UK health minister doesn't rule out telling uni students to stay away from home at Christmas

LONDON - British health minister Matt Hancock on Thursday didn't rule out the possibility that university students would have to stay away from home over Christmas to reduce the spread of COVID-19 if there were widespread issues with outbreaks on campus.

"We haven't reached that point yet... I don't rule out anything," Hancock told BBC when asked about the possibility.

"We don't rule out anything. It's not something that I want to do. But what's important is that we, of course, keep people safe and keep the virus under control."

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Sarah Young, writing by Alistair Smout; editing by James Davey) ((alistair.smout@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7064; Reuters Messaging: alistair.smout.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))