All adults (in England)* to be offered twice-weekly tests

[MiaMc]

How do we think this is going to work?

Reportedly only 20% of people with symptoms are referring themselves for formal testing. So unfortunately I can’t imagine take up of this being high unless it becomes mandatory to show evidence of the result in certain situations.

Sadly, too many people seem to take the view that if something isn’t going to benefit them directly they can’t see why they should do it.

Then there will be those people who come up with excuses as to why they should be exempt. If take up isn’t high enough and people don’t do the test correctly it’s going to seem like an expensive pointless exercise.

• [Title edited by MNHQ to make it clear this relates to England only, and that tests are being offered but are not mandatory. Original title said: All adults to test themselves twice per week]

It's all getting a bit batshit now, let's be honest

Absolutely it is!

I'm quite content to be an ignorant wanker and will not be taking part in any testing.

Now this will be yet another thing that gives irrational over anxious people an opportunity to trot out the selfish line.

@icdtap, what country are you in?

More than happy to be labelled an ignorant wanker here. Absolutely no way I’m testing on a regular basis and I get full sick pay if I have to self isolate.

I have no faith in the Government not to use them as a tool against us to continue restricting our lives.

And as for the environmental impact, perhaps there needs to be some thought put into the horrific littering of masks everywhere and the use of plastic in these tests before Boris starts bleating about electric cars and banning gas boilers.

What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

And don't forget about plastic bags.
Stop those charges and bring back the straws.
And air polution flying these tests to the UK.

I am assuming the people who are complaining about the environmental impact of the tests won’t be jumping on a plane as soon as they can or travelling across the country for holiday or to see family and friends

@ineedaholidaynow

What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

Those places wont get my money.

No thanks.

@ineedaholidaynow

I am assuming the people who are complaining about the environmental impact of the tests won’t be jumping on a plane as soon as they can or travelling across the country for holiday or to see family and friends

I cannot get insured so holidays abroad came off the table a couple of years ago. Have no family. Friends live local. And if I want to see water and play with the sand I walk to the Thames.

@ineedaholidaynow

What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

I would just not go. They won't stay in business long if they insist on compulsory medical tests before you can give them your dosh.

@yeOldeTrout
@ineedaholidaynow

I'm in Austria

ineedaholidaynow: What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

Honestly I don't know. I am a coward. I'm not like the brave people in Belarus or Myanmar. Or even Russian protesters. Obviously they are protesting about hugely more important causes, but main thing is they stand up for what they believe in. I am a coward who is not doing that.

I can get thru rest of my entire life never setting foot in a restaurant, pub, concert, hairdressers, sport events that have controlled entry for spectators. I can quietly refuse to go to any social or professional event that others might organise, but I might be too cowardly to explain why not. I can try very very hard to avoid ever seeking medical care. I guess I would have to submit to whatever testing was required to get to workplace office or supermarket. Maybe 50:50 on whether to stop my gym membership. I have family overseas: I am resigned to fact I'd have to stomach whatever rules applied to use the transport to go see them.

What if the negative LFT was required to be legally allowed to set foot off your property? This idea in UK was hinted at mid 2020. Not even China has implemented it, though people in China are expected to use an App to check in everywhere they go, I think they might be able to simply walk around a park or down the streets without having to check in. But presumably have to 'check in' when they get back to somewhere like a shared apartment building.

Dunno about things like parent's evening for school: if LFT was required, you'd think they'd stick with Zoom P-Eves instead of hassle of organising LFTs.

I know the government has paid £1.7 billion to Innova already for these tests and apparently there are some other British companies who have contracts too. With just under 1 in a thousand a false positive and high numbers of false negatives especially in asymptomatic people, the whole thing seems bonkers.

Even if covid completely disappeared with millions of people doing these tests it would look like there were thousands of cases.

I would just not go. They won't stay in business long if they insist on compulsory medical tests before you can give them your dosh.

But it won’t be up to the business! It will be down to government rules so you'd want to punish a business for not breaking the law? That would be like an 18 year old refusing to give their business to a pub that asks to see proof of age!

@Theluggage15

I know the government has paid £1.7 billion to Innova already for these tests and apparently there are some other British companies who have contracts too. With just under 1 in a thousand a false positive and high numbers of false negatives especially in asymptomatic people, the whole thing seems bonkers.

