Are Covid numbers MUCH higher than they seem.

[Thisisnotreallymyname]

Myself and DH have done LFT And PCR and we have Covid.
When talking to others who have had positive LFT ‘s , I am amazed how few people are reporting the results , and very few are taking PCR’s.
This obviously means that the numbers that are reported daily are not correct, snd in fact I reckon the numbers might be nearer double what is reported.
So , given that MNet’s a cross section - if you’ve had it did you report it snd become one of the reported figures ?

Yes?
No?

Yanbu

I should say YABU == YES I reported it
YANBU ==No I didn’t report ( and why not out of interest ?)

Which is yes and which is no?

Cross posted. Thankyou for the clarification!

They don't count reinfections and yet they know it can happen

Plus the reported numbers don’t include re infections and 70% of omicron cases are reinfections!!

Didn’t report x 3 in our house

I've only got the very large primary school that I work at as an example but no-one is registering positive LFT results until we ask and even then a lot of them still don't. Often it's rife in the household too. We are getting loads and loads of new cases each day at the moment and have done for the last few weeks. We also supposed many of the unwell children who come back to school after a couple of days are Covid positive but other than asking close contacts to test daily and requesting PCRs for those with the symptoms that allow it, we can't force them.

So if that small sample is indicative of the national picture, to answer your question, yes!

But yes we reported regardless

DH and I recently had covid and had pcrs.

Ds3 is 4 and tested positive on LFT a few days later. We didn't bother taking him for a PCR.

I know lots of others the same, especially with dc. I wouldn't be surprised if the actual number of covid invections is double what's reported.

My sister works in a school and says its at the highest rates it has been so far. 2/3 of one class off last week. Yes I know this is anecdotal, before anyone jumps up to point it out. I'm off work with a virus but LFTs say not Covid so far.

Figures for our area say its decreasing, also wonder if lack of access to LFT is skewing numbers. Chemists saying they are out of stock...I get them from work but know others have struggled to get hands on test kits.

Reported my son who got it first and found it to be a PITA. Didn’t bother reporting the rest of us when we caught it.

I don’t know anyone who has confirmed their lft results. I wouldn’t be surprised if our case numbers were closer to 500k, which is what France is reporting as their cases.

I expect so. I've reported every test result, especially DS's positive this week.

He's only had a sort throat and snotty nose. They'll be loads of people walking around with it.

We reported DS’s positive lateral flow this week but it’s a reinfection so won’t count anyway. Apparently there are loads of kids at our primary getting it again after last having it in late Nov/early Dec. None of them will count.

DD tested positive again on LFT last week. We're less than 90 days from having it already. Didn't report it. Don't need proof of it for school/work purposes and definitely don't need to deal with Test and Trace again. Half of school are out with it and people are being vigilant with testing and isolation. No benefits to reporting.

So what if they are? It’s time to stop obsessing about case numbers.

5 in my family tested positive on LFT in the last couple of weeks. Nobody reported.

DS and I were both positive a fortnight ago - just used LFT (as it said we didn't need a PCR unless under certain circs which didn't apply), but I reported both results online.

Honestly I expect a lot, possibly most, people don't know you can/should report LFT results so they don't - and the government knew that when changing testing rules so yes, cases probably much higher because the fall really did seem to start at that point.

Honestly who cares,we need to stop obsessing about the case numbers

My understanding is that a PCR is currently now a requirement if you have a positive LFD.

I believe the numbers are therefore not reflecting close to "actual" as LFD are not recorded in the way a lab based PCR would be.

I agree with you, but only based on anecdotal evidence. Most of mine and DH's family members have managed to avoid covid for the best part of 2 years, suddenly almost all of us have it, and we are geographically spread and haven't all been mixing since Christmas Day. It's certainly still rife in schools.
We've been following up positive LFTs with PCRs, mainly because we have plans to travel soon and want it 'on record', not sure I'd have bothered otherwise.

NOT a requirement

Aren't the stats broadly in line with the ONS numbers which are an extrapolation based on a sample (so not reliant on people reporting or getting PCRs)?

I went through PCR with mine at Christmas.
DS2 had a brief faint positive, was tired and a brief temperature. The week's plans were already cancelled. He wasn't due back at school for over 10 days. There was zero benefit in getting a PCR; I'd ended up having a lengthy wait outdoors in another county to have mine. He had no contacts to trace in the days prior; the only friends we'd seen were aware of my case so there was no point in Test and Trace regularly contacting me to tell me the bleeding obvious.