Worrying TikTok trend sees kids use fruit juice to get false positive Covid test restults

The extreme lengths kids will go to bunk off school are getting more and more creative, a concerning new trend suggests.

Scores of young people are using drops of fruit juice to fake positive results on rapid-flow coronavirus tests, according to videos shared online.

Some participants dip the test swab in juice – rather than on their tonsils and up their nostrils as instructed – such as in this video posted by TikTok user @metrodous_.

Others pour the juice into the pipette provided and drop the mixture directly onto the testing window.

A result is confirmed as positive on lateral flow tests if two lines appear in the relevant strip.

Acccording to TikToker @missleanne1, this is precisely what happened after she used a sample of Robinsons Blackcurrant Fruit Shoot.

You can watch the video in full here.

A TikToker shared herself testing the trend with blackcurrant juice, and it appears to have tested positive on the lateral flow testTikTok/missleanne1

Meanwhile, on Facebook a person named Sasha has shared an image of several different fruits and juices that she claims were tested by her cousin.

She revealed that “all of them” offered up positive results “apart from a grapefruit”.

The post has since garnered over 11,000 shares.

Authorities have responded to reports of the craze by warning children against taking part.

One school in Liverpool – Gateacre School in Belle Vale – told parents to be “ extra vilgilant” after a number of pupils in years 7, 8, and 10 tested positive for the virus.

In an email seen by the Liverpool Echo, the school wrote: “Nationally, some school students have discovered that placing droplets of orange juice or other fruit juice on an LFD test gets a false ‘positive’ result.

“In light of this, can you be extra vigilant when your child is doing their LFD tests. Also, remind them that a positive LFD test must be followed by a confirmatory PCR test.”

The school did, however, stress that there was no evidence to suggest a connection between the rise in positive cases and the juice fad.

Headteacher, Gareth Jones told the local paper: “This practice has been shared on social media channels including TikTok.

“We have no evidence of this taking place in our community. However, we thought we would share this with our parents so that they were aware of the practice and to supervise the home testing of their child, wherever possible, when using LFD tests.

“We also advocate that any positive result obtained from an LFD test is confirmed by obtaining a PCR test using one of the many testing facilities across the city.”

Remember kids, juice is for drinking, not for testing.