The UK government must be honest with students – tests can miss coronavirus | Sian Taylor Phillips

Mass rapid university testing will help some, but there is a real risk of potentially devastating false-negative results

• Dr Sian Taylor-Phillips is a professor of population health
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This week coronavirus screening tests for students are being rolled out across UK universities. Some institutions are already inaccurately claiming that if you test negative, you will know it is safe to return home. The matter is very important for many families, who don't want their children stranded while self-isolating at university over Christmas, but are also worried about them bringing home coronavirus to elderly or vulnerable relatives.

In my job as a professor of population health, I help national governments and policymakers decide whether to run screening programmes like those being undertaken at universities. Here's what we do and don't know about university screening.