"Not my fault I can't get a test and not bloody isolating "just in case"!"

[ketchupthebear]

Heard this from a friend who will lose significant income self-isolating for 10 days and her partner for 14 days.

She says they have tried very hard to get tests and now nearing day 3 of symptoms.

I know rulz is rulz, but it does seem that those making the rules are not keeping up their end of the bargain.

Don't all pile on and say how selfish etc. from my own family's perspective, I agree (asthmatic DS), but on the other hand, feel the message needs to filter up to those managing test and trace that some people would "get a test" if they could, but if they cannot, they are just not going to isolate "in case".

How common do you think this is?

If only the government had it in their power, months ago, to put in place a proper scheme that fully recompense people who have to isolate for their loss of earnings.

Another dropped b***ck.

Or if people are testing unnecessarily, why not have GPs, community nurses and NHS staff whose clinics are closed do some triage?

Person A - you've got a cold. Crack on.
Person B - that cough sounds a bit dodgy, here's a QR code to go and get a test.

Umm I ordered a test kit yesterday as no appointments for tests in my area it has just arrived now . Just got to persuade my 10 yr old to do it now. Results should be back in 2 to 4 days. Am fairly certain he has a back to school cold but he has a cough .

People are now starting to see this shambles for what it really is, so yes I think people are just cracking on.

Nobody wants to risk losing their job or denying kids of any MORE loss of education.

I am on day 4 of waiting for a result and it took ages and a lot of stress to even get a test so if it happens again I will not be isolating if the test system is still in the shambles that it is now.

It's so hard to know what to do. I was accused on another thread of 'wasting a test' because I took DS for one with what I'm pretty sure is a cold, but he still felt hot to touch. I thought I was doing the right thing, but maybe not? I feel like you can't do right for doing wrong, so I'm pretty sure people will get fed up.

this has been exacerbated by academics who previously volunteered/paid to work in testing returning to teach at universities - & universities schools colleges all returning & becoming hotbeds of cross infections

watching on tv news this am was horrifying - cases of care workers disabled people in care homes already with infections pharmacists physician associates nurses teachers .... who can't get tested & a case of a young girl who lives with grandparents whose classmate contracted it & whose grandparent has lung/heart condition... & no tests available across many counties
Just a one or two who cant get tested - right?

We are waiting for our home tests to be delivered. It took me the best part of a morning to get the tests. I will be seriously considering this isolation business if it happens again. My son has a slight cough some people probably wouldn’t even bother self isolating and to be honest I can’t blame them . I’m writing off this week as I doubt he will be in school until next week

Of course it will be common.

It is totally unreasonable that it's not possible to order or get a test without jumping through 100 hoops 100 times.

We all WANT to do the right thing. The possibility that you're doing the wrong thing is fucking awful - it is so stressful.

But it's practically impossible for families with children to comply with this unless they all have WFH jobs that are OK with their employees supervising children off school (like they were during lockdown) for 2 working weeks at a time, probably multiple times.

For common colds that might produce a cough as part of the symptoms.

You can't even do much work in between trying to refresh the bloody test website and fill in the forms again.

Interesting about the academics, @mumwon
and hear you @VioletCharlotte

This really has all unravelled. I'm crossing my fingers for everybody.

It's ridiculous GPs don't have tests. My GP spoke to me this morning and said they can't get tests for their staff.

I am so glad my GP surgery has staff wasting time on constantly refreshing the computer page to get a test when they should be treating patients and have tests as standard at least for their own staff!

It feels like the govt is paying lip service.

Telling people to come out of shielding right when everything is opening and the situation is most unknown.

Forcing the children who need to shield or who have parents who do to school with that of fines while telling them 'don't kill grandma''

Asking people to quarantine and expecting them to flounder financially.

None of it adds up.

@mumwon

this has been exacerbated by academics who previously volunteered/paid to work in testing returning to teach at universities - & universities schools colleges all returning & becoming hotbeds of cross infections watching on tv news this am was horrifying - cases of care workers disabled people in care homes already with infections pharmacists physician associates nurses teachers .... who can't get tested & a case of a young girl who lives with grandparents whose classmate contracted it & whose grandparent has lung/heart condition... & no tests available across many counties Just a one or two who cant get tested - right?

