London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

‘Cruel and unnecessary’: UK government will ask parents to test their kids twice a week for Covid at home – reports

‘Cruel and unnecessary’: UK government will ask parents to test their kids twice a week for Covid at home – reports

The British government is reportedly planning on asking parents to test their children for Covid-19 twice weekly once schools reopen. The rumoured plan has been met with a wave of condemnation.

Boris Johnson’s government is expected to announce the phased reopening of schools as early as next week, with March 8 slated as the target date for reopening. The Telegraph reported on Thursday that secondary school students will be tested en masse once classes begin, and parents will be asked to test them twice a week at home from then on.

The Department of Education did not confirm or deny the report, which came ahead of a meeting between department heads and teachers’ union bosses on Thursday. Talks between the department and the union are expected to focus on how to implement a testing regime. The unions have pushed for at-home testing, and according to the Telegraph they called on-site testing “inoperable” and “ridiculous.”

However, commenters online immediately shot down the idea of at-home testing. One pointed out that the lateral flow tests that would be used have a false positive rate of 0.32 percent, which would generate 6,400 false positives per week, assuming one million secondary school students are being tested. If every one of England's 3.4 million secondary school students are tested, more than 20,000 false cases could be reported every week.


Another Telegraph report this week stated that the government will not ease lockdown restrictions until new coronavirus cases dip below 1,000 per day, a target that would likely be impossible to meet if so many false positives were being reported.

A study by Imperial College London, published on Thursday, found that infections across England have fallen by two thirds since January, but the country is still recording around 10,000 per day – ten times the government’s supposed target.

Aside from the glut of cases – both real and false – that such a testing regime would bring, some commenters said it would be “unenforceable and unreliable,” while others simply balked at the “cruel and unnecessary” idea of subjecting their healthy children to non-stop testing.



 
More than 12 million Britons have already received their first dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, more per capita than any other country of comparable population size, according to the British Medical Journal. As the rollout continues, government adviser Sir John Bell told a parliament committee on Wednesday that it is “not plausible” to expect the population to comply with continued restrictions for much longer. People, he warned, want to get back to a “relatively normal way of life.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
×