So many seem to be ill?

[Thewiseoneincognito]

I’ve lost count of the number of people I know who have this ‘mystery flu’ with coughing and classic Covid symptoms and yet seem to be testing negative on LFTs and PCRs, surely it’s not just me noticing this?

DP is now ill awaiting PCR results, I have several colleagues at work ill but all have negative PCRs and LFTs. Friends of friends all in the same situation, FB has plenty of anecdotes with the same scenario too.

Every shop or business I’ve been in today had numerous people with hacking coughs and sneezes. I appreciate there will be a surge of colds and flus as we head to autumn and winter but the cold weather hasn’t really hit yet and the people I know who have been ill the last two weeks or so are all healthy young people.

I’m wondering has Covid changed and is now undectable by the tests? It’s even more maddening that no one has a mask on hardly either but let’s leave that one for another thread.

I just find it hard to believe this sudden surge of sickness is a result of lower immunity to everyday normal illnesses and that it’s a resurgence of the common cold. I don’t remember pre-covid hearing so many hacking coughs, does anyone else?

@Thewiseoneincognito

Playing devils advocate here but surely if this is ‘just a cold/ flu’ and last year we didn’t see this surge it makes a point in the effectiveness of face masks?

I guess most posters here are insinuating they do work after all in lowering transmission of viruses and in that case would be the sensible choice of mitigation against Covid.

DPs PCR came back negative which is good, but also still a worry incase this anomaly is widespread…

If they'd kept face masks as a requirement in schools/colleges/workplaces and public transport then we might not all be sick as a dog this month (and all winter).

A month i've been back in the office and i've been ill with cold viruses the whole month.

@SMBH

Why is that playing Devil’s advocate? Is everyone here anti-mask in your view?

I do agree that masks will have helped but you cannot separate the lack of masks from all the other things that are different this autumn to last - people going back into office is the biggest difference in my area (London commuterville). Coming into contact with fewer people will make far more difference than having more contact whilst wearing masks

The government bullying everyone to get back to the office from September to appease the Tory donors is a big reason why everyone is ill.

Ok, so is it lack of masks or going back to the office that you see as the greatest cause?

@starfish4

Where I work, they're very strict - masks must be on at all times, unless actually eating/drinking. Nine people in one area, and one in mine have gone down with somethong. Anything resembling covid/virus/bad cold, we have to do a PCR and seven days of LFTs. There's not been one positive case come out of them, so it's been put down to a nasty virus. What concerns me is the fact that we have to wear masks all the times, are encouraged to wash hands for more 60 seconds and use hand sanitizer - I know some may have met outside work, but how come it's spreading?

The people in the workplace aren't going to be self isolating outside of their office hours. They have kids going to school or nursery picking up all kinds (and catch it). They use public transport to get to work (germ fests and not everyone in masks and social distancing is impossible now it's busy again).

Plus they may be in busy shops, pubs, restaurants etc over the weekend. They might be at a football match or gig with thousands of others (all without masks).

@SMBH

Ok, so is it lack of masks or going back to the office that you see as the greatest cause?

As per what i've just posted above it's more of a perfect storm of 'back to normal'. Schools all back to normal without masks (hotbed of viruses and infections). Public transport close to what it was before with a lot of very busy trains and buses (germ fests). Gigs/football matches/theatres all full again.

All of this when people's immune systems are down with no mitigations made. We had to get back to normal at some stage, but basically we're all going to be ill all winter.

There were always other viruses before COVID and these all remain. Of course it can be something else other than COVID .

It has not become the only virus

I agree but as someone who has been exposed all along through work (mine and husband’s) nursery etc, and who had a very similar start of term bout of illnesses this time last year, I would say that it is simply being in contact with other humans that is the thing. Masks may help, distancing may help, but they will only do so much. My husband’s school had just as many colds (not covid) this time last year with masks and bubbles. the reason why many people didn’t have the same experience as me this time last year is the fact that they had fewer contacts, they weren’t in the office, they weren’t commuting, there weren’t large indoor events. They weren’t coming into contact with many other humans. I was, as part of my network (all within the rules), and I had coughs and colds as usual. If people want to close everything down again to avoid this for themselves, then that’s their opinion

My LFT's have been negative but I've got a continuous chesty cough and loss of taste. My PCR came back inconclusive so I've re done it today. It's funny cos I've just said to my Other Half everyone seems to be getting negative PCR results but what if this is a new variant of it and they're actually positive

I’m just jealous of all those saying they haven’t had a cold in 18 months.

