Shorter and Smaller Lectures Planned for UCC Amid COVID Protocols

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University College Cork has announced details of its COVID protocols for the coming academic year.

UCC president Prof John O’Halloran emailed students to outline the measures they can expect to be in place.

"The past 18 months have been a challenging time for you and I thank you all for your resilience, co-operation and hard work throughout the period of this pandemic," Prof. O'Halloran wrote. "The latest guidelines for our sector can give us cause for renewed optimism as we welcome a return to greater on-campus activity for the university in the coming weeks. We very much look forward to delivering the on-campus UCC student experience to you once more."

Students will be required to wear face masks during lectures.

Lecture spaces will operate at 80% capacity, with a maximum of 200 allowed in any lecture hall.

Lectures are set to be reduced in length. This is to allow more time for transitions between lectures. One hour lectures will be reduced to 45 minutes while two hour lectures will have an "air break" halfway through.

On-campus libraries will operate at 80% capacity with pre-booking required. They will now be open from 7am to 2am daily. Restaurants and cafes will continue to serve takeaway only, pending government advice.

"As we return to campus, it is important that we continue to adhere to the measures in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission, including use of face coverings and good hand hygiene," Prof. O'Halloran told his students.

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