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Original poster

Will people stop testing?

54 replies

Lemons1571 · 31/07/2021 08:37

Do you think that people with symptoms will increasingly choose not to get a pcr test? It kickstarts a whole chain of isolation, legal restrictions and after September, zero earnings / no furlough.

I can’t see that people will continue to put everyone else first this winter, as there is literally no benefit to most people to get that positive pcr result. I suspect most people will lie low for a couple of days with “a cold” and then get on with it.

OP posts:
LST · 31/07/2021 15:34

Surely this is already happening?

bumbleymummy · 31/07/2021 15:38

We’ll agree to disagree riveted. I can accept that the virus has caused a lot of deaths while also recognising that we need to learn to live with it and start treating it like the other viruses we live with.

riveted1 · 31/07/2021 15:46

@bumbleymummy

We’ll agree to disagree riveted. I can accept that the virus has caused a lot of deaths while also recognising that we need to learn to live with it and start treating it like the other viruses we live with.
sure we can agree to disagree but you statements about coronavirus being comparable to other viruses are incorrect.

I see you have a strong posting history of minimising it's impact though

Tuba437 · 31/07/2021 16:06

To be honest i think that's probably part of the government's plan to live it covid. I expect come spins you will only be tested if you go to hospital with symptoms. If we have data with how many people are in hospital with it. You can get a good idea of nationwide cases. No need to test everyone for it anymore.

Tuba437 · 31/07/2021 16:07

Spring*

bumbleymummy · 31/07/2021 16:11

@riveted. We can agree to disagree on that too then. I guess it depends on what you think ‘minimising’ is.

BogRollBOGOF · 31/07/2021 16:39

No other virus (in recent history) has caused a global pandemic and killed 4 million people whilst leaving millions more with long term complications

Not sure why the attempt to downplay the impact of coronavirus?

HIV/ AIDS?
30-40 years ago it was an automatic death sentence, and remained so for far longer in other parts of the world such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
If we're talking global impact, HIV is applicable.

High risk contamination such as blood products are screened. Testing is avaliable if people have been exposed to high risk situations, but people don't test routinely for the sake of it.
Yes Covid is different, more contagious, far less hazardous, and it's just not feasible to keep testing the heck out of every minor symptom.

aiwblam · 31/07/2021 16:40

Obviously already happening.

riveted1 · 31/07/2021 17:04

@BogRollBOGOF

No other virus (in recent history) has caused a global pandemic and killed 4 million people whilst leaving millions more with long term complications

Not sure why the attempt to downplay the impact of coronavirus?

HIV/ AIDS?
30-40 years ago it was an automatic death sentence, and remained so for far longer in other parts of the world such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
If we're talking global impact, HIV is applicable.

High risk contamination such as blood products are screened. Testing is avaliable if people have been exposed to high risk situations, but people don't test routinely for the sake of it.
Yes Covid is different, more contagious, far less hazardous, and it's just not feasible to keep testing the heck out of every minor symptom.

HIV cannot be transmitted via an airborne mechanism and it is an extremely fragile viruses that does not persist ex vivo for long.

Really not comparable to coronavirus.

Abraxan · 31/07/2021 18:47

@Moneytootight78

I think people have in a lot Of cases a lot of my neighbours seem to have coughs similar to my families which are Covid coughs
To be fair though I think there are also a lot of other viruses about to now everyone is mixing again.

Dd has a nasty cough abs some hay fever/cold symptoms. She's had 2 PCRs and 4 LFTs over this time and all are negative for Covid.

Panickingpavlova · 31/07/2021 20:29

@SpringheelJack

What is the new symptoms list?

7wondersofthewold · 01/08/2021 02:30

100% agree and I think it is already happening. Daily fail talks about dropping case rates but not dropping rates of testing. This is what is really happening

coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing

Overthebow · 01/08/2021 07:01

Yes of course, I’m not going to carry on testing for every tiny bit of illness my family has and especially when we don’t have any symptoms at all. Now we all have plans and everything is open covid isn’t on my mind much so don’t really think about it to be honest.

Pootle40 · 01/08/2021 07:32

But we are a few weeks ahead of you in Scotland and so if it was people not testing how does that explain our hospital numbers now falling?

Darbs76 · 01/08/2021 07:39

It’s already happened and I say good luck to anyone in holiday parks this summer as can see from reading threads on MN that people are ignoring symptoms, pings and going on holiday regardless. Of course come September we will see the numbers start going back up again

beentoldcomputersaysno · 02/08/2021 07:32

We are going on a short UK break. We will do an lft before we go. Long covid and long term damage is real. I'm scared people won't do same as want my kids to be able to play with other kids etc. Much as people talk about not getting paid etc, there are many that are happy to risk others health to not screw up their own plans.

katienana · 02/08/2021 07:42

Testing will also be down because of not needing the proof for school. I have tested my kids a couple of times when they've had a cough or temperature and I knew that school was being hyper vigilant and would send them home if they coughed once. So the negative test was needed to keep them in school. I wouldn't do that now as we're on hols.

underneaththeash · 02/08/2021 08:28

@PumpkinPie2016 our school has had a similar uptake - the difference now is though that we all have loads of lateral flow tests at home! Pointless going into school to do them.

bumbleymummy · 02/08/2021 11:03

@katienana

Testing will also be down because of not needing the proof for school. I have tested my kids a couple of times when they've had a cough or temperature and I knew that school was being hyper vigilant and would send them home if they coughed once. So the negative test was needed to keep them in school. I wouldn't do that now as we're on hols.
But if they had symptoms (cough/fever - why would you send your children into school with as fever? Confused) they would need a pcr test anyway.
NailsNeedDoing · 02/08/2021 11:06

People have already stopped, if they ever started. It’s inevitable considering the lack of financial support given for having to isolate.

Sunshinegirl82 · 02/08/2021 11:10

The data will tell us if the drop is real or not. If hospitalisations and deaths follow the fall in cases then the fall is real. There are signs that both have started to level off, the next week or so will be interesting in terms of seeing if there is a trend.

alloalloallo · 02/08/2021 11:31

I think people are doing it already

When my DD had Covid, out of her and her 3 flat mates, only her and 1 of the others tested.

DD and 1 of her flat mates started with symptoms the same day and both got positive tests. They all followed all isolation rules, but when the other 2 started with symptoms, they didn’t bother testing - as far as they were concerned, it was obvious what they had, they were all isolating, so what was the point?

Dghgcotcitc · 02/08/2021 11:52

I think people have been saying the U.K. public will not comply with covid regs since March 2020 there has been continued evidence to the contrary so no I don’t think it’s likely!

katienana · 02/08/2021 12:57

One of my ds got sent home because he told the teacher he had just coughed. There was nothing wrong with him. I couldn't send him back to school till he had a negative PCR. Also had to test his younger brother as a result. Both were negative as I expected as there really wasn't anything wrong. Younger one had a few days where he coughed a bit on a morning, not a continuous cough and he had an ear infection at the time so I presume it was connected to that. I had him tested so I could reassure school that if he coughed it was not covid.
As its now school holidays if a dc coughs once I won't need to test.
I wouldn't break the rules around isolation or send a dc to school with actual symptoms.

Wherearemymarbles · 02/08/2021 13:02

Like others I suspect part of the reason for the falling numbers is people not testing.

Someone in my office had a positive lateral flow and isolated but didnt do an official pcr