LFT for households if your child is at school or college

[Dorisdaydream2]

I have spoken to a few friends and none of them seem to be aware that if you have children who are back at school or college everyone else in the household is also entitled to twice weekly lateral
Flow testing.

Have I got this wrong?? If I am right are you doing it?

I'm aware but school haven't received the tests yet.
Did you also know that the government expect the schools to report the results of all the LFTs done at home by all their pupils 🙄

You are correct.
I'm CEV and decided that I would only start doing them if cases started to emerge within the school. At the moment the case rate is very low around here and I'm pretty well isolated apart from via the kids so there didn't seem much point.

@en0la you can order the tests online

It’s just so confusing.

I collected some tests from a centre. Then when schools went back after dd was tested at school, we had a letter saying all students will be bringing home a pack of tests, after their third test at school. No idea when 3 rd test will be.

Meanwhile l have 24 tests sat there doing nothing, and I’m not sure what l should be doing with them🤷🏼‍♀️

Friend (who is involved with local testing programmes) was astounded we didn't know this, or rather that we didn't have a whole self-testing regime going, since I have DC in schools. She seemed to think we wanted to get ourselves tested twice a week.

I refrained from impulse to suggest pins in eyeballs instead.

I thought so. We are going to get some tests, whilst cases are low here, where my daughter goes to college she says there is almost no social distancing taking place.

LFTs aren't even reliable.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow the guidance here is pretty clear I think that the kids' tests are provided via schools but family members have to arrange their own

www.gov.uk/guidance/rapid-lateral-flow-testing-for-households-and-bubbles-of-school-pupils-and-staff#how-to-get-a-rapid-lateral-flow-test

You can order them for home delivery or collect from designated points.
I collected early last week as my dd felt too anxious to test in school as she gets nose bleeds easily.
We have followed the schools testing days and I have only needed to email the school with the results each time.

@en0la

I'm aware but school haven't received the tests yet. Did you also know that the government expect the schools to report the results of all the LFTs done at home by all their pupils 🙄

No, you're expected to report the results yourself here.

I'm not doing them.

They're unreliable and I cannot afford to take time off work for false positives.

You're more likely to get false negatives. If a LFT says you're positive you will be positive.

Sure they are not very reliable but every little helps. There's someone on here that has complained about schools being shut non stop on mumsnet then says they are not testing 🤣.

I've already been doing LFT as I volunteer at the vaccine clinic, but I picked up a couple of boxes of tests from out local test centre for DD as she's only in college Thursday and Friday, so she can then test at home early in the week.

She prefers to test at home anyway to save her doing it in her frees at college and worrying she'll get sent home if positive.
I don't think the availability of tests was particularly well publicised though.

We are doing them, we have a pre-schooler. I know they aren’t 100% but better than nothing. My OH & DD1 had stinking colds last week but no covid symptoms. My DD’s little best mates at nursery all had awful colds as well. We figured if it was covid, there’s no way the LF would miss my OH’s germs 😂 they all came back negative. DD’s pals & parents, a couple also had PCR tests and all negative too. So between us it was nice to conclude it wasn’t COVID!

We’re going to get some tomorrow. Friends that I have spoken to don’t know about them or are confusing them with the tests that the children are bringing home from school. I don’t think the messages getting through.

I am doing them. But I agree it isn’t well publicised and our school hasn’t mentioned it to us which I would have thought they would do. Some of my colleagues say their schools have communicated that they expect the parents to do it.

The tests are for the adults in the household or bubble with school children and can be collected or ordered online.

Once I am three weeks post vaccine I will probably be less enthusiastic about it but I think it is a good precaution especially for primary schools where the kids aren’t testing. Should be available as easily for people working out of the home. There isn’t a convenient testing centre for those people near here and I think the roll out to businesses is slow.

@threestars

You're more likely to get false negatives. If a LFT says you're positive you will be positive.

I'm not so sure tbh, one boy in DS class tested positive at first school LFT, isolated and did PCR test which came back negative. Still has to isolate for 10 days though

Went to collect my box of 7 tests on the Sunday afternoon before schools reopened from local test centre and there wasn't a soul in sight, I was expecting a massive queue. Thought I had got it wrong.

I’m doing them. I’m a teacher. Two tests in school and now test twice weekly at home. Interestingly we have done over 500 tests since 8th March in school and not a single positive. Surely law of averages means we should have had one by now....

@Whatelsecouldibecalled

I’m doing them. I’m a teacher. Two tests in school and now test twice weekly at home. Interestingly we have done over 500 tests since 8th March in school and not a single positive. Surely law of averages means we should have had one by now....

It's almost as if the government decided to implement the testing knowing they mostly don't work and give false negatives as it looks like schools are safe and so can stay open.

Of course they wouldn't do that would they?

@SvenandSven

You can order them for home delivery or collect from designated points. I collected early last week as my dd felt too anxious to test in school as she gets nose bleeds easily. We have followed the schools testing days and I have only needed to email the school with the results each time.

Yes, the school then have to report those results.

@Whatelsecouldibecalled

I’m doing them. I’m a teacher. Two tests in school and now test twice weekly at home. Interestingly we have done over 500 tests since 8th March in school and not a single positive. Surely law of averages means we should have had one by now....

Funny you should say that.... I tested myself on Weds before son went back to school on Thurs. Negative. Then curiosity got the better of me. So I did the test without swabbing,just dropped a couple of drops into the test strip but hadn't swabbed myself or put swab into liquid. Thought it would come back as void.

Came back as negative
So a negative test comes back as negative....and so does a test done incorrectly.
The tests we're reaching kids to do themselves. Anyone think the amount of negatives coming out might be a bit fishy?!

Prevalence is low in some areas. The LFTs will find 2 out of every 3 cases. So doing them at least twice a week makes them more useful. They’re not going to find every single case, but given they’re finding some asymptomatic that’s better than not doing it.

On the subject of false positives. If your child does test at school it's classed as a controlled environment and if it's a positive result the family will need to self isolate for 10 days. Not entitled to take a PCR test after but if they do and it comes back negative it's still the law to self isolate.
If a LFD test taken at home is positive to should ring 119 and take a confirmatory PCR test. If that is negative they don't need to SI but should SI until they take the PCR test.
Advice is always given not to take a PCR test if you have had a positive one in the last 90 days as it can pick up dead strands of the virus.