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Original poster

Cheating & Home Tests to get us out of lockdowns

58 replies

MustStayStrong01 · 05/04/2021 04:57

Just read BJ is possibly going to roll out LFTs to every home in England... Surely if you didn't want to play fair you'd run it under tap water to ensure a negative result? I'm not condoning this AT ALL and I would play fair and do it properly.... But trusting the general public to is a bit... Hmm

OP posts:
WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 05/04/2021 05:05

Why would you bother running it under a tap. You could just not do it and then register a negative result.

ClafoutisSurprise · 05/04/2021 05:06

I read that the tests are voluntary, so I imagine people that order them will try to do them properly.

Original poster
MustStayStrong01 · 05/04/2021 05:06

@WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo having never done an LFT I wouldn't know... Would have thought you'd need a photo of the result to prove it's negative?

OP posts:
WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 05/04/2021 05:07

Nope. You just log them online. No proof of anything needed at all. Smile
Well that's how they work at the moment anyway. I don't see why they would change it.

Original poster
MustStayStrong01 · 05/04/2021 05:08

@ClafoutisSurprise voluntary yes but as part of the covid passport scheme to gain entry into places so idiots would just get them, run them under the tap photograph the false negative and voila they get into the pub or footy match...

OP posts:
milkysmum · 05/04/2021 05:09

No you don't need a photo. You just do the test and register the result: positive, negative or invalid.
I work in a care home and do these twice a week from hone. My daughter is at high school and also does them at home.

Original poster
MustStayStrong01 · 05/04/2021 05:10

@WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo
You just log them online. No proof of anything needed at all. smile. Well that's how they work at the moment

God this country is a joke

OP posts:
ClafoutisSurprise · 05/04/2021 05:10

Perhaps, but I didn’t think that was the purpose of these home tests. Thought testing for large events was managed differently.

I guess we’ll see.

DareIask · 05/04/2021 05:58

I think early detection of a case or detection of an asymptomatic case can only be a good thing.. not only to contain an outbreak but to reassure everyone it's all under control.

Information can only be a good thing.. better than floundering about in the dark as they were at the start.

Surely doing a quick test is a small price to pay.

ImTheWolfToday · 05/04/2021 05:58

The voluntary home lateral flow tests aren’t the same thing as the testing proposed for the ‘passports’ for large events.

punkingscissors · 05/04/2021 06:03

[quote MustStayStrong01]@ClafoutisSurprise voluntary yes but as part of the covid passport scheme to gain entry into places so idiots would just get them, run them under the tap photograph the false negative and voila they get into the pub or footy match...[/quote]
You'd get a void result if you did that.

ImTheWolfToday · 05/04/2021 06:03

[quote MustStayStrong01]@WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo
You just log them online. No proof of anything needed at all. smile. Well that's how they work at the moment

God this country is a joke[/quote]
Why? Because a voluntary system is based on trust? Sure people can be dicks and record negatives when it wasn’t if they choose to. Equally they could just not bother doing a test, their choice. The home LFTs are far from perfect, but use correctly they can pick up a decent chunk of symptomatic or presymptomatic cases and so help. Combined with other measures (none of which are perfect) though they give us a chance to get back to some form of normality.

ThreeorFour · 05/04/2021 06:06

They'd have to be spectacularly thick to lie and cheat. As well as deeply selfish.

It would soon fall apart and come back to bite them on the bum (and unfortunately the rest of society) if a mutant strain or two started spreading across the country.

Whitty was talking about lockdowns earlier this week. Saying how they most likely wouldn't happen again... Unless a new more dangerous variant started spreading.

Anyone who cheats and lies risks being one of the causes of another lockdown. I bet they'll be popular!

Mindymomo · 05/04/2021 06:32

My son does LFT tests for work each week, it does less than a minute to do and he then sends a photo to his work. They have had 3 outbreaks since October, with about 10 testing positive and only one who had symptoms, so anything that can pick up a positive case early is good in my opinion.

Nappyvalley15 · 05/04/2021 06:40

I wonder who has the contract to supply these tests. They will be making a mint.

HettySunshine · 05/04/2021 06:51

Aren't they quite prone to false positives? I'd be reluctant to potentially have to isolate on the basis of a test that's not accurate.

ItsSnowJokes · 05/04/2021 06:53

@HettySunshine

Aren't they quite prone to false positives? I'd be reluctant to potentially have to isolate on the basis of a test that's not accurate.
If you get a positive on a lft you go for a pcr test and if that is negative you don't have to isolate. If the pcr test is positive then it is confirmation you have covid and you isolate.
ThreeorFour · 05/04/2021 06:58

More worrying is they're also quite prone to false negatives. Around 30%, I believe?

QuidditchQueen · 05/04/2021 06:59

I think early detection of a case or detection of an asymptomatic case can only be a good thing
False positive is not a good thing! And there is a high rate.
I have to do these for work (teacher)
You record the test number and the result -would be ridiculous to send photos of the test! How much wasted storage space !

Welliesandpyjamas · 05/04/2021 07:11

@Nappyvalley15

I wonder who has the contract to supply these tests. They will be making a mint.
The first box of tests I received had a tiny certificate of authenticity in it from China.
HettySunshine · 05/04/2021 07:15

Itssnowjoke, ah, I see. This is the article I read:

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/06/school-covid-tests-pupils-in-england-very-likely-to-get-false-positives

But I see that this ruling has changed now. Thanks for the info.

Mummabeary · 05/04/2021 07:30

@DareIask

I think early detection of a case or detection of an asymptomatic case can only be a good thing.. not only to contain an outbreak but to reassure everyone it's all under control.

Information can only be a good thing.. better than floundering about in the dark as they were at the start.

Surely doing a quick test is a small price to pay.

But whilst it may be "a small price to pay" for the individual, this scheme is going to cost huge amounts of money. This is public money which could be put into NHS etc so I really think that it should be proven that this scheme is absolutely necessary and will save money/lives in the longer term. If it just catches the odd mild case which wouldn't likely spread far anyway (due to vaccinations etc) then is this really all worth it?!
skippetyskoo · 05/04/2021 07:32

I think if used properly to identify assymptomatic cases, they could be a good thing. I do worry however that the easy access to them in peoples home will discourage people with symptoms from going for a test. Is the messaging clear enough that these are only for ongoing symptomless testing? In my work place, a couple of people have casudd as lily mentioned feeling a bit rough but being reassured because we carry out the LFT.

beela · 05/04/2021 07:39

I would play fair and do it properly.... But trusting the general public to is a bit... hmm

I disagree; we need to move towards the expectation of people taking a bit of personal responsibility in all of this.

clopper · 05/04/2021 07:44

All that single use plastic.... I have to do them twice a week and every time it upsets me. I spent the previous year really trying to do away with single use plastic. Also as PP said, someone will be making a lot of money out of this.