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]

I appreciate the point that individuals need to do their best to ensure that if they have covid or suspect they might that they get tested and stay away from people.
However, when in the history of ever have you been to the doctors with no symptoms of anything and asked to be tested for a specific virus or infection? Or when have you bought and taken a pregnancy test when you have zero symptoms of that and are in the middle of your time of the month?
At some point (and soon I hope) we need to start being more sensible in the approach to covid and stop wasting money on testing perfectly healthy people. For example, 1.6 million tests per day to find less than 4000 cases!

Offering the tests to everyone is also a way of making the ‘Covid status certification’ easier to implement.

Want to go to the theatre tomorrow night? Or a football match at the weekend? You now have no excuse for not summiting your test result!

It’s madness

@MiaMc

It’s frustrating up that the typical irresponsible anti-lockdown Covid denier is also the kind of person not to take up this testing. Fancy denying a measure that could prevent the situation they are so opposed to...there’s no logic to it at all.

That is crap. The tests are notoriously unreliable and even the experts in teh field are saying this is a ridiculous waste of money. Being opposed to a stupid government policy does not make someone a Covid denier, or anti-lockdown. The "kind of person" who is not taking up this testing is likely to be the kind of person who has the intelligence to recognise that this is rubbish. Obviously that isn't you, so enjoy your tests.

I’d be more bothered about how it’s going to work when the lateral flow tests are notoriously inaccurate. Miss 50% of cases and have false positives. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55198298

Your link does not support your assertion that LFTs produce false positives. The problem with LFTs is that they give false negatives and therefore false reassurance. Their purpose is to weed out some asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases, that’s all.

It probably doesn’t matter much at a population level if a proportion of the population don’t engage with the testing — either because they have been vaccinated and have very little contact with anyone, or because they can’t afford to isolate — because “every little helps”, but it’s inequitable if people want to be able to test but are fearful of the consequences of a positive result. Better support is needed.

Sorry, what I mean by “ignorant wanker” is someone who doesn’t take up the testing but actually needs to use public transport and be out and about.

Stop with the pathetic guilt trip.

I use public transport and have worked and used it all through this but won't be taking this up, am I a ignorant wanker it's more money chucked down the bottomless pit that is test and trace.

I don't get paid sick pay if I'm off along with many others can you see why people won't.

Apparently vaccines were our way out of this but now it seems they aren't. Waste of time having it then.

Have to vaccine to protect others, do the tests to protect others, stay at home to protect others, but the attitudes of some makes me think fuck it.

This is only worthwhile if accompanied with proper support for self isolation. I can’t believe it’s been a year and this still isn’t in place. Otherwise it’s just pointless because only those with the means to self isolate if a positive test is received are going to do it, and they would have done a test if symptomatic anyway. Those who can’t or won’t just won’t do the test.

@AlecTrevelyan006

Offering the tests to everyone is also a way of making the ‘Covid status certification’ easier to implement.

Want to go to the theatre tomorrow night? Or a football match at the weekend? You now have no excuse for not summiting your test result!

It’s madness

Exactly. THIS is why lateral flow tests are being offered to everyone; it's part of the whole ridiculous vaccine passport proposal.

It's so discriminatory towards younger people who haven't been offered the jab yet, who work in jobs which are paid hourly - retail, hospitality etc - who won't be paid sick pay, or who will only be paid statutory sick pay if they are "lucky." They will be too scared of a positive result so they won't test, which means they will miss out on other normal areas of life too, such as going out for a drink or to a football match or whatever (unless they've tested positive for Covid on a PCR test within the last 6 months, which I understand will also count on the proposed vaccine passport).

@Lostinacloud

I appreciate the point that individuals need to do their best to ensure that if they have covid or suspect they might that they get tested and stay away from people. However, when in the history of ever have you been to the doctors with no symptoms of anything and asked to be tested for a specific virus or infection? Or when have you bought and taken a pregnancy test when you have zero symptoms of that and are in the middle of your time of the month? At some point (and soon I hope) we need to start being more sensible in the approach to covid and stop wasting money on testing perfectly healthy people. For example, 1.6 million tests per day to find less than 4000 cases!

