Up to 5 days wait for a Covid 19 test result.

[HelpIcantfindaname]

DS (31) had a sore throat & headache, so he booked us in for tests (he lives with me).
Boris says you get test results in 24 hours.
The guy at the test centre said 24-36 hrs.
I rang today, after 48 hours, to be told results can take up to 5 days!
We both had plans for the weekend, plus I was meant to be in school setting up my classroom today & DD(11) was meant to be coming home from her dad's.
DS is feeling much better, but obviously we are following rules & staying in till we get negative results.
Has anyone else had a long wait?
And do people agree 5 days is ridiculous?

We are such a backward country..listening to radio this morning a guy in Switzerland talking of getting covid test at gp.or other drop.in centres and result in 90 mins ...we send ours to Porton Down apparently...

Ours came back in 21 hours, it’s very pot luck

That is going to be a nightmare when schools open.

Why did he need a test for just a sore throat and headache?

Headache and sore throat are really common first symptoms, although usually you'd expect rapid development with fever or lethargy or cough. The fever/cough/loss of smell triangle are a really narrow band of symptoms to diagnose with. In the US they recognize 9.

We’re on 50 odd hours now. Infuriating

@CatToddlerUprising

He felt lousy, & checked symptoms & it said a sore throat & headache are symptoms. (although not the main three) He has ASD & anxiety, we look after my elderly parents & my boyfriend is vulnerable. So we decided to get a test - rather be safe than sorry.

It was less than 12 hours for me.

Family of four here, ours came back within 22 hours. Done at a Regional Test Centre. Found the whole process very efficient. Although I did have a google and read others in the area hadn't been quite so lucky.

Mine took 10 days...

6 days here and 48 hours for the second attempt (or 7 days and 24 hours - not sure which test came back when). Wasted a whole week of my holiday waiting for a negative result and initial cough had gone after 24 hours. Made sure DS blamed Bojo for the fact we were stuck at home all week.

Thanks for all the replies - there seems to be a big variation in waiting times.
Mine came after 51 hours, negative. But son is still waiting for his. Really hope his comes soon.

My understanding is tests are for the main 3 symptoms. Fine to test for anything else but no need to isolate . Glad yours was negative .

22 hours here in NW London at a drive through. Had to self administer though as the nearest assisted test site was at Heathrow airport.

[quote HelpIcantfindaname]@CatToddlerUprising

He felt lousy, & checked symptoms & it said a sore throat & headache are symptoms. (although not the main three) He has ASD & anxiety, we look after my elderly parents & my boyfriend is vulnerable. So we decided to get a test - rather be safe than sorry.[/quote]
This is why the system is under strain, people getting tests when they don’t even have the symptoms you are supposed to have before getting one.

*He felt lousy, & checked symptoms & it said a sore throat & headache are symptoms. (although not the main three) He has ASD & anxiety, we look after my elderly parents & my boyfriend is vulnerable. So we decided to get a test - rather be safe than sorry.

This is why the system is under strain, people getting tests when they don’t even have the symptoms you are supposed to have before getting one.*

Getting a test sounds like a very sensible decision to me. Coronavirus symptoms are much broader than a cough or temperature.

The ease of getting a test for any new symptoms is helping a good percentage of new Coronavirus cases be identified and isolated. That's pretty vital to slow the spread.

I also don't think the test system is under pressure. Most people can book a test very easily and seem to get the results back within 24 - 48 hours. The OP seems to be a bit unlucky that hers have taken a bit longer. I hope your son gets a negative result soon OP.

I’m into day 5 for my test results. Completely better now. Total ridiculousness, if I get a positive back now (obvs I wont) it’s all a bit late isn’t it!

Oops no bad maths it’s day 4, so they’re still within their predicted margin!

@Lindy2

*He felt lousy, & checked symptoms & it said a sore throat & headache are symptoms. (although not the main three) He has ASD & anxiety, we look after my elderly parents & my boyfriend is vulnerable. So we decided to get a test - rather be safe than sorry.

This is why the system is under strain, people getting tests when they don’t even have the symptoms you are supposed to have before getting one.*

Getting a test sounds like a very sensible decision to me. Coronavirus symptoms are much broader than a cough or temperature.

The ease of getting a test for any new symptoms is helping a good percentage of new Coronavirus cases be identified and isolated. That's pretty vital to slow the spread.

I also don't think the test system is under pressure. Most people can book a test very easily and seem to get the results back within 24 - 48 hours. The OP seems to be a bit unlucky that hers have taken a bit longer. I hope your son gets a negative result soon OP.

Hahahaha! We will see how unstrained the system remains once your schools are back!

It’s not a “sensible decision” to get a test on a whim, and it’s particularly unreasonable to then complain about how long the results are taking.

There are other bugs and viruses around causing the symptoms in the OP. People on here keep banging on about “the rules”, those set out when a test should be sought.

What annoyed me was that despite there being 3 drive through centres in our city, we were offered an appointment over an hour away. Ended up getting a test delivered to our house which will take 2-4 days to get a result from. Ridiculously slow.

Because thousands of parents are booking tests for a child with a cold.

I had a covid test in July and the results came in 9 hours. If people are going to overload the system unnecessarily, of course it'll all take longer.

My friend and her family had a test Wales/N West border. Took 3 days for DFriend's test results to come back, all the others were lost. Retest took 24 hours so was about 6 days from test u til result and they joined numerous times about the lost tests and didn't get a single call back. Absolutely farcical. Colleagues who regularly travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai need a test each time they cross the border and it seems to take about 20 minutes. They do have to pay for it though.

I’ve just read the latest stats report on testing. Median time frame for home testing is 71 hours! Much less for centre testing at 27 hours. I’d much rather test dc at home If they get symptoms but I don’t think it’s viable so would have to do a drive in one, assuming there are spots.

The Zoe app is asking people with sore throats to get tested, that’s why I did. If the system is overloaded they need to stop !

I had to get my daughter tested this week as she had a persistent cough and we live in Scotland so had to be off school. When I went online to order the test the system was playing up and I could only get a home test and we did that immediately on Tuesday when it arrived and posted it back the same day. We are still waiting for results and I am utterly fed up now as we are all having to Isolate white we wait for the result. It’s going to make it very difficult for people to stick to the isolation rules of there is a prolonged wait for the results.