Avoiding Covid testing and tracing...

[Warhertisuff]

How prevalent do people think deliberately not getting tested when symptomatic is, or removing NHS app from phone is, as people try to avoid being caught in enforced isolation?

I'm thinking it's probably extremely high... and that case numbers are even more of the tip of the iceberg than was previously the case, especially as symptoms of Delta are less distinct.

Yup. I’ve never had the app or done a test. If I have to isolate I don’t get paid, and aren’t able to claim anything, so would lose over £1000 from 10 days off work. Can’t afford to do that.
The only people I know who bleat on about it are those, like others have said, who have secure employment. Anyone self employed or on zero hours or with an asshole boss won’t be doing it. I get so annoyed with the assumption that we can all afford to just drop half a months pay just like that - so many millions of us don’t get paid if we don’t work.

I have the app. I was bored and in the pub at the time , forgot my book so was randomly clicking on apps . It said DAY 4 of self isolation of 10 .. YOU MUST SELF ISOLATE .. had I have not randomly clicked on it I would never had known . No other information, where I was , with whom and when .. I took it with a pinch of salt . .. the previous 4 days I’d only been to Tesco. I got tested of course and was negative, but I don’t get sick pay so couldn’t afford to sit at home unpaid for the remaining 6 days for what I consider no reason

Apparently with the post travel tests it is up to the individual to notify T and T of a positive result. I wonder how many do or assume it is automatic.

@Oldpeoplesprinting

Exactly - but it’s not just half a months pay, it can be multiple times and you have to factor in the add on effects of the missing wages - the cost of going into debt and possibly also missing payments such as rent/mortgage/council tax and the legal ramifications of doing so.

Those who have been ardent "work from home everyone!/wear mouth coverings/NO ONE GO OUTDOORS YOU KILLERS/get-others-to-work-and-put-themselves-at-health-risk-to-get-me-what-by-home delivery/but you, not me" nimbyists are tedious.

They'll be tedious for the next two years. Then it'll all fade away. And they'll hope people will forget.

Two of my friends have had kids isolating this week. They've stuck to the rules. But one of them said today that there was a class zoom call on the last day of isolation, the teacher naively asked what the kids had been up to, some of the answers were bike rides, swimming, park... Teacher hastily moved discussion on...

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

Are you really surprised people aren't using the app? It's not fit for purpose. I'm not isolating because my neighbour in the flat upstairs tests positive and I get pinged by the app, why would I?

Just turn off contact tracing when you are at home in your flat and you won't be in danger of being pinged because of a neighbour testing positive.

High probably. I've never had the app and I just pretend to scan in when I go into places. I would isolate if I tested positive (I do LFT twice a week for work) but I'm not risking isolating as a contact.

Oh. And for all of the Covid crisis, I have personally belonged to the privileged get-paid- whatever cohort.

I still stick up for those who haven't. Because I'm not a CoNimbySeeYouNextTuesday

Just turn off contact tracing when you are at home in your flat and you won't be in danger of being pinged because of a neighbour testing positive.

I'd never remember to turn it back on! Considering the amount of places it has to be turned off I'd rather not bother with it. If I go somewhere I'll leave my details and I would obviously abide by proper T&T, but not the app.

I've deleted the app. I've spent hours over the last couple of weeks reorganising staff due to isolation, staff having pcr tests even though they don't have symptoms, then saying the need to isolate while they wait for results... actually impossible to run a business at the moment. Whole situation is chaos.

We use the app, 3/6 of us in the house now have Covid. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do know one person who downloaded it. One of my dc's (thank fuck she doesn't use this site). She'd started a new job that was misrepresented and absolutely hated it. So she downloaded the app, went out and hoped she'd come into contact with someone. She did, and like a pp mentioned it didn't tell her where. She used those isolation days to set up as many online/phone interviews as she possibly could manage.

Other than using it like that, I'm not really sure what the benefits are to anyone.

canigooutyet

Good luck to your daughter in getting a new job

So doesn't the app tell you when/where the contact was if it pings you?

Lots. LFT is very unreliable. The app isn't fit for purpose.

I’m avoiding it now as we have two positives in our household. The contact tracers have been very nice, but I’ve had to teach them about the different isolation periods, and explain that those of us who are pcr negative / symptom free, only have to isolate 10 days from the first positive. They can’t grasp it! We have emails keep extending our isolation period!! DH and I are double vaxxed, pcr negative, symptom free, and apparently expected to isolate for 16 days and counting. If third child tests positive they will add on more days for us all!! I give up and am going out after 10 days from first positive (assuming I am still symptom free). I am following the illustration on gov.uk, not what some poor sod who hasn’t been trained properly is making up on the spot.

It’s extremely common. People can’t afford to be off work - financially if they’re lower paid, and in terms of workload if they’re salaried or self employed.

I never downloaded the app 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I have been tested once at a test center but it was negative. I did have a temp, but then two days later came down with chronic tonsillitis.

I've not isolated once, because I haven't needed to or been told to.

My son has never isolated or had his class bubble need to isolate.

I have worked in a community based support role dealing with people who definitely don't follow the rules.

I have managed to get through this pandemic, having not caught it, family members have not caught it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We've either been lucky or we followed simple guidelines of hand washing, space and mask and all been ok. So I dunno what's going on.

I still don't know a single person in work or friendship groups that have had it. I live in South Wales.

Booooringggg

School has urged us (teachers ) yo keep testing twice weekly but most of us stopped weeks ago. Pointlessly disruptive if it shows a positive when most of us are double jabbed.

I don't think the problem is the app, it's the government policy.
So they are going to 'tweak' it, but that still ignores the fact that the self-isolation policy is the same for unvaccinated adults and double-vaccinated adults, despite a huge difference in infectiousness and transmissibility between the two groups.

The government need to listen to the scientists not the ant-vaxxers.

Both me and DH only get ssp if we have to isolate, we can't afford to pay our bills or feed our dc's on ssp so neither of us have taken a test since this whole pandemic started. None of our colleagues would take a test either for the same reasons. Our company puts no pressure on us to test and they have told us to turn contact tracing off whilst at work if we have the app.

I truly believe that the best thing that this government could have done to stop the spread throughout this pandemic would have been to ensure that every single person could afford to self isolate.

@Shelovesamystery

I agree with ensuring people can afford to isolate.

Our nursery worker had to take annual leave when she had covid to but loose earnings