@mumwon are you sure? Teaching hasn’t started back at most unis yet and many, many are fully online for at least semester one. So academics have had zero contact with students. Academics at my institution aren’t even allowed back in their own offices yet, single person offices.

@Thanksitsgotpockets it reminds me a bit of the hunger games. All these "challenges" set and the rules keep changing and the games makers having a big laugh ... meanwhile the fall out is literally death for those that cannot carry on.

Thing is with certain employment places and schools you need a negative test to return.

Not everyone can not isolate.

And it's like the snake eating its own tail. The vast majority of people being tested are negative but it only takes a small percentage of cases to spread before many people will be unable to work.

Saying this I would do the same if I needed to work to pay bills what choice do you have?

OP, I agree. It took hours and hours to get a test and now days and days to get a result. In the meantime, my completely healthy children are missing yet more school.

We can work from home, so financially we are ok. This won't be the same for lots of people though.

I will honestly be thinking twice about getting a test in the future and seeing if the symptoms settle after a day or so. I'm one of life's rule followers too. If I feel like this, there will be lots of people already bypassing the system.

The Government urgently needs to sort the test and trace system out and introduce some sort of guaranteed full pay system for people while they isolate.

I Think it’s going be really common until the testing system is quick and reliable. I know somebody who didn’t isolate after coming back off holiday. She took the test, it was negative she went to work. She’s self employed and can’t afford to not work for two weeks.

We are currently isolating awaiting test results. Pretty sure we’ve had back to school colds, but we had a brief temperature which passed in a couple of hours. This was last week.

Would I do this again? Hmmmm. DS is doing GCSE’s in May and the school have said they will not be setting work for isolating kids. The consequences are far greater than if he was in year 1.

Most people will be the same. Altruistic to a point, but when you start to get seriously negatively impacted.....

I am lucky and can fully WFH and isolate, food deliveries etc if we have to. If I was a NMW job and / or had a zero hours contract and need to support my family, would I go to work? Yes.

And therefore until this testing shitshow is sorted it will only get worse.

A friend paid £900 for a test yesterday. Insane. So those tests are available but only to those that have the ££££££

This is the problem. I'm SE and I'm not eligible for any state help as I set up in May 2019. Although I work from home, my income has been decimated as a result of COVID to the point where we're starting to struggle.

My husband is also SE but he works outside, out of home (think gardener type work). If we have to isolate, he wouldn't be able to work at all, so who would pay for his 2 weeks loss of income?

Unless he was the one with the symptoms, then we simply cannot afford for him not to work. He literally doesn't have any contact with his customers and he works exclusively outside so he would have to carry on working. The whole situation is a fucking shambles and I'm now thoroughly pissed off with the whole thing.

The testing situation is beyond understanding. The government is despicable for their actions dealing with coronavirus.

DD is also isolating and can't go to school for this week because of a plain flu that she has already overcome.

That said the big problem we're about to face is the possibility of contracting both coronavirus and a common cold/flu at the same time!! So isolating may not be a bad idea. Her flu/cold/wtv is passing through the family (as these things do) and imagine her contracting coronavirus and giving it to one of us still debilitated by the current illness? It would be terrible

If they'd issued all schools with tests for at least 25% of their on-role pupils and staff, then every time a child was sent home from school or needed to stay off for a suspected cold/CV-19 symptoms, they could have been immediately issued with a test there and then.

Same for care homes, NHS staff etc.

It's not like they didn't know the beginning of term would spike a need for testing.

I feel like they almost need to send a postal test to every single household so it's available if/when symptoms arise. That way, the test is there ready and waiting to be used.

Obviously this is borderline impossible, but at this moment, it feels like the only answer.

Hope this friend won't be moaning when there's a second wave, another lockdown and people start losing even more jobs and schools close again. We can't have it both ways.

It's shocking there are enough tests, the government have truly fucked this up (again!!) but we're never going to come out of this thing if we don't stop taking responsibility on an individual level too.

*Start even!