Page 3 | When do you think the testing and keeping home of otherwise healthy people will end?

containsnuts · 30/09/2021 10:05

@EducatingArti

I think the answer to the ops original post is that is will stop when Covid stops having such a massive impact on hospitals which might include having better treatments as well as less Covid being around. Those of you saying that nobody isolates if they've been in contact with measles, mumps, chicken pox, well they used to. If you go back to 1920's or 30s children used to have to quarantine if they had been in contact with a case. Children retuning to boarding school used to have to have health certificates to confirm they were well and hadn't been in contact with cases. This only stopped when there were better treatments and then vaccines obviously reduced outbreaks too.

My aunt spent a YEAR in the TB hospital as a teenager (around 1960). She was not particularly unwell herself but deemed infectious to others.

OverTheRubicon · 30/09/2021 15:34

@EducatingArti

I think the answer to the ops original post is that is will stop when Covid stops having such a massive impact on hospitals which might include having better treatments as well as less Covid being around. Those of you saying that nobody isolates if they've been in contact with measles, mumps, chicken pox, well they used to. If you go back to 1920's or 30s children used to have to quarantine if they had been in contact with a case. Children retuning to boarding school used to have to have health certificates to confirm they were well and hadn't been in contact with cases. This only stopped when there were better treatments and then vaccines obviously reduced outbreaks too.

Exactly. In many countries, unvaccinated children are not allowed to attend school at all during measles outbreaks - and our children are by definition all unvaccinated against covid.

jumpbounce · 30/09/2021 15:42

@MarcelineMissouri

Ds woke up with a cough yesterday. No other symptoms, perfectly well in himself. And a minor cough that I wouldn’t have given a second thought to 2 years ago. Got him tested at 930am yesterday. The result still isn’t back so he’s missed a second day of school now and is bouncing off the walls.

Now, regardless of whether or not he tests positive (I think v unlikely, cases are v low in our area) he is basically a healthy child at home instead of school. The vast majority of children I know who have tested positive have been symptomless or nearly symptomless, and yet have to miss over a week of school and stay at home for 10 days. And of course not just children - adults who are perfectly well but picked up by random testing, then stuck at home, often unable to work.

At what point will we stop this and revert back to just staying at home if we feel unwell? This is not sustainable in the long term. I really hope that come spring we move to testing only if you are actually ill.

And before anyone asks, no I’m not sitting pretty working from home, I work in a primary school and have kids all over me every day so I’m well aware of what this could mean in terms of exposure, I just think that at some point soon (after this winter at the latest) we need to revise the testing criteria to only those with symptoms.

'We need to revise the testing criteria to only those with symptoms'

Your son had symptoms therefore required to be tested and a change to only testing those with symptoms would not have made any difference in this scenario with your son.

JustABloodyMinute · 30/09/2021 18:23

My main issue is the turnaround time for tests. I'm happy enough for my children to isolate if they test positive (even without symptoms) but all of them have now missed 2-3 days of school 2-3 times (couple due to close contact and the rest due to symptoms). Each time they have tested negative. That doesn't include the isolation from last year's class bubbles. If it is going to continue we need faster turnaround or better LFTs.

Watapalava · 30/09/2021 18:35

Well in theory it can be now if you refuse testing

My kids don’t undergo asymptomatic testing as I refused on basis that I don’t know anyone else outside of nhs who tests themselves so often

So mine haven’t isolated since March

Unlikely to do so as no test no covid

If they present with obvious covid symptoms I’ll test but not for cold minus temp or sickness etc

JustABloodyMinute · 30/09/2021 19:09

But here they need a -ve PCR to get back I to school if close contact or have symptoms. You can't avoid testing even if you wanted to.

Watapalava · 30/09/2021 19:10

No they are advised to pcr if contact

My kids are currently contacts of at least 5/6 kids and haven’t been asked to test once

Watapalava · 30/09/2021 19:11

They cannot force you to test even if symptomatic and certainly can’t ask for proof

JustABloodyMinute · 30/09/2021 19:12

In Scotland you need a PCR to get back into school.

guineabird · 01/10/2021 15:00

MY DS and I both currently have covid- I'm ill with it but he's fine. I only got PCR tests for my children as I had been feeling unwell and had sent for a PCR test, so when I tested positive, I followed the advice to get the rest of the family tested.(Other DC and husband were negative).The school have phoned me and had a go at me for sending DS in to school yesterday whilst awaiting PCR results, despite the NHS advice saying they did not need to isolate if they didn't have symptoms. I explained to the school that I only got PCR tests for them as a precaution- I have been isolating at home away from them since feeling ill at the weekend, and nobody else has had symptoms other than me- but school have made me feel awful. The system is so flawed. NHS told me there was no need to isolate unless they had symptoms or a positive test result. Both kids had negative LF tests and were fine, so I sent them into school as advised, and am not being made to feel terrible for it.

Covidworries · 01/10/2021 16:37

@guineabird

Sorry to hear you have been made to feel bad. You followed rules but i expect the school are stressed and worried about vunerable staff, pupils or family members.

The rules dont make sense for houshold contacts tbh.
Were the school aware of positive household member before you sent them to school? Ithink schools should be made aware of this so that they can put further measures in place protect the most vunerable

guineabird · 01/10/2021 17:17

Thanks @Covidworries. No, they weren't aware- I only got my result on Tuesday evening and kids went into school on Wednesday then had a PCR after school. The rules really don't make sense, and it is so difficult to know what to do. The school receptionist having a go when I feel this ill is just not what I needed either!

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 01/10/2021 21:01

Regardless of the rules, I wouldn’t have sent in a child when there was covid in the house without seeing the result of the pcr test first. I wouldn’t know if there was anyone CEV etc who it could badly affect.

Chillychangchoo · 01/10/2021 21:24

I agree OP. Have lost numerous jobs now with all the isolations my three primary children have had.

Only today we got an email from the school requesting one of my children to get a PCR despite NO symptoms, and to do daily LFTs whilst we await the result.

I don’t think so. I am not complying with that.

HitchhikersGuide · 01/10/2021 21:31

I can't see a way out. The testing is utterly pointless - too many false positives and false negatives. But so many millions of tests have been bought and it's such a great way to continue to keep the money making going that it can't stop now. And of course as Covid is endemic and as the tests can't differentiate between different viruses, stick enough sticks up enough noses and we'll find viruses. It's a cycle of mass insanity but until people understand how crazy it is, and while it's enriching the already rich, it will continue.