We’ve had loads. Dd seems to be a germ magnet for anything from school.

Honestly, from the people I speak to at toddler groups, you’d think my “lockdown” baby was the only one to ever be ill! She’s 13 months and has had about 5 stinking colds in her time, (as well as croup) all courtesy of her older sister.

Our hospital trust had more flu patients than Covid currently.

"Thinking out loud here but could there be a link between vaccination and sickness? Vaccination is to reduce the risk of severe disease so could the antibodies 2X vaccinated people now have be masking the virus on the tests?"

• you need to understand the science a bit better, would by suggestion

Very similar experience here Siriisatwat! No concerns about my “lockdown” baby’s immune system. We just about managed to avoid hospitalisation with RSV (my eldest was hospitalised with it a few years ago so I was hyper aware)

@Brindle88

It’s rotten and I was in bed for a week. Cough and high temperature but negative covid test. No idea what it was but I have never been so ill with a cold.

That's because you've barely had any exposure to any germs for ages.

Your immune system has barely had to do any work in the last eighteen months, and now things are back to normal, you're struggling more than you would normally.

Well our 'cold' has just resulted in two positives for covid here . Never tested positive on LF but I wasn't convinced and PCRs both positive .

We don't have any of the classic symptoms, I had to lie to get the pcrs

I just find it hard to believe this sudden surge of sickness is a result of lower immunity to everyday normal illnesses and that it’s a resurgence of the common cold

As people mix more indoors, I think it's inevitable that people will catch more bugs. I don't think it's any more sinister than that.

I live in London. I got on a bus today and despite masks supposedly being mandatory only 3 out of 21 people on the bus were wearing them. No wonder I've got a bad cold. Feeling frustrated at the idea of another lockdown if people won't do simple things to help.

It is the time of year for coughs and colds.
The numbers of positive cases are rising in Ireland.
We've a very limited amount of ICU beds.
73 are taking up by covid.
I've been getting on with life but starting to worry again.
I had my vaccine in July if it gave me 6 months protection it'll be fading soon.

@Thewiseoneincognito do you have any idea where you caught Covid?

Norovirus is making a huge come back in some of the schools here in Scotland.

A school in Scotland had half of their school role absent with it.
Bugs are definitely rife atm and taking advantage of no SD.

Twice now my little girl has had bad covid symptoms and been completely wiped out since starting back at school in September!we have taken her for prc tests both times and both negative.
She's seen a doctor twice she's been that bad and they have now decided she needs an antibodies test to see if she has had covid and maybe got long covid symptoms.she's 7 she has no energy and is pale and lethargic with a persistent cough 🥲

It feels strangely positive that we're getting ill again, just like it did last year when the schools opened up for a few weeks in the autumn and I got a cold from my daughter within days.

I've been sipping lemsip and generally feeling sorry for myself, but I'm heartened that my immune system is getting a reminder of the viruses it needs to continue fighting over the coming years and decades.

Whatever the cause of last year's fewer illnesses (school closures, WFH, reduced business travel - NOT masks), it feels a lot like short term gain for long term pain; we've seen what happens when a virus that we have no immunity to spreads.

@bunnybuggs

In other news - the cost of all this 'testing' is in the order of £6 billion (that is our taxpayers money) As so many people are testing and not believing the results and then doing another one and then taking a PCR - all of which are 'free on the NHS ' and contributing the waste from the tests going into landfill - how are people being so fearful and lacking in common sense. A bad cold or flu is doing the rounds - if the COVID specific symptons are not there you probably don't have Covid. Do not feed the fear - or we will never get back to normal. I excuse those who work in areas where testing is obviously necessary - care homes, hospitals etc.

What do you say about a situation like in our house where 4 of us (DH, me and 2 teens) have all had the same symptoms one after the other, ye it is only me and DH (the vaccinated ones) who have tested positive on PCR.? DH was positive on LFT too, I was only positive on PCR (and had a negative PCR first when my symptoms were the worst). Kids have done daily negative LFT and DS2 did 2 negative PCRs a few days apart both times were when he still had symtoms.

We don’t fit in anywhere into a pattern so as it stands now I don’t know what to make of the usefulness of the tests. I do think it’s quite an interesting coincidence that today in some parts of the media they’re talking about scaling back the free test kits. Part of me wonders if they’ve realised they’re not that useful anymore (d’or whatever reason) so a waste of money.

Or if it’s all a way of getting us to mingle without testing and getting the herd immunity without the panic. The more people that actually have Covid mildly the more people will start to view it as just another cold type virus.