2020/21 the year we stopped treating the ill, but started testing the healthy to prove they were unwell.

@Moondust001
👏👏👏👏

Also, now that restrictions are easing, who would activity seek a further 10 days self isolation?
People just want to get on with their lives.

I do think this is a bit ridiculous. What’s the point of vaccination, it was supposed to get us out of this.

It’s a huge leap of faith and trust that ppl will actually self administer and report accurate results. No one can check.

You can report a negative result without ever doing the test just by quoting the test code number and chucking the whole lot in the bin. You could put 2 drops of water on the test and get a negative result.

I live in Greenwich and our local council has asked everyone to get tested twice a week, they have set up some additional test centres for this to happen.

"ignorant wankers"

Charming OP, just charming. Shall I reach for popcorn & wait for your encore?

@YouWereGr8InLittleMenstruators

DP and I have been testing twice weekly for work since Christmas. The plastic waste generated by lateral flow tests is horrendous. This news really made my heart sink. Although, my family's recent Covid infection was first detected by a lateral flow test for work, so I suppose they do the trick.

No one cares about plastic waste any more, sadly. Only Covid matters.

I don't want to test twice a week and won't take up the offer. I've had covid and I'm also vaccinated. It seems a waste of time and money plus the tests are unpleasant. Am I an ignorant wanker?

I just wonder how many people do or would do them properly? I had a test done at a test centre and found it awful. The nose one was bad enough and made my eyes stream but the throat one made me gag so much I was almost sick. The woman had to stop, take the swab out and then go back in.

No way could I do that to myself properly. My sister was actually sick when she had her test.

Maybe some people can have the throat one with no problems but surely most people gag a lot? I was told if the swab touches any part of the mouth other than right at the back the result will not be accurate?

So, in answer to the question, no I won't be having the tests

@TheOneWithTheBigNose does that meant we can now have plastic straws back on the grounds of “keeping you safe”?

On back of pandemic a few of my other attitudes have changed at moment:

Cancer screening, optional flu jabs: fuck that shit. I used to support & embrace them, but now I feel controlled not supported.

I used to say I'd go willingly to the nursing home when I got old or frail to save my family stress: now ... fuck that shit. Since it could easily mean being locked in with no ability to go out, little stimulation, no family visits for months on end.

I guess my attitudes are the start of how people get to super resenting paying taxes & embracing Libertarianism.

Maybe I'll feel different when I'm 80. People are right to presume their life is 'over' when they go live in a care home. I was wrong to ever think it could be ok to believe otherwise.

Agree on the tests, makes me gag and want to throw up. Very unpleasant!

Yeah, let's encourage the entire country to all congregate at the same collection point to pick up their twice-weekly tests.

[quote Jo99996]@TheOneWithTheBigNose does that meant we can now have plastic straws back on the grounds of “keeping you safe”?[/quote]
We could probably use them to train our throats and noses for the inevitable daily testing, a few pokes with a plastic straw daily could prime the area.

Some of those "ignorant wankers" don't take the tests because they can't afford to self isolate. If you think everyone should take the tests then lobby the government to pay everyone full wages if they have to self isolate, don't sit around moaning on Mumsnet that they're "ignorant wankers" for wanting to be able to pay their bills.

We’ve had them here since November. I used to go weekly, but I must admit that I’ve tailed off recently, though I’m WFH and only go out for shopping.

The LF test have a high fail rate and I think a lot of people take it as a free pass to do what they like. I know a family who had them done on Christmas Eve, had a houseful on Christmas Day and half of them tested positive a week later.

At some point (and soon I hope) we need to start being more sensible in the approach to covid and stop wasting money on testing perfectly healthy people. For example, 1.6 million tests per day to find less than 4000 cases!

Probably when we have a high enough %age of the population fully vaccinated.

Because when there is about half the population done, the conditions are the most favourable for a vaccine-escaping new strain to become dominant. Keeping transmission low is the best safeguard against this ( I say 'best' but it really should be 'only')

@yeOldeTrout I hear you, gone from centre left to raging libertarian in one year.