Would you wait for a positive PCR? Close contact

[TuesdayRuby]

If someone you had seen recently messaged saying they’d had a positive lateral flow, do you need to isolate as a close contact? Or can you wait for the PCR result?
Feels like an annoyance to isolate for what could end up being a false positive…

It makes no sense to me that we "confirm" the results of a test with a low false positive rate with a test that has a reasonably high false negative rate. Legally you don't need to isolate until she has a positive PCR and T&T get around to contacting you (if they ever do) so you can go out clubbing if you wish to.

I'd wait for pcr. Are you truly a close contact with the person within the last 48 hours? Legally you don't need to isolate until told to do do by test and trace

If you are able to isolate now, it is better do so to prevent onwarard transmission although legally you do not need to do so.

In the context of high numbers of community cases, the chance of a false positive LFT is quite low.

PCR is more accurate than LFT, that is why you have to confirm - plus it can be analysed for variants.

Personally I would isolate out of caution except for things that I had to do - but I think my work would prefer me to wfh in these circs than come in, but that is because that is an option at my office.

I generally would rather take a cautious approach, I am not doing anything so critical that delaying for 24-48 hours is going to cause any drama.

I think you only have to isolate by law if you have been contacted by test and trace. If you're going to follow the guidance to the letter you should probably isolate even for a positive lft contact but I personally wouldn't judge you if didn't, unless you're planning to spend hours indoors with a vulnerable person of course.

Legally no you can wait for a positive PCR. How close was your contact? The delta variant is significantly more transmissible and the vast majority of people with a positive Lateral Flow test are then testing positive on a PCR test. Morally I wouldn’t want to pass it on and would be isolating if I’d been in close contact with them as it’s no where near as woolly as being pinged by the app where you have no real idea about the nature of your contact. It could be a false positive, you may not catch it but you could also easily pass it on resulting in someone else becoming really unwell I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.

@lannistunut

PCR is more accurate than LFT, that is why you have to confirm - plus it can be analysed for variants.

Personally I would isolate out of caution except for things that I had to do - but I think my work would prefer me to wfh in these circs than come in, but that is because that is an option at my office.

I generally would rather take a cautious approach, I am not doing anything so critical that delaying for 24-48 hours is going to cause any drama.

But the PCR false negative rate is much higher than the LFT false positive rate. It makes no sense to end isolating early and not isolate contacts based on a negative PCR and positive LFT.

This has happened twice to us. Both times we isolated both times PCR was positive . Track and trace didn't get in touch till nearly the end of the 10 days and legally we didn't need to isolate but morally we knew our friend had covid

You don’t have to isolate (legally) until told to by test and trace. I would either isolate or be super careful until the pcr test comes back.

DD had to isolate because of a contact’s positive LFT. Which was later confirmed by a PCR. I questioned it too but that seemed to be the rule, perhaps only because she was sent home by the school though?

Legally you don't need to isolate until she has a positive PCR and T&T get around to contacting you (if they ever do) so you can go out clubbing if you wish to

T&T can and did start contacting people just on LFD, although I imagine volumes mean that is not happening at the moment. The law is not waiting for the PCR, it's waiting for the contact, it is not down to you to judge if you are a close contact or not.

At this time, with the general prevalence it is extremely unlikely to be a false positive.

Ds was told to self isolate by his school because someone on the same school transport had a positive lateral flow. That was 5 days ago and still waiting for the PCR result.

The chances of it being a false positive are slim. Whether legally able or not isn’t the the right thing to do isolate?

That was 5 days ago and still waiting for the PCR result

There's no legal requirement to have a PCR test.

Test and trace made me isolate on a positive LFD, I hadn’t had my PCR back and didn’t until the day after. They called me because I registered the test .

There is no legal requirement to isolate.
I wouldnt be off to visit great aunt Dot, or clubbing on the basis of close contact with a positive LFT.
I would be masking, hand washing and getting into the nearest supermarket!

False positive on the lateral flow is very unlikely- LFTs correctly ruled in infection in 99.5% of people with COVID-like symptoms, and 98.9% of those without them

@Lakeshore6

Test and trace made me isolate on a positive LFD, I hadn’t had my PCR back and didn’t until the day after. They called me because I registered the test .

The person who has tested positive on the LFT and members of their household have to self-isolate after receiving a postive result. They then need to confirm with a PCR within two days or just isolate for 10 days without taking a PCR. If the PCR is returned as negative, you can then be released from isolation.

Other close contacts do not need to isolate unless there is a positive PCR test result, at which time test and trace become involved.

legally no. But it seems like the right thing to do if you definitely consider yourself to be a close contact.

@sol7 they took details of my close contacts and called them to isolate before I even got the positive PCR. It wasn’t just the household.

[quote Lakeshore6]@sol7 they took details of my close contacts and called them to isolate before I even got the positive PCR. It wasn’t just the household.[/quote]
Ah, once track and trace are involved they do isolate close contacts. They didn't get call us until after the PCR test result was received.

Playdate cancelled. Isolation it is! I wouldn’t do it through a ping but we are definitely close contacts of this person so feels like the right thing to do.