To think no one is testing for Covid anymore?

It was never about people dying it was about not overwhelming the NHS ,that's why we had lockdowns ,we are four years into this now though and we are living with it
We have no restrictions, and nobody should be telling other,s to stay home etc now.

The figures through the whole pandemic were taken out of context. Yes a lot of people died and it was obv sad and traumatic for those involved and their families ..... but it was about 0.4% of the entire UK population.

COVID-19 symptoms and what to do - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you or your child have symptoms and either:

• have a high temperature
• do not feel well enough to go to work, school, childcare, or do your normal activities

Is this table of figures supposed to be scary?

The deaths per 1M of the population are minute.

People die of stuff. It’s life.

It’s very rare to be tested for Covid in hospitals these days, it’s not like earlier in the pandemic when everyone would be tested on admission. I’d say Covid was a major factor for all of those 96 deaths.

I haven't tested since March 2022, when it stopped being a requirement and when all the Covid tracking and the app was discontinued.

And how many people died of other illnesses...

And all these people saying there are fully vaccinated but were still very unwell with covid .... what was the point ... genuine question!

Nope, doesn't enter my head. Think I've only had two tests over the entire period.

That figure for 96 people dying of covid last week ..... I'd love to know how many of those were very old with lots of issues anyway that would have killed them ... much like the statistics that were published in the height of the pandemic to scare the shit out of everyone.

Had you had 3 vaccines before both of your Covid infections, or just the second one?

Good point. If people still feel they want or need to test, that's their business. As long as the person isn't seeking to dictate what others do, nobody else should be interfering. Test if you want, don't test. Not up to anyone else. We need to get past the idea that it's our business what choices other people are making about their bodies.

Lovely to find a like-mind on Mumsnet - was not expecting that!

I don’t. I am CEV without taking my cancer into consideration. Like any other virus though I would stay home if I was ill. Rarely in the oncology department so you see anyone with a mask either - patient or staff.

You could have a little cough though , think it's a cold and go visit them. Anyway as I said I'd like to know if I have it or not. My purchase of a test doesn't really affect you does it? I'm not using your money. And I've not told you you have to test.

We test if we think we have symptoms more than a regular cold e.g loss of taste, or feeing much worse than normal. So do many of my colleagues and friends. We then isolate as best we can and wear a mask on public transport if we must use it. Our work are happy and prefer us to work from home if we are positive.

TBH I don't think it would be within the government's power to have a general public who were mostly willing to test and isolate, four years into the pandemic. Adherence to isolation was always pretty patchy, even at the height of covid when free tests were everywhere. People just weren't having it any more.

Part of this is the appalling sick pay situation. There were always people who weren't able to isolate when positive because they didn't have the money, even when they were committing a crime if they didn't. So the government could've helped in that respect.

But when it comes to people voluntarily accepting restrictions on their lives, which is what they're doing if they test and stay at home, willingness to do that isn't something a government can impose. People have to want to do it.

I have elderly frail parents ,if I had any kind of virus I wouldn't visit them ,not just covid.

If you think the economy is doing well without them then carry on. I can see more and more being signed off sick with long covid and related complications and the govt pretending it's a personal choice. This isn't about financial choices it is about having healthy people who can contribute to the economy in the first place. The tories have done a number on health as it is.

Used Dr Google and had a guess. I have elderly in-laws and parents I think it's worth it as they aren't in the best of health. Satisfies my curiosity as well.

And for how long should they be spending tax-payers' money on free tests? They spent billions on the Covid response and that all came out of our pockets. So many other important things to focus funds on. Enough.

I think a lot of people are getting ill because the Govt want us to have moved on. By not allowing free testing they've swept it under the rug while they wang on about people being too sick to work because they want to be on benefits. It's a joke. As someone who has immunocompromised friends I think it is outrageous that the Gov has put the onus on them to stay home and keep out of everyone else's way because they want the cheapest option for the country. It's not working out that way after all, because so many are off long-term sick from covid and more can't risk being in work.

Most other common viruses don't affect the body in the way Covid does. Covid for someone with particular blood cancers is bad news

You do know all these things can also happen with the flu? But then it's called "post viral fatigue" rather than "Long flu". Vulnerable and the old and young can and do die from the flu, but we've lived with that without testing for years...

We test when we have flu-like symptoms - so fever, feeling grotty, heavy cold. But not for a sniffle. Mainly so we know and can avoid people for a bit, especially our parents who are in their late-70s.

But that said, I had Covid very mildly last year (literally just a cold) and only tested because a few of my friends I'd been with had it bad enough to test and I was curious. So who knows whether I've had it mildly other times too. I will say that when I had it so mildly, I didn't infect anyone else - not even my partner.

We can get anti virals