As many as hundreds of pupils are now having to self-isolate after positive coronavirus cases were confirmed in at least eight Liverpool schools.
Around 21 staff members are also self-isolating after the reopening of schools in the city hit problems within days of pupils returning to classrooms.
Liverpool City Council has confirmed five primary schools and three secondary schools have been struck by positive Covid-19 tests.
The three senior schools are Bellerive, West Derby and Liverpool College. Primary schools Ernest Cookson Special Educational School, Hunts Cross Primary School, Eversley Street, Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School, and Sudley Junior School have also been hit with positive cases.