Twice weekly lateral flow tests for households of school pupils

[SingANewSongChickenTikka]

This seems a brilliant step forward, twice weekly lateral flow tests for households and bubbles of school staff and school pupils. Posted or ‘click and collect’. Yes the lateral flow tests have their limitations, but it still should help I think.

www.gov.uk/guidance/rapid-lateral-flow-testing-for-households-and-bubbles-of-school-pupils-and-staff

I've found a collection point near me now, but do I just turn up? I can't see how I order them in advance.

The home link is live, just ordered

To answer my own question you can just turn up!

I’ve ordered. Pick up is not massively convenient and you won’t know until you get there if they’re actually available or run out but it appears if you pick up there will be 28 (and poss can get for your dp?) whereas ordering you get 7 (but nothing stopping you ordering again). But it’s twice a week right? So will last a bit.

According to the DM 1/3 families have not signed consent forms.

@Frazzled2207 my DP gets his through NHS but I will get what I can. He doesn't let me use his!

So I clicked on the links and every site I click on they say “Schools LFD kit collection only” does that mean I CAN collect from there or they are for schools only to collect from?

False negatives are by far more concerning that false positives.

The child who tests positive should get a pcr test immediately. At the moment these results are coming back the next day. That will confirm for sure. In the mean time they stay home and work form home for the day.

False negatives are surely far more concerning. That means there are people wandering around, mixing and often in close contact for lengthy periods of time, who are actually covid positive.

One child missing the odd day whilst getting a false positive sorted inconveniences that one child and their household.

A false positive can end up with greater transmission, most people affected, the eventual closure of a bubble, and the risk of a vulnerable member of staff/pupil or their family may then catch it.

Missing the point -a false e means that the person has to isolate - easy to do if you have s job that pays when you are off - self employed people don’t have that luxury.
I imagine that many people won’t do the tests for that reason.
False negative is unlikely to result in hospitalisation even in the unproven possibility it is transmitted asymptomatically. The most likely to be hospitalised have been vaccinated already.

I ordered some earlier. It’s a bit annoying that you can only order seven by post, particularly in areas where there isn’t a collection option.

I just managed to collect two boxes of seven from a local uni. Weird, no ID shown, no details take at all, no one else there just me and loads of staff in high viz. I'm not sure many people know about it yet.

@QuidditchQueen

You'd rather that people were wandering around not knowing they were carrying - and transmitting - the virus, than people self isolating for a day or so whilst they await the results of a PCR test?

Are you the type that believes people being having the virus doesn't equal a 'case' too? That the only 'cases' are the people that die?

@NotSorry Yes it means you CAN collect from them! Just done it myself.

I have DS2 in yr 11 and he’s getting his first test tomorrow, another Friday, back to school 8th and another test on the 10th.

School haven’t mentioned at all about household testing! I was only alerted to it today when my BIL said he’d heard it on the news.

I want to do it, but I can't collect them and the online ordering will only let you order 7- there are 7 of us in the house. It's silly we can't order 28 like you can get if you collect.

@ThereWillBeSun
7 adults in the house? Secondary kids should get from them from school. Primary school kids done need to do them. So only parents.

7 in total. Two at secondary who will get tested, two adults, three primary school age- and it said you're eligible from year one upwards, but that's not on the website now.

Still, 7 tests is less than two weeks even for just the adults- the boxes of 28 make far more sense and it seems a waste of postage to have to keep ordering.

@ThereWillBeSun so in fact only two of you eligible for the home testing kits then. You can collect in person or both order separately on the website I think.

@MrsHerculePoirot as I said, it did say that year one upwards was eligible and I was working on that basis, but that isn't there now. I did also say that I can't collect. Both ordering doesn't seem to work either, it recognised the address and wouldn't let me order a second set.

How do you get the results of these at home tests? I’m a teacher so have been doing them at school and after I’ve swabbed myself I just pass the stick over and forget about it! At home do I dip in a solution or something similar? School haven’t given out any details yet.

@SuperDiaperBaby thank you!

@Dramateacher1 yes you will do the test at home - I got trained in it today as I’m volunteering at the school. You dip the swab in the solution then drip it onto the stick (which looks a bit like a pregnancy test) and you get the result after 30 mins

Full and clear instructions come in the box of test kits. (Or we were told to discard the instructions in the box and use a separate instruction booklet instead)

Just did my first one - negative! Daughter already in school as keyworker child part time.
I've just emailed my daughter's head to see if she wants me to message whole school about it as I'm not sure people are aware. School usually really on the ball about this sort of thing.

@Arcadia

Just did my first one - negative! Daughter already in school as keyworker child part time. I've just emailed my daughter's head to see if she wants me to message whole school about it as I'm not sure people are aware. School usually really on the ball about this sort of thing.

I didn’t know about it until earlier today - school have said nothing about the rest of the household testing!