epidemiology · announced* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

> Please continue to use UCL’s Connect to Protect service to report positive cases, so that we can monitor cases and identify potential outbreaks.

Reporting was retained after testing advice was withdrawn, so the collection mechanism outlived the thing that fed it. Whether the public page continued to be updated is answered by the data, not the newsletters: the last row of covid_raw.csv is 2022-05-11.

**Face coverings no longer expected anywhere on campus**  
*4 May 2022 · restrictions · took effect* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

Except in areas managed by partner hospitals, with individual choice acknowledged.

> In line with Government guidance, staff, students and visitors are no longer expected to wear face coverings or masks on campus.

The end of a requirement that ran, in one form or another, from 22 May 2020.

**Remaining domestic restrictions removed and UCL adopts living safely guidance**  
*4 May 2022 · restrictions · reported* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

The final newsletter of the series, relaying the government's advice on living safely with respiratory infections including COVID-19.

> The Government has removed remaining domestic COVID-19 restrictions in England and has published advice on living safely with respiratory infections including COVID-19 , which includes measures such as getting vaccinated, keeping spaces well-ventilated and practicing good hygiene.

Issue 165, the last of the 168 files. It is not on UCL's index page and was fetched separately; manifest.csv records this.

**Twice-weekly testing advice dropped as free national testing ends**  
*4 May 2022 · testing · announced* · [issue 165](https://github.com/sjmurdoch/uclcovid/blob/main/data/updates/167_4_May_2022__Issue_165_.html)

> In line with Government guidance and the end of the free national testing programme, we no longer advise staff and students to test for COVID-19 twice a week.

The end of routine testing, and therefore of the mechanism that generated the case data. The published series stops a week later, on 11 May 2022, which is the reason the record ends: the counting stopped, not the pandemic.

## National counterparts awaiting primary sources

The newsletters name the national measures UCL was responding to, and those statements are quoted in the entries above. They are UCL's account of national policy, however, not the policy itself, and this project does not treat a date relayed by an interested party as established. Each pairing below is therefore declared but not measured: the lag will be computed and shown in the phase tables once the national event has been verified against a primary source. The provisional dates are shown so the reader can see what is being claimed and what is not yet evidenced.

| National or sector measure | Provisional date | UCL response | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme sets its conditions on work by furloughed staff | *not yet established* | Furloughed staff barred from any work, including writing up UCL results | 30 April 2020 |
| The Office for Students sets its expectations for 2020-21 admissions and teaching | *not yet established* | Term 1 plans forced early by the UCAS deadline and OfS expectations | 26 May 2020 |

2 of these have no provisional date at all. The newsletters make the dependency plain without dating the measure they are responding to, and a date has not been invented for them here.

## How this document was built

This file is generated. Editing it by hand will not survive the next build, and no fact in it can be changed here: corrections belong in the ledger, `timeline.csv`, which is the table view of everything above and carries the same fields in the same order.

`build/extract_text.py` converts the 168 preserved newsletters to text and takes each one's date from its own dateline rather than its filename, which three of them contradict. `build/validate.py` then checks every row in the ledger: that its date parses and falls in range, that its fields take values from their enumerations, that its source file exists, and, for each of the 283 UCL rows, that its quotation is an exact substring of the text extracted from the newsletter it cites. That last check is the one that matters. A paraphrase fails it, a quotation attributed to the wrong issue fails it, and an invented quotation fails it. `build/render_md.py` writes this document from the ledger only after that check passes.

**What the case figures do and do not measure.** They are confirmed cases reported to UCL, so they undercount by however much went unreported, and the on-campus marker records whether the person had been on campus while infectious rather than where they were infected. The series runs from 9 October 2020, which is seven months into the record above: for the whole of the first wave UCL was making decisions with no case data of its own at all.

Ledger: `timeline.csv`. Configuration: `timeline.toml`. Newsletters: `home/uclcovid/data/updates/`.