"You couldn't stop it if you tried".
That's what students at the University of Glasgow where hundreds are now self-isolating have said - with outbreaks in their halls of residence "bound to happen."
One student who contracted the virus has been isolating for nearly a month, having been placed in an initial 14-day quarantine on arrival from California.
The teenager - along with three other people in her eight-person flat - have now tested positive for Covid-19.
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: All the new coronavirus lockdown restrictions in force from today
Murano Street Student Village
They are self-isolating in Glasgow University’s Murano Street Student Village, the university’s largest halls of residence which houses up to 1,175 students.
The 18-year-old, who is studying international relations and sociology, has no option but to wash her clothes in the sink as the laundry is outside the flat.
The residents of the flat had already been isolating for five days when she received her positive test result on Friday morning.
She said: “With this many kids in this small an area, it was bound to happen.
“We have it, so the negative people are cooking. They will drop off food outside our doors.
“It’s really hard not to mix, our kitchen is small and we have to share a bathroom. We’ve been wearing masks.”
Students are not to blame for the current situation – these new measures are not an attempt to claim they are. The measures simply recognise that students are more likely to have been exposed to #COVID19 and we must all take every step we can to ensure it does not spread further
— University of Glasgow (@UofGlasgow) September 25, 2020
However, she said she has been getting support from her family and new flatmates.
“I’ve been watching a lot of movies and just trying to focus on other things,” she added.
One flatmate, 19, from London, who also tested positive on Friday morning, said he arrived late to the flat and it had already been placed in isolation.
He said: “It’s freshers’ week – it just happens. You couldn’t stop it if you tried.
“I was washing my hands everywhere I went.
“I’m sort of glad I’ve got it so it’s out the way.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: Edinburgh’s Usher Hall opens as coronavirus testing centre
1/ To all students - I’m so sorry COVID is making this special time of your lives so tough. But it won’t be forever and the more we get the virus back under control now, the sooner you’ll get a bit of normality back. So, please do what’s being asked of you
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 24, 2020
The flatmates had already booked a test at Glasgow Caledonian University in another part of the city before they discovered a mobile testing unit had been set up at Murano Street.
Another student in separate accommodation at the complex said there had been some positive cases in her 12-person flat, but she had tested negative.
The 19-year-old from London, who is studying medicine, said: “The uni put in place all the precautions they could, but things happen.
“As much as it’s horrible to have to be isolating already, we’re still getting to know each other so it’s not as bad as it could be.”
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