Mass testing in Liverpool

[MrsSiba]

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/everyone-liverpool-tested-covid-19-19210041

Announced that from Thursday everyone working or living in Liverpool will be tested under a pilot scheme for mass testing.

No compulsory isolation for anyone refusing a test.

I can't comprehend how this government will sort out the logistics of testing half a million people judging by the fiasco that is track and trace.

@ShinyGreenElephant

Very obvious why they've chosen Liverpool to trial this despite declining numbers - they're guinea pigs. All the issues can be identified before they repeat this in any cities/regions they actually care about- ie ones who may in the future actually vote Tory. They know the whole of Liverpool despises the government anyway so no harm done when it goes wrong and any problems can be blamed on "typical scousers"

I'm no fan of this incompetent government at all but it does appear that Joe Anderson has been pushing for this not the government.

I am in Liverpool and interested how this pans out. Hopefully testing station isn't far away because I don't drive.

My relatives are confused that they were classed as Liverpool City Region area for tier 3, but not quite Liverpool enough for the mass testing. There must be some logic in it somewhere.

They have engaged the services of the army rather than private contractors so I'm sure it will actually work! My dd has trialed the test, been tested fortnightly since August.

@CurbsideProphet im the same. My local FB were up in arms that we had to go into Tier 3 and demanded that we be removed from Metro region. Now they are up in arms that we are not included!

Steve Rotherham has said it will roll out across the region.

@Frazzled2207 he's another clown so you're probably right but the decision was the government's and I stand by my reasons theyre starting here

It's a good idea in theory but I think the reality will be that obviously more cases get picked up (that might otherwise have got undetected due to few/no symptoms) and therefore many, many more people will need to isolate. It could be so disruptive.

I mean, it's swings and roundabouts in a way, because obviously we WANT the cases to be picked up, but there are likely to be many many more people asked to isolate than there are already, the majority of whom will not even have contracted the virus, and may be asked to isolate several times if this testing is every two weeks. Some people who work in certain areas will never be out of isolation!

If it is the rapid test then they were saying (on Radio 4) that there is a 1 in 1000 false positive rate so 999 people out of 1000 actually do have the virus. It tests for proteins which are particularly high in the few days before symptoms so catches people before they have symptoms but are still able to pass it on. You get results in 15 minutes. If Liverpool won't have it then many other places will. We have a fraction of the numbers in Liverpool but anything that gets life back nearer to normal would be great.

Many university students are already being tested which is why so many asymptomatic cases have been caught. Much of the research is going on in universities and the students are an easily accessible population.

If it is the rapid test then they were saying (on Radio 4) that there is a 1 in 1000 false positive rate so 999 people out of 1000 actually do have the virus

That's not how false positives work.

It means that out of 1000 people who are negative, 1 will test positive.

If you have a very low prevalance rate, then that becomes a potential issue.

You can do the maths if you want.

1 in a 1000 is a very good specificity though. Better than there has been. I wonder what the sensitivity is?

@SeptSpiral
Do we know how contagious the virus is before symptoms appear? I have read lots about this but it was all 'we believe' etc. Also if people aren't symptomatic there is less likelihood of them spreading it from what I've read? Also many many people are going to slip through the net if testing is only repeated every two weeks. For me one of the biggest issues is that care workers are going into work while waiting test results and hospital staff aren't tested regularly - two weeks is not enough. Still think transmission is higher in healthcare settings so this should be focused

Yes, sorry only half listening while driving. The link is here www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000p0zg from 2:13 min. Personally though I would rather have a child self isolating because of a rare false positive while pushing down the infection rate than whole bubbles being sent home.

Well it’s going to be very interesting, the Gov used it as a sweetener when putting areas into tier 3 and I believe Liverpool the only area so far wanting to do Mass testing, many others want to do whole setting testing, a school, a workforce etc and these start next week but they are low key pilots. Many areas very worried that the testing will cause too much distribution, causing too many people to need to self isolate, especially NHS , social care and will pile more pressure on an over stretched test and trace system,

*Its a pretty mixed bag of responses on the echo website, the people of Liverpool historically have a lack of trust in the government (Hillsborough, the miners strikes ect)

Miners strike? What did that have to do with Liverpool? There were no coal mines in Liverpool

Not aimed at you, but there is a middle class left wing fantasy that everyone in the north is stuck in the 1980s axe grinding. We are capable of leaving Thatcher and the past behind sometimes, understanding the nuance of crisis situations. That any Govt would struggle with a crisis of this magnitude

From what I've seen in local media most people in Liverpool are wanting to get on board with it and Anderson, the mayor, has again backed a (Tory) Govt initiative, by again putting aside his (Labour) party politcs and try something new.

