COVID-19: People who test positive on lateral flow tests won’t need follow-up PCR, govt to announce – as ‘around a million’ isolating

27 comments

  1. But isn’t the PCR where new variants are identified? We’ve gone over capacity so we’ve stopped caring.

  3. This is the real problem now. All the people screaming it’s ‘milder than Delta!’

    Yes it is, but people who get it still have to isolate. In the hospitals near me, it’s not that the wards are packed with COVID patients, but that half of the doctors and nurses are off which is causing the issues. We have a Nightingale hospital ward, but currently if it was needed, there would be less than 1 doctor to cover 100 beds. It’s not the COVID patients who are at risk, it’s those with chronic illnesses, undiagnosed problems etc who will end up terminal due to delays. An NHS nurse I know said they are overwhelmed by patients being referred to hospitals for routine tests like blood tests because GP’s won’t see them. Also beds are being blocked in standard wards because elderly patients can’t be transferred out because the communities are rife and they are vulnerable.

    Our schools are screwed because so many teachers are off. Some classes and schools have had to close because too many teachers are isolating, and schools are almost bankrupt because of the extra they have paid for supply teachers.

    At the same time less people are needing hospital treatment, but a lot of people are still getting moderately ill and need time to properly recover. I know a couple of people my age (30’s) who have still been fucked by it and have long term issues. And there are still vulnerable people out there who can die.

    I don’t really know how you get around it now. We are far, far too late for a lockdown. I guess the only thing we can do now is just ride it out. For those of us who are healthy it’s not a big issue, but anyone with any medical emergency is going to be really at risk.

    Honestly, after people gave Boris such a majority we sort of deserve this. I know people who knew he was shit but voted for him to ‘get Brexit done. We will just vote him out when it’s done!’

    I hope they at least stick to that. if anyone still votes Tory after this mess, made much worse by their indecision and fucking of the NHS. We deserve all we get.

  4. I think it makes sense. Stop wasting PCR tests on people who are overwhelmingly likely to be positive as the accuracy of the LFT’s is very good. Focus on redirecting the reclaimed testing power to medical staff and critical workers. An actual sane idea from the current omnicockup babershop in charge.

  5. The cynic in me says that this is just to stop the numbers going up. There is no official record if you test positive on a LF test and self isolate. The only record is if you do a PCR test.

  6. This is irrelevant right now as it seems LFT tests are unavailable to the general public. At least where I am.

    UPDATE: Huzzah, I have managed to place an order for some, however, my partner is still seeing the “none available” message. So presumably they’re under short supply and it’s first come first serve.

  7. But you cannot get an LFT added to a covid pass, so without a PCR to confirm how are you supposed to prove covid recovered status ?

  8. I was never aware you had to buy a PCR test after getting a positive LFT. What was the reason for this?

    Edit: yes downvote me for asking a question.

  9. It’s hard for me to follow their guidance when we are now at the point where they are telling people to stop testing…

  10. Basically Boris is moving the goalposts again.

    Why bother isolating at all? Lateral Flow tests are still not always correct. We’ve had several people at my work who have taken LFTs and come back negative. They have then taken a PCR at work to which it’s come back positive. If the LFT is not done correctly then it can give a false result.

    If people aren’t going to be confirmed from a PCR test then why bother at all with any LFT? If you feel sick then just carry on with life it could or could not be covid, you won’t know for sure if you don’t have a PCR.

  11. funny, was just trying to get one yesterday when the official advise was to get them (obviously) after my positive LFT.

  12. When I tested positive using a lateral flow I was told to get a PCR and register it to using the date I took the lateral flow. So even though I got the PCR result 2 or 3 days after the lateral flow, the isolation period still started on the day of the lateral flow.

    How does this new way change anything?

  13. I don’t understand this. My partners father tested positive on a PCR and they specifically told him not to use a lateral flow for 90 days. When he tested positive my partner took 3 lateral flows, all of which came back positive. He then took 2 PCRs which all came back negative. So it is very likely my partner had covid, gave it to his dad but was then negative when he took his PCR. It’s been weeks later and he sometimes still produces a slight positive lateral flow but he does not have Covid.

    So are we now going to see a hell of a lot of confused people producing positive lateral flows for weeks on end and can’t get confirmation from a PCR?

  15. PCR testing capacity has very obviously been maxed out during this wave. Safe assumption given this move is that they know they cannot possibly begin to test everyone who is infected.

    Tories have unleashed hell on the NHS with their recklessness too.

  16. Stop collecting data & hooray the numbers infected goes down! Got Corvid19, don’t bother to isolate, no one will know. Tories are evil!

  18. This feels like guidance seems to follows availability rather than any sort of scientific policy.

    Understandable I guess but not ideal

  22. I’ve had 5 consecutive days of positive lateral flow tests, day 2 PCR negative. Day 3 symptoms started. Test and trace say I’m fine to not isolate because PCR was negative, but if I get symptoms to get another PCR. I am positive on 5/5 LFTs, I’m not going to get another PCR I’m just gonna do my isolation and sleep. I don’t even know who or what to trust anymore.

  24. I’ve slowly watched this sub go from caring and compassion for supporting restrictions to benefit the most vulnerable in society to absolutely not giving a shit, being ‘done with covid’ and ‘lets live with it’, fuck the poor and disabled “they should be getting the resources to isolate safely” – have you paid any attention to our government, our support systems or the benefits system? Feels like we’ve just had a massive right-wing invasion, people quoting statistics they don’t understand and drawing their own conclusions about the future LARPing as medical professionals.

    Whatever, nothings ever a problem until it affects you personally.

  25. Right here me out…

    Why are we still bothering with testing and isolating?

    For the vast majority of people Omicron Covid is no worse than a cold,we should be treating covid no different then any other virus.

    If you feel ill do what you did pre-covid, take a few days off until feel better or if it doesn’t clear up after a week or so go to the doctors.

    If you are vulnerable like me and are fully vaccinated, the flu poses more of a risk (I have a Primary Immune Deficiency condition called CVID, Fully vaccinated and had the Delta Varient.. It was no worse then a bad cold).

    To me the only people who you could argue to be continued testing is those working in Care homes and Hospitals.

    As for everyone else.. What is the point?

    We have never given a second thought for Influenza which kills tens of thousands every year and puts hundreds of thousands in hospital every year.

    The level of fear that has been generated by the media is absolutely insane.

    The number of deaths per day is back to what is expected, in other words covid-19 is not killing hundreds of extra people per day anymore.

    COVID-19 is no longer threat it was, we need to start treating it like we would any other virus so we can all get on with lives.

  26. I mean, all pretense of public health has been dropped. It’s not about you staying alive. Just keep working, keep the machine turning, keep their money coming in.

  27. My favourite sentence in this is “The move would allow those who are asymptomatic – about 40% of cases – to return to work more quickly.”. It should mention their LIVES they are returning to, their friends and families, their hobbies, not just their work. Shows what the government think of us (although that’s no shock lol)

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