Students take pledge to minimise rise of COVID-19

Liverpool John Moores University students have begun taking a pledge to help protect each other and the public from the Coronavirus.

As 23,000 students return to or start their courses, LJMU and John Moores Students’ Union are asking them to join a shared commitment to respect the health and wellbeing of the university community and the wider population of Liverpool.

The pledge, which aims to maintain “maximum awareness” of COVID-19 safety through Freshers’ Week and beyond, is being taken by students at all higher education institutions in the city, including The University of Liverpool, Liverpool Hope University and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

Students Union President Lila Tamea, who took the pledge today, said in a blogpost: “The UK is now seeing four times as many cases on average as it was in mid-July. People are already looking to blame students, so we have a job to do not least to protect our own reputation. We must respect others, adhere to social distancing and be strict as we can about personal hygiene.”

Safety on and off campus

The pledge, which is voluntary, commits individual students to follow national guidelines around COVID-19 and asks them to take personal responsibility for being aware of and acting within the many university protocols to keep us safe on campus.

Crucially, it reminds students to show equal respect and awareness off campus to minimise transmission of the virus in the city.

Both the city’s mayor and the metropolitan mayor have welcomed the pledge, with Joe Anderson, Liverpool Mayor saying: “Although public health measures have put a temporary stop to some things, like night club visits and mass gatherings, we are inviting you to be an important part of something far bigger - our joint effort to tackle the virus. We are depending on you to help us.”

The pledge also asks students to be respectful of others when challenged or challenging others over virus concerns, and to show empathy to those isolating, or to hall-mates or neighbours who are vulnerable or sheltering.

In short, students must pledge to:

• Follow Government and their Institution’s guidance related to reducing and managing the spread of COVID-19

• Show empathy, respect and due consideration to others – friends and peers, colleagues and neighbours

• Understand the importance of providing friendship, helping people avoid loneliness and isolation

• Be inclusive and supportive of those around them and, if they see others behaving inappropriately and contrary to guidance, to raise their concerns directly with those people in an open, constructive, and polite manner

• Commit to continuing to learn about the issues arising from this global pandemic and to do all that they can to ensure that everyone in their community has the best experience they can

See the full pledge on our COVID-19 safety microsite.