If a Labour Govt had announced this I suspect mumsnet would saying what a great idea it is and how fantastic it will be for the people of Liverpool

From what I've seen in local media most people in Liverpool are wanting to get on board with it and Anderson, the mayor, has again backed a (Tory) Govt initiative, by again putting aside his (Labour) party politcs and try something new.

I don't think this is about Tory v Labour for Anderson. He's just lost his brother to Covid so it's hardly a shock that he's willing to put Liverpool forward for something that will help reduce rates is it?

In the short term this will cause absolute chaos with the number of asymptomatic people and their contacts who have to self-isolate (although hopefully most people will have fewer close contacts at the moment, seeing as we're in lockdown anyway). Some schools may have to close for a few weeks if it turns out lots of staff or pupils are infected.

However, I also think that once the initial surge of previously undetected positive cases has gone through the system this has the potential to drive infection rates down very quickly, even if only say 30% of people are willing to take part - and, crucially, it could help to keep cases low even once things start to open up again. I certainly can't see a better way out of constant restrictions until there's a vaccine. I think it's really positive news for Liverpool even if it looks disastrous for the first couple of weeks.

Flaxmeadow totally agree with everything you've said.

In the short term this will cause absolute chaos with the number of asymptomatic people and their contacts who have to self-isolate (although hopefully most people will have fewer close contacts at the moment, seeing as we're in lockdown anyway). Some schools may have to close for a few weeks if it turns out lots of staff or pupils are infected.

However, I also think that once the initial surge of previously undetected positive cases has gone through the system this has the potential to drive infection rates down very quickly, even if only say 30% of people are willing to take part - and, crucially, it could help to keep cases low even once things start to open up again. I certainly can't see a better way out of constant restrictions until there's a vaccine. I think it's really positive news for Liverpool even if it looks disastrous for the first couple of weeks.

Flaxmeadow totally agree with everything you've said.

In the short term this will cause absolute chaos with the number of asymptomatic people and their contacts who have to self-isolate (although hopefully most people will have fewer close contacts at the moment, seeing as we're in lockdown anyway). Some schools may have to close for a few weeks if it turns out lots of staff or pupils are infected.

However, I also think that once the initial surge of previously undetected positive cases has gone through the system this has the potential to drive infection rates down very quickly, even if only say 30% of people are willing to take part - and, crucially, it could help to keep cases low even once things start to open up again. I certainly can't see a better way out of constant restrictions until there's a vaccine. I think it's really positive news for Liverpool even if it looks disastrous for the first couple of weeks.

Flaxmeadow totally agree with everything you've said.

@XiCi

They are changing isolation rules to 7 days.

I suppose everyone will be in a different position re pay depending on their employer

Has the virus agreed to only be transmissible for 7 days?

I don't think this is about Tory v Labour for Anderson

Well no, that was my point. He puts part politics aside for what he believes is the beat course of action for his city. That it's a Tory Govt initiative is not an issue for him and I admire him for that

We are not all stuck in party political point scoring and bickering. People might not support this Gov't in general but that doesnt mean they have to snipe at everything they do, or try to do. Even if Corbyn had been elected, who I hated and didn't vote for, I would still, in general, have supported his Gov't in a crisis. Because leta face it, what Gov't on earth would want this to have to deal with? What Govt on earth would know exactly what to do? Where is the blueprint. There isn't one unfortunately

He's just lost his brother to Covid so it's hardly a shock that he's willing to put Liverpool forward for something that will help reduce rates is it?

Not sure its appropriate of us to bring his brother into the conversation, but he agreed with the Govt tier 3 before his brother became ill

And is there something wrong with bringing in a measure you believe might reduce rates? Whether you have been personally affected by covid or not

FFS, sorry!

FFS, sorry!

FFS, sorry!

I think theres a bug or glitch ATM on mumsnet. It's happening in a few threads

@WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants
Of course not.
But the risk is enormously less after 7 days.
And if everyone could be persuaded to comply as opposed to, say, 60%, then the overall risk to the community is lower.

FFS, sorry!

I think theres a bug or glitch ATM on mumsnet. It's happening in a few threads

@KnightsofColumbusThatHurt

Christ, everyone is so negative all the time - this is exactly what people have been asking for, and is a proven way of getting numbers down, and everyone is still fucking moaning!

This is Mumsnet absolutely! Whinge and moan about how shit it is that nothing is being done then, when something is done, whinge and moan about that too!