Even if covid completely disappeared with millions of people doing these tests it would look like there were thousands of cases.

Yes it would. And of course they know this, so why are they doing it?

I won’t go to places who require compulsory testing. People will vote with their money/feet.

As far as the environmental issue goes, the tests will have been made abroad, shipped over then transported on to distribution centres. Then they need to be collected or posted out and used twice a week with all the resultant plastic waste. Not sure the odd trip in my car to the seaside will have quite the same impact. I haven’t been in a plane for quite a few years.

What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

A lot of people just won't go.
This is the issue in Austria. They opened up hairdressers first - compulsory test required. It was then an absolute pain because people had to coordinate a test appointment with a hairdresser appointment. A lot of rural places have no testing centres. This means people having to drive up to an hour to get to a test centre, then drive back and then go to the local hairdressers. It was impossible for a lot of elderly people or those without cars.
The result was that hairdressers opened but the footfall was absolutely dire. Many have now changed over to mobile services as if they visit people in their homes the client does not need a test (but the hairdresser does).
Because the government is allowing hairdressers to open they are now no longer paying them compensation for the forced closure, but a lot of hairdressers are saying they are only getting 10% of the takings they would normally as clients are put off by having to organize a test first.

The government is pressing ahead with compulsory tests to visit restaurants, coffee shops and bars etc. I can't see this working either - people will just stay at home, maybe get a takeaway. Imagine meeting up for a meal out and everyone who goes has to get a COVID test before hand? Our test centres are already strained to the limit with tests and the coverage is very poor indeed with large areas of the country miles away from a centre.

Because of increasing cases in Vienna there is an Easter lockdown there. The government then tried to bring in compulsory tests to visit non-essential shops after lockdown ended. That failed in one of the parliaments, the Bundesrat. This means there will be a delay of 8 weeks before they can try to bring it in again.
I'm in another part of Austria and our non-essential shops are open without tests... but for how long.
Completely ridiculous situation. What a farce.

@icdtap

Thank you for that post. Very illuminating indeed.

@icdtap I think that will happen here too. No furlough, no footfall. Any businesses that have struggled to survive the lock downs will probably fail on reopening as a result of these barmy ideas.

They have already increased the track and trace burden on reopening on the 12th. I do wonder why all governments simultaneously think these terrible ideas are good ones?

@EffOrf

Another pointless expensive exercise. They should be putting money into supporting those that do have to isolate so that they do isolate.

Yes this. Also horrendous environmentally.

Fwiw I do them but it’s useful for my job. Have struggled to convince dh that he should (rarely leaves the house except for outdoor walks)

What will people do if the tests do become compulsory if you want to go to certain events/venues etc?

I won't go. I've been vaccinated twice. Hairdresser, yeah, I'd use a mobile one.

It is far too easy to fake a test, to make mandatory tests sensible.

Actually just reading an article in the FT that says U.K. government is prepared to spend up to £43 billion on mass testing in multi year contracts. One tender is worth £22 billion over 2 years! Not sure these are all LFT tests but £43 billion is more than three times the total spent on police in England and Wales in 2018-19. The figures are unbelievable. Part of the Project Moonshot that Johnson was so keen on.

@thenightsky

Where is this mountain of single use plastic going to end up?

I thought we were meant to be getting rid of plastic waste, hence the banning of plastic straws. I'm more concerned about the environmental impact than appeasing lockdown fanatics.

I am also worried about this. I wrote to the DHSC and my MP about it when they rolled these tests out to schools, but I got an inadequate response from both.Not only is the plastic a problem, but before these tests were rebranded for the NHS, the original instructions said they should be disposed of as bio-hazardous waste. Now millions of the things are going into landfill.

@Theluggage15

Actually just reading an article in the FT that says U.K. government is prepared to spend up to £43 billion on mass testing in multi year contracts. One tender is worth £22 billion over 2 years! Not sure these are all LFT tests but £43 billion is more than three times the total spent on police in England and Wales in 2018-19. The figures are unbelievable. Part of the Project Moonshot that Johnson was so keen on.

It would be much better spent on the nhs so it can cope if other pandemics come along instead of having to lock down the country for a year.