Why chatter at the school gate about test and trace spells trouble for the UK government

Parents are struggling to work out what to do while waiting for children's Covid-19 test results.

NORTHWICH, - MARCH 31: The gates of Darwin School remain locked during the pandemic lockdown on March 31, 2020 in Northwich, United Kingdom. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries across the world, claiming over 30,000 lives and infecting hundreds of thousands more. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Has your child had a test yet? That’s the question already dominating conversations on school WhatsApp groups and among parents. The procedure in most schools is simple: if your child shows any symptoms of Covid-19, they and the rest of your household must self-isolate, either for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result, if it arrives sooner.

But because England’s test and trace system is struggling to keep up with the growing demand for coronavirus tests among the general population, in practice, many parents worry that 14 days is a more likely timeframe than “until you get a negative test result”.