It was the sentence that every household dreads, “I’ve got two lines!” My little brother’s lateral flow test was positive and with that he joined the other 49,155 people who tested positive that day. With six of us in the house the challenge of self-isolation had begun. How do you split one member of the family off from the herd?


A positive PCR test followed for him but, thankfully, not the rest of us. The question arises: how to keep a boy isolated for 10 days? We drew up a list of activities we thought would keep him occupied for the duration:


1) Create the biggest Lego model possible.
2) Turn your room in to Silverstone with your Scalextric track.
3) Do a jigsaw. “What’s a jigsaw?”


Here’s some things that we can guarantee were not going to happen:


1) Tidy the bedroom.
2) Read a book.
3) Do homework.


Mercifully, my brother is asymptomatic but the experience is teaching us just how challenging and isolating this awful virus can be. We are quickly learning how to move around one another, maintaining a safe distance and cleaning as we go but we all feel the loneliness that comes from that distance and the absence of the human touch (“can I have a hug if I wear three masks?” he asks.)

It’s 6pm on Day 1 of self-isolation and my brother has already ticked off everything on the first list (and avoided the chores on the second). Only nine more days to go!