Are we still testing for Covid? AIBU not to?

[Shameus]

Started feeling a bit crap at work on Thursday. Morning. By Thursday night I felt like I had a head cold. Yesterday started with a really sore mouth - as if my mouth and throat was full of ulcers, bit of a cough. Headache.
This morning I have no sense of taste or smell. I know this can happen to a degree with a cold but It’s not just a lessened sense, it’s gone completely. My coffee tastes like hot water.

Are we still testing for Covid?? I’ve seen that you can get lateral flow tests from boots but would you bother?

YABU - don’t be spreading your Covid germs
YANBU - treat it like a cold

I do know quite a few people who still have a stash of free tests and will use those if they're ill. Agree that actually paying for a test is a different thing.

We don't test. We stay home if we are too unwell to go out and carry on if it's just cold symptoms, same as before.

I've bought them in my local chemist most recently and in Marks and Spencer (at the till in the food hall).

Plenty of people ARE still testing.
Plenty of people DO get much more poorly with covid than a cold.

There are still lots of more vulnerable people around.

I test as the last twice I was properly poorly. I can access antivirals if I know soon enough before the virus takes hold.

If I am ill then I won't be in work. I can honestly say it's nothing to do with trying to skive off. My work record would back that up though so my employers wouldn't make that assumption either.

I'd test with those symptoms.

You do have to be more careful about potentially spreading Covid to vulnerable people than spreading a cold, and I'd prefer to know what I had and how careful to be.

I'm in Scotland so I can get tests as DH and I are carers for his very elderly, very frail parents, one of whom has a serious respiratory condition.

We test before we go to see them, just to be on the safe side. The professional carers who visit them twice a day no longer test unless symptomatic.

it would be nice if people who have symptoms would test and even more so if those who know they have Covid would steer clear of others. But we are where we are, so we'll carry on testing a couple of times a week because neither of us want to pass it on. It doesn't do any harm to be careful, other people have different attitudes to exposing others to risk.

Both DH and adult DS have had bad coughs this week, so they did test and were negative. DH has had medical appointments this week, so wouldn’t want to pass anything on and wore a mask. DS went out for a meal with friends 3 weeks ago, one 22 year old girl was feeling ill next day and tested positive, so DS did do a test as he shared a 30 minute taxi home with her. We were told to test for over 2 years, it’s hard to now think it’s just a cold when you are a vulnerable person after being petrified of catching covid for so long.

I work with vulnerable people, so still testing under the guidelines.

I was also in the shielding group as was classed as CEV, so test if I'm feeling ill.

I think I would but that's because in schools the rules still stand at 5 days isolation. If I treated it like a cold I would either work through it or have maybe one day off. There's no point saying 'you should stay at home with a cold' because that just isn't feasible in all jobs.

Same here - I tested when I had cold like symptoms and was supposed to be having lunch with an elderly relative.

It's the responsible thing to do

We’ve tested as we have vulnerable relatives in various care situations - the care homes still ask for it, and bizarrely, so does the local vet.

What's covid? Thing of the past isn't it?

My vets still ask for a test and are still very stringent on social distancing

its apparently because they are a 24/7 and are struggling with staff shortages anyway and can’t afford to have staff off sick

I had covid recently. I tested because I felt very unwell and I’m clinically vulnerable.

If I wasn’t cv, I don’t know that I would test unless I wanted to be somewhere or see someone vulnerable but I would stay home and wfh with symptoms.

I tested positive on Wednesday. I did have some free tests left at home and felt awful though. Work have requested we test if symptomatic and stay away from the office until negative.

Why would you? Seems pointless

We don't test. I'm either well enough to work or I'm not. No option to work from home and only SSP if I'm off. Covid is classed as normal illness now so counts in the sick record. So absolutely no point in testing now for me.

I only test when I go to see my mum in her care home , never tested any other time

Dp and I have covid.
Dp bought 10 tests on the day he first felt ill. Two lines came up, I felt ill 3 days later, and tested 2 lines. I cannot go back to work until I test negative, dp tested negative yesterday 11 days on.
It is not pleasant and the fatigue is real and draining, even simple home-cleaning tasks leave us both drained. We're not old, or overweight, we have no pre-existing health conditions.

This!! I work for the NHS working with very vulnerable people, so we are still testing and staying off work if we have covid, I would also stay off if I had flu, norovirus, chest infection etc for the same reasons.

I've had this horrific RSV virus this week, which has been much worse than the two times I've had Covid. We still have lots of tests left over so I've tested a few times (negative). I wouldn't have if I'd had to buy some. We are keeping hold of some and will test before we go and visit's DH's vulnerable parents at Christmas.

I do RAT before I go back to work if I have been out to shopping centre etc.

I think you call RAT LFT in UK?

People are clearly still testing at my place of work (primary school) as we've had 5 members of staff out with Covid over the past 2 weeks.

Treat it like a cold. No need for a test but do stay off work, work from home if you are able, and don't go out and about spreading it to people. That's common sense in the post-covid world.