Seen this on FB - maybe a good point being made??

[Crystal1975]

"Can people please just stop getting tested? By being tested You are potentially adding to the problem and increasing the chances of taking us into a 2nd lockdown? The tests are not accurate because they detect fragments of RNA in people who aren't even infectious which are then counted as a "new case". All you are doing is giving the Government the numbers of new cases they're looking for to extend the emergency powers for 2 years and take us into a winter lockdown.

Just stop the testing and the false positives will disappear overnight! If you are seriously unwell call 111. But if you are well enough to get yourself to a testing centre then you are most likely fine. Quarantine at home for 2 weeks just to be on the safe side. Eat whole foods with plenty of cruciferous vegetables and take plenty of Zinc, Vitamin C and D3 and then crack on!

You don't need to wear a positive covid test like a badge of honour for absolutely no reason when you don't have any symptoms.

If you think spring/summer incarceration was bad, wait until it’s dark more than it is light, no garden to enjoy because it’s cold and rainy, no family festivities to look forward to, no christmas markets or shopping, no taking the kids to see Father Christmas? Plus your standard normal winter illnesses to throw into the mix and add to the COVID numbers regardless. This is what they need to drive the vaccination narrative.

More people will continue to die of suicide, hypertension and undiagnosed cancers than EVER before! Our elderly will die sooner than they should because they will be restricted to their usual things that keep them sane, like community groups and visits from their relatives.

We all need social interaction, we all need to exercise and mix with each other to get germs to thrive, to keep our immune system working and stay healthy. I don’t need a paid off scientist to do research to tell me that! END THIS NOW! “

I might be missing something but if you don't test and you are asymptomatic are you not potentially putting lots of people at risk?
Are we suggesting we use Covid to cull the elderly and inform?

DC felt unwell last week (throat hurt when swallowing, felt warmer than usual) and school suggested that with a sore throat and 'a higher temperature' that we went to a testing centre. We opted to take temperature properly over several hours and give paracetamol. DC felt well before the end of the day.

You don't need to wear a positive covid test like a badge of honour for absolutely no reason when you don't have any symptoms.

So why would you be having a test if you have no symptoms??

Please stop spreading this nonsense.

People post all kinds of crap on Facebook , everybody ,s an expert 🙄

I agree in some ways.

The level of false positive is very high, in part because it measures the RNA. Ad RNA stays present for months r you recovered for. The disease.
This gives the feeling that there are more and more people affectEd, that we will end up in a worse place etc... when actually we currently have 38 people in hospital with Covid.
38

On thhe top if it, we have increased testing which again is increasing that feeling that there are many more cases, which there aren’t.

I am not sure I would go as far as saying ‘stop having a test altogether’ that seems quite excessive.

But I wish our government was a bit more ‘on the ball’ and would take all that into consideration. It’s like they actually WANT us to be in some sorry of lockdown with limited liberties apart form working

but there is maybe a point about the false positives - was a thread on here last week about how many false positives the tests give and I was surprised to see how high that figure was.

Did you read the thread to the end, with the explanations of retesting etc?

@CrunchyCarrot

You don't need to wear a positive covid test like a badge of honour for absolutely no reason when you don't have any symptoms.

So why would you be having a test if you have no symptoms??

I’ve seen people going for a test for symptoms that weren’t clear at all. Think a vague cough once in a the morning and they are ringing for a test. Same people who have had 3 or 4 tests done even though they don’t have an ‘at risk’ occupation, limit their going out of the house etc....

Isn’t it interesting that the government runs out of tests and now on social media there are tales of how rubbish it is?
A bit like how masks were not just rubbish, but detrimental.
It’s all utter, manipulative rubbish.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

I think that misses the point that most people don’t WANT to quarantine at home for a fortnight and a negative test allows them to resume normal life.

^ This

Testing asymptomatic people where prevalence is low will result in too many false positives. That is true. If you don't have any reason to think you might have it (Eg symptoms) then a positive result could well be inaccurate.

@TheLastStarfighter

but there is maybe a point about the false positives - was a thread on here last week about how many false positives the tests give and I was surprised to see how high that figure was.

Did you read the thread to the end, with the explanations of retesting etc?

Regardless of the test and retesting, there is always some false positive and false negative It so happens that with Covid, both are high...

Basically it’s not a reliable test

Am not sure where the Facebook extract ends and your post starts OP. Which of the (many bonkers) points made in the Facebook extract do you agree with, OP?

People need to stop believing everything they read on social media, in newspapers etc. A lot of these (especially on social media) are not based on scientific facts. We need to be looking at the actual published studies/articles from reputable sources, not just agreeing with whatever crap they like that's written by another uneducated idiot.

Yes we are all sick of the situation, fed up of the government and being told what to do etc. But you are not a specialist in this. The government haven't made all the right decisions (in my opinion), but this is completely new territory for them and everyone else. They are still learning and working it out as they go - although are being very slow and could be doing a lot more.

Just look at actual facts with evidence rather than basing everything off your opinion.

I get to the end of posts like that and think "Bless, are they really so naïve".

Then I remember how people were in February/March and think:
Yes, and they haven't even learnt from experience.

I don’t need a paid off scientist to do research to tell me that but apparently you do need a bonkers post by an idiot on Facebook to tell you what to think.

My dgs (3) is waiting for his second test, first three weeks ago he had a bad cough his second this week with a temperature of 39.6 which means that my dd, who is a teacher, and my sil are off work and cannot go in until he has a negative test. The school will not be able to open if more teachers are in quarantine because family members are ill so the quickest way to get teachers back is to check family members are negative.

Teachers need to work not to stay at home for 14 days in case their child has Covid 19.

Tbh I'm working from home atm and I have already decided if I have symptoms I'll stay in, get food delivered and avoid being tested. I don't want to increase the number so theres an excuse to destroy more people and their businesses with a second lockdown

Dangerous nonsense.

I'd happily quarantine for two weeks if I had to, but I have two places of work who will require me to at least try and get tested - one will want proof I've tried (obviously can take a screen shot) for me to be paid. I worked through lockdown (keyworker roles) so if too many like me take too much unnecessary time off, then many other people won't have essential services they require.

Posts like that are why I constantly want to bang my head on a table.

@TeeBee

Posts like that are why I constantly want to bang my head on a table.

And me.

Is this a viral thing? If not, we're from the same area as the exact same thing was posted by someone on our local Facebook page.

The proportion of positives that are false is not just to do with the test itself it's to do with the prevalence.
And few tests have both high false positives and high false negatives, it's usually a trade off.

we currently have 38 people in hospital with Covid.
38

Who is “we”? In the UK there are 108 COVID patients in mechanical ventilation beds according to today’s stats, the highest number since mid July.

Where is the evidence of false positive rates?

The bollocks about the flu vaccine causing a false positive is nonsense.

It's basic maths. If prevalence is lower than the false positive rate, there's less than a 50% chance that a positive is true.
If prevalence is high, such as in people with relevant symptoms, this isn't an issue and if you get a positive there's a good chance it's true.