Mass exodus of students is expected as lockdown starts

Students in cities across England could begin a mass exodus back to their families ahead of new lockdown measures coming into force on Thursday. Hilary Gyebi-Ababio, National Union of Students vice president for higher education, said students were 'really wanting to go home'. 'There's a sense there could be a mass exodus,' she told the BBC. It comes after Universities Minister Michelle Donelan urged students, in a letter on Monday, not to 'rush home'. Her message aimed to prevent these young people from travelling across the country to their families and potentially taking coronavirus with them, thus fuelling the pandemic.