NEARLY 1,000 staff and students at Durham University have tested positive for Covid-19 within one week.

Figures released by the university as part of its weekly update report that 958 students and six members of staff tested positive in the week leading up to Thursday. October 14.

In the previous week 222 students and members of staff tested positive for the virus.

It brings the total number of cases confirmed at the university to 1,220 since the start of term, with 11 cases among staff and 1,209 among students.

A Durham University spokesperson said: "Over the last seven days, the number of reported positive coronavirus cases in students and staff has been steady, with approximately 100-150 new reported cases each day.

"We are proactively and regularly monitoring and managing the situation with local and national public health experts and taking appropriate action where required.

"We have proactively managed the two significant outbreaks we have faced, in two of our colleges – St Mary’s College and Collingwood College - by introducing new measures for our students living in those colleges.

"Working with Durham County Council’s Public Health Team, these measures were put in place on Thursday, October 8 to limit movement of students within these colleges to further restrict the spread of coronavirus. The new measures are in addition to the current Government restrictions."

We continue to communicate regularly with our staff and students, to promote expected behaviours and to reinforce key information on the Government restrictions and additional guidance in place on University campus in the interests of everybody’s health, safety and wellbeing.

Our teaching and wider student experience activity continues both online and face-to-face, in Covid-secure settings.