False test results

[SOmuchsparkle]

One DC has tested positive.
The rest of us negative.
How on earth could we not have it? Considering all the cuddles, shared sibling baths, shared computer game consoles, sharing food, sofas, hugs, kisses etc?
Feel sad making DC isolate. Oh also none of us have any symptoms. Should we just forget trying to isolate in our home?

Title of thread should have a "?" At the end. As in I am wondering if some of our results were false negatives. But how would we know this?
We are in a very high case area.

I was positive in October. None of my children were. Couldn't believe it! Although of course that just means they weren't positive on the day they were tested. Sorry but yes you will all have to isolate, symptomatic or not.

It would be unusual for an entire family to develop symptoms and test positive on the same day as this would typically require a common external contact passing the virus on to the whole household. If a singular member of the household catches the virus from an external source any transmission within the household will not be detectable by the point at which symptoms develop in this first person (and that person is tested) as the virus can usually only be transmitted in the 24-48 hours before symptoms develop and it usually takes several days after transmission before the virus is detectable (meaning that any family members who have subsequently caught the virus will still be in the incubation period during which the virus cannot be detected and a negative result will be returned if they take a test at the same time as the first person to develop symptoms).

Simply put the virus will not (usually) yet be detectable in anyone who has caught the virus from person X at the time that person X is tested (and therefore those people would give a negative result at that moment in time).

This is also why it is essential that those who test positive isolate from the rest of the household from the second that they develop symptoms (as otherwise another household member could catch the virus on day 9 and not be symptomatic until day 19, or 9 days after the end of their isolation period). Personally I believe the isolation period for anyone who is either unable or unwilling to isolate from someone who has tested positive should be extended until 10 days after the person who tested positive could leave isolation (as in you have the choice of properly isolating for 10 days (including from other family members) or isolating as a family for 20 days (although employers shouldn't be expected to fund this option).

The families I know who have all had it, have had had about 3/4 days in-between. Mum has symptoms, tests positive on Monday. Dad has symptoms on Thursday and tests positive, son on Saturday for example.

Do you get tested without any symptoms now if a close contact had tested positive?

www.who.int/news/item/14-12-2020-who-information-notice-for-ivd-users

Maybe theirs is a false positive , wouldn’t be unheard of