After a weekend of indecision, Rachelle Bingham made a last-minute call on Monday morning and kept her two young children at home rather than sending them to primary school. She was not the only one.

Ms Bingham who lives in Forest Hill, in Melbourne’s east said that her Whatsapp groups with other parents were sites of “mass confusion” on Monday, with some families going in to isolation early because they think the government is acting too slowly in the face of the coronavirus threat.

Rachelle Bingham has decided to keep her kids Hudson, 7, and Scarlett, 5, out of school. Credit:Penny Stephens

“Today a lot [of parents] have kept their kids home and now other parents are saying they feel bad for sending theirs to school," said Ms Bingham. "It’s stressful, for sure.”

She doesn’t expect Hudson, 7, or five-year-old Scarlett to go back to school before the end of term on March 27.