Bristol University coronavirus cases nearing 650 after steep rise in one day

Nearly 650 students at the University of Bristol have tested positive for coronavirus following another steep rise in the past 24 hours.

The outbreak among the university's community was first confirmed last week, and on Friday (October 9) The Courtrooms student halls went into lockdown due to the virus spreading there.

The Bristol City Centre halls of residence went into lockdown after 40 students living there tested positive for Covid-19 and, since then, a second student accommodation building - one block of four flats at Hiatt Baker, in Stoke Bishop - has been instructed to quarantine.

Since Monday, October 12 the university is providing daily updates on the number of known cases among its staff and students and BristolLive was able to reveal up to three quarters of all the people in Bristol who have tested positive for coronavirus Covid-19 in the past six days have been students at the city's main university.

The latest update from the University of Bristol said 648 students have now tested positive for covid-19, together with four members of staff.

"Three of the affected staff have been working from home and not been on campus; one staff member has been working from home and on campus," the university said.

This means the number of confirmed cases at the university has risen by more than one hundred in just 24 hours, with the number of positive tests standing at 522 on Tuesday.

BristolLive understands Winkworth near College Green, New Bridewell in the city centre and Goldney Hall in Clifton are among the halls to have seen higher infection rates.

BristolLive understands New Bridewell has had at least 15 reported covid-19 cases.

However, the University of Bristol said decisions around lockdown aren’t purely down to numbers and that they work with PHE to assess contact patterns and risk of spread too.

Are you a student or do you work at one of the universities in Bristol? Do you live at Hiatt Baker? Our reporter Estel would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with her directly on estel.farellroig@reachplc.com