More than one million children were out of school in England in the last week due to Covid, data shows.
It is estimated that 1.05 million state schools pupils did not attend class on July 15 - a new record high since all students returned in March, Government figures show.
The country has been hit by a so-called 'pingdemic' in recent weeks, which has seen millions forced to isolate after being tracked by the NHS Covid-19 app.
Although it has never been a legal requirement to obey the app's instructions, the official guidance has been that people should "self-isolate immediately" when told to.
Do you have a view on this story? Let us know in the comments below.
The Department for Education (DfE) said that, as of Thursday, the equivalent of around one in seven (14.3 per cent) children were not in school for Covid reasons.
Of this total:
- 773,700 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact with a case of coronavirus from inside school;
- 160,300 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact with a case of coronavirus from outside school;
- 47,200 pupils had a confirmed case of coronavirus;
- 34,800 pupils were absent as a result of school closures due to Covid-19 related reasons;
- 34,500 pupils had a suspected case of coronavirus.
The 14.3 per cent figure is up from 11.2 per cent on July 8 and 8.5 per cent on July 1, according to statistics.
The attendance figures for state school pupils have been adjusted to exclude those year 11-13 students not expected to attend because they are off-site, the DfE said.
The latest figures come after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the use of "bubbles" in schools and colleges in England will come to an end as the country eases lockdown restrictions.
Current rules say that children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble - which can be an entire year group at secondary school - tests positive for coronavirus.
But Mr Williamson has said it will be up to individual schools and colleges as to whether they scrap the bubble system this week ahead of the summer holidays, following the move to Step 4 of the road map.
The figures have also emerged after it was reported that some parents have pulled their children out of school to avoid being 'pinged'.
Families are said to be taking the drastic measures to save their summer trips, despite warnings infection numbers could soar after 'Freedom Day'.
Sign up for our daily coronavirus briefing newsletter to keep up to date with all the essential information and changes at www.mirror.co.uk/email.
Growing numbers of parents are opting to bring their kids home to play truant so the family can avoid being hit with isolation orders ahead of planned summer trips, according to the Mail on Sunday.
James Bowen, director of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers, told the newspaper: "We are picking up on reports of parents saying they will keep their child off school to avoid being asked to self-isolate during the school holidays."
Despite the official guidance, a Government minister said on Tuesday that people should instead make an "informed decision" about isolating.
Business minister Paul Scully said self-isolating after being told to by the app was a decision for individuals and employers.
It is feared that the country could grind to halt if workers continue to be 'pinged', preventing them from attending their places of employment.
Mr Scully told Times Radio: "It's important to understand the rules. You have to legally isolate if you are on the... contacted by Test and Trace, or if you're trying to claim isolation payments.
"The app is there to give... to allow you to make informed decisions. And I think by backing out of mandating a lot of things, we're encouraging people to really get the data in their own hands to be able to make decisions on what's best for them, whether they're employer or an employee."
Asked whether this meant people should or should not self-isolate if "pinged", he said: "We want to encourage people to still use the app to be able to do the right thing, because we estimate it saves around 8,000 lives."
However, he added that it was "up to individuals and employers".
Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, who chaired the ethics advisory board for NHSx on its contact tracing app, told Times Radio the Government needed to give clearer guidance to people about what to do when told to self-isolate.
"When we had no protection the risk was the same for everybody. If that risk is now reduced because someone is double-vaccinated it feels as though we need more sophisticated advice," Sir Jonathan said.
"If we are visiting an elderly relative or a cancer patient then take the ping seriously but if you are doing something relatively Covid-friendly then maybe make a different decision."
