How could they do this??

[InsideNo7]

N/C because this is a bit outing.
I work in a frontline job where we get tested weekly.

I’ve just been told that a test I handed in ten days ago is positive!
In that time I’ve stayed overnight with my parents (I’m a single adult so am in their bubble), have met friends for coffee and lunch (it was my birthday this week) and done an extra shift in another hospital in another tier.

I’m so angry, I would have done none of this if I’d known. I’ve had no symptoms so would have never known if I didn’t have regular tests. I’ve put so many people at risk.

I’m just here to rant, I feel like they haven’t upheld their end of the deal.

How are you feeling now? That’s really shit of them. Makes me wonder how many more times this happens.

Thanks for replying. Absolutely fine- I have to isolate for one day, as my official isolation period is up tomorrow. It just seems absurd. My contacts are all isolating until the week after next. I feel like I’ve let them down, although I know rationally I haven’t done anything wrong.

Am I right in presuming as you are front line and get tested regularly you don't have to isolate whilst awaiting results? Which does seem pointless if you think about it because how many other people end up in the same situation as you.

Hope you and all you've seen are ok. Are they all going to isolate and get tests?

Yes that’s right- we get a weekly test, and the theory is that asymptomatic cases are identified quickly. Obviously if I had symptoms that would be different, but I don’t have to isolate normally.

They are all isolating but will only be offered tests if they show symptoms - thankfully nobody has yet.

To be honest, you must know you could be asymptotic at any time and should be living accordingly. Including looking at the risk of seeing your parents (even if you are in their bubble)

If you live in England then you shouldn’t have seen your friends during lockdown. Many of us have missed birthday celebrations this year

Why have you been having coffee and lunch with friends?

I don’t live in England, I live in Scotland. In an area where it’s permissible to see friends in outdoor settings.

I feel that actually, as I get tested weekly, I’m safer than most. I live alone, and have had a hard year working in hospitals, including spending first lockdown with no social contact beyond work. The only people I see are my parents, both early 60s and in good health. I have never had knowingly had contact with a Covid patient, yet diligently hand my test in every week. I wear masks in all settings and gel my hands. I don’t feel I have much to apologise for. Thanks anyway.

Oh gosh op, it's not your fault you were not to know. I work for NHS and we are starting to test all staff this week and I'm wondering how many asymptomatic cases are going to picked up. It does make you wonder also how many people do have this and don't know.
Hopefully parents and friends will be okay

What was their explanation for the delay OP? It seems mad that you don't get an automated email or text.

Thank you, I am obviously crushed my parents have been at risk. It’s probably worth pointing out that they have been asking me to move in with them just now, and I’ve stayed in my own flat to try to minimise the risk of bringing it home on my uniform or bag. I go home on a Friday, shower and change to “decontaminate” and head up to theirs for dinner. I have tried to be so careful, but mentally I can’t do what I did in the spring again.

@TingTastic surely we could all be asymptomatic at any time, and should be living accordingly??

Ignore the posters making it all your fault! Your right, it is unacceptable to only find out 10 days later that you are positive - makes a farce of the weekly tests.

I have asked for it to be escalated and will be contacted by specialist triage during the week.

Testing length was unacceptable and you should raise that.

I’m so angry, I would have done none of this if I’d known. I’ve had no symptoms so would have never known if I didn’t have regular tests. I’ve put so many people at risk

We are in lockdown to stop the spread and protect the nhs so you shouldn’t have been meeting friends for lunch regardless of test outcomes or not. That’s not on the testing length but decisions made.

It's a crap situation but come on, if you're frontline both you and your parents must have known you posed a risk to them.

I'd want confirmation that the positive test was definitely mine.

We are NOT in lockdown in Scotland. I don’t know where the OP lives, but here the only thing we are unable to do is visit people in their home - but the OP is in a bubble with her parents, so that is fine.

OP, that is utterly shit.

You don't need to apologise and it does seem ridiculous that it took ten days to run the test and inform you. But I don't think because you get tested weekly you are any safer, there is a reason why you are being tested as presumably are more likely to get it. But you make your own risk assessments - what is 'allowed' for the general public, and what makes sense for someone who is in such a high risk job that it requires regular testing.
I have a friend who has been ultra cautious. She's 50 and in good health, but has stuck rigorously to the rules and has limited any trips outside her home, washes her hands constantly and even wipes down her groceries. She still got it - most likely from a friend (who had been to a shopping centre and then tested positive a few days later) who she chatted to in her kitchen for ten minutes (before she got tested, and before the second lockdown). It highlighted how easy it is to catch.
However it is very unlikely in an outdoor setting that you passed anything on.

I’d also be questioning whether that positive test was accurate.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss and @Lucindainthesky, I am not in lockdown, I’m in Scotland. Not in lockdown. It’s there if you read the thread.
Of course we understand the risk, but have worked hard to minimise it. I don’t work with Covid patients. I see them once a week for dinner, and that’s perfectly within the rules even during lockdown, as I’m a single adult who live alone. Or are all single frontline workers not allowed any physiological support beyond clapping?

[quote InsideNo7]@TingTastic surely we could all be asymptomatic at any time, and should be living accordingly??[/quote]
Yes, we could be and should be

The posters banging on about lockdown seem to assume that the world begins and ends in England.

TingTastic So you expect a single person who lives in a job like the op to isolate herself completely from friends and family for almost a year even though that isn’t necessary and she is doing nothing wrong?

Are you single?

Of course I understand the risk is always there, but have done lots of things I wouldn’t have even considered had the results come back within a reasonable amount of time. I took the test on Friday, met my friends on Thursday and did my extra shift the following Friday. Surely a week is too much.

You've nothing to apologise for- the length of time to get results is at fault here, not you.
Try not to beat yourself up about it and just escalate your complaint/concern with relevant people at work.
Yes it's important to control spread of virus but mental health is important too.