To ask if you have a relative aged 65+ at Christmas you should ALL lateral flow test?

[Fmesanta]

Don't want to be the martyr as I know there are a range of views within the family but AIBU to expect all the adults coming to test before they do if we have guests over 65 years old?

Everyone: adults and children

And quite frankly, everyone should be LFTing every day at the moment. No whining, unless there are SN. Just fucking do it.

Flame me, I give no shits.

PS I have 3 shots and have Covid.

I wouldn’t assume it. I very rarely do the tests if I’m feeling well as they trigger anxiety about having covid which then snowballs into social anxiety and intrusive thoughts and I end up too anxious to leave the house. Unless i was visiting someone very elderly (80+) or CEV I wouldn’t think to do one, certainly not if I was just going to be around people in their late 60s. If I was asked specifically beforehand to take a test though I would do so.

@LawnFever

I’m doing a lateral flow before meeting anyone, irrelevant of age, it’s a perfectly normal thing to do these days.

Agreed. It's just common courtesy.

@Takingabreakagain

I wouldn't expect anyone to test themselves - only that they would not come if they were ill. We had a family meet up yesterday four of the guests are over 70/75. They've all been vaccinated to protect themselves - no-one even suggested testing before meeting.

I'm in Scotland , it's in our guidance to test before meeting anyone outside your household, going shopping etc.

Everyone I know with Covid right now (which is SO MANY people) has tested negative on LFTs until it would have been far, far too late. Taking the tests if the results really matter (e.g. if someone’s very vulnerable) is essentially pointless. A totally asymptomatic friend (who tested negative on daily LDTs) just pretended to have symptoms yesterday to get a PCR before going home for Christmas to be ultra cautious as one of her parents is having chemo; it was positive. Pretty scary when you think they could easily have just caught it and died or had to pause treatment or anything. I’m glad things are so unrestricted right now, but I think it’s insane for the government to be encouraging greater reliance on these tests.

That said, with regard to your AIBU specifically, I think 65’s an odd cut off for otherwise healthy and vaccinated people.

What do people mean when by courtesy? Does it have some sort of different meaning in mumsnet world? The point of doing a covid test is to avoid inadvertently spreading covid, where on earth does "courtesy" come into it?

100problems

And quite frankly, everyone should be LFTing every day at the moment. No whining, unless there are SN. Just fucking do it.

Flame me, I give no shits.

PS I have 3 shots and have Covid“

Ah, really sorry. Hope you’re doing ok 💐

@User12398712

What do people mean when by courtesy? Does it have some sort of different meaning in mumsnet world? The point of doing a covid test is to avoid inadvertently spreading covid, where on earth does "courtesy" come into it?

Because it's courteous to look after your own safety and be mindful of the safety and welfare of others.

I think it’s the responsible thing to do

Because of work I am LFT everyday but now we are struggling to get hold of any

@MiddleParking personal experience. I had a negative PCR on Sunday 16th. On Monday 17th two LFT were negative. At 4am on Tuesday 18th I had a BFP LFT. On Wednesday 19th my PCR was positive.

No symptoms except my teeth ached at 4am on Thursday 18th at 4am. Then all hell broke loose.

An LFT takes precisely no effort.

Please just LFT; it costs nothing and at least takes you out of circulation.

Because it's courteous to look after your own safety and be mindful of the safety and welfare of others.

That's not courtesy. That's having morals. Courtesy is asking Uncle Pete how his gout is even though you really don't care and wish he would boil his head.

@MrsSkylerWhite I am on the mend. Frankly I needed 10 days isolating to feel human again.

We’ve been religiously doing LFTs - but we’ve now got down to our last box and can’t get hold of anymore!

100problems

@MrsSkylerWhite I am on the mend. Frankly I needed 10 days isolating to feel human again.”

Good, all the best.

@User12398712

Because it's courteous to look after your own safety and be mindful of the safety and welfare of others.

That's not courtesy. That's having morals. Courtesy is asking Uncle Pete how his gout is even though you really don't care and wish he would boil his head.

We can agree to have a slightly different opinion of how it's defined. The outcome is the same.

@MolkosTeenageAngst as a single person with a dependent child and depression can I share this: the thing that's worse than worrying about Covid is having Covid and giving it to other people.

We are all LFT’ing prior to meeting and we are all vaccinated and boosted bar the children.

Nothings perfect but it’s the best we’ve got.

My BIL tested positive on a LFT last week he was asymptomatic, as was my daughter who also tested positive on a random LFT.

I tested positive on a random LFT for work last December.

I’d say a fair few transmissions prevented in those scenarios to make it worth while.

We can agree to have a slightly different opinion of how it's defined. The outcome is the same.

It does have the same outcome but I find it very sad. It's like saying you shouldn't murder someone because it's against the law rather than because it's morally wrong. Perhaps it is revealing that mumsnetters are a bunch of feral animals who are only held in check by societal mores, rather than any innate morality.

I think regardless of age people should do them, for all the time and hassle they take. The issue is some people say they will and don’t actually get round to it then just say they were fine or like my friends say they’ll do them then do it like 24-48hours prior to meeting up. They should really be done an hour or two before

[quote 100problems]@MiddleParking personal experience. I had a negative PCR on Sunday 16th. On Monday 17th two LFT were negative. At 4am on Tuesday 18th I had a BFP LFT. On Wednesday 19th my PCR was positive.

No symptoms except my teeth ached at 4am on Thursday 18th at 4am. Then all hell broke loose.

An LFT takes precisely no effort.

Please just LFT; it costs nothing and at least takes you out of circulation. [/quote]
This is so weird. You’ve given really specific dates and times for some reason, none of which actually exist this month. And you seem to have misinterpreted my post as saying people shouldn’t take LFTs. What does “at least takes you out of circulation” mean? And no, they don’t ‘cost nothing’ at all, which is yet another reason it would be really nice if you could actually trust the results of them.

I find this extreme.
A lot of 65 year olds I know are super fit and very healthy and wouldn't be bothered about having Covid themselves.
You can't have a cut off age either.
We are causing more irreversible environmental damage with all this obsessive testing than the damage Covid would have caused to the entire human race by the time it becomes endemic or disappears.
And the never ending testing of children must stop. We have been putting a huge burden on them. The majority must be feeling quite upset at the thought they might be the cause of infecting others dear to them. It's not right. We are protecting them, not the other way around.
The thing to do would be to test just before meeting so you know everything is 50% safe from your end. Can't do anymore. You can't tell others what to do. Even with a PCR test, you may be positive by the time you get the negative result from a very recent test.

Testing is the easy bit. Not going if you test positive is the hard bit, especially if the person you are meant to be visiting would be really upset. I can understand the fear.

Yup

Fuck Me you're right @MiddleParking so let's do the dates again (remember, I said I've had Covid? Makes you quite poorly)

So:

12th Dec negative PCR
13th Dev negative LFT x 2
14th Dec positive LFT
15th Dev positive PCR

Ok with that?

And LFT do work, only the pricks that don't like using them say otherwise.

Hope you don't get it. Believe me, it sucks and you really will want to be out of circulation, by which I mean (as I'm sure you realise because you can't be that much of a tool) away from other people.