All adults who live in households with primary school, secondary school and college age children, are being asked to test themselves twice a week.
As more pupils and students return to the classroom the Government has asked that these adults including those in childcare and support bubbles, test themselves twice a week. Many parents will have received a letter from their school asking them to access regular testing.
Around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms, but can still pass it on. The aim of the rapid testing is to test as many people as possible to help stop the spread of infections – especially as places, such as schools, start to reopen.
To support this, home testing kits (a rapid lateral flow device test) are now available for anyone who is over the age of 18 who lives in the same home as a primary school, secondary school or college age student.
People who are asymptomatic (do not display symptoms of Covid-19) can find out how to get a rapid lateral flow test by visiting the Government's webpage on rapid testing for households and bubbles of school pupils and staff (opens in new window).
Reporting results
It is really important that results are reported to the NHS. You can do this by visiting the Government's Report a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test result webpage (opens in new window) or over the phone by calling 119.
If anyone in the household tests positive or gets coronavirus symptoms, they should tell the school and:
- self-isolate immediately
- Get a PCR test at a local test centre to confirm the result. PCR Tests work in a different way to lateral flow device test as the swab kits go to a laboratory. The PCR tests are better at finding very small amounts of the virus, especially early in infection, so these are used primarily in people who have symptoms.
- Follow the guidance on the Government's webpage for households with possible infection (opens in new window).
A negative result means the test did not find signs of coronavirus. But this does not guarantee people do not have coronavirus, so they should keep following all the guidance on the Government's coronavirus advice webpage (opens in new window) including:
- regular handwashing
- social distancing
- wearing a face covering where recommended