LF test and PCR test

[Yellowmellow2]

Positive LF test yesterday. Went for PCR. Has just come back negative. No symptoms. I assume I just carry on my merry way and ignore the LF result?

People keep saying this issue is prevalent in the SW in particular but anecdotally on here , it sounds like it's all over the country. We've had numerous children and staff in school with positive lft, negative pcr and full symptoms. Midlands.

The thing that’s really worrying me is that, as soon as I got my negative PCR, I went to visit my mother in her care home as I assumed I’m ok. Didn’t occur to me that there are all these discrepancies. Please God she’ll be ok.

@GruntBaby thanks so much for that explanation - we’ve had the same issues and I really appreciate reading an explanation from someone that understands the science!

@Yellowmellow2

The thing that’s really worrying me is that, as soon as I got my negative PCR, I went to visit my mother in her care home as I assumed I’m ok. Didn’t occur to me that there are all these discrepancies. Please God she’ll be ok.

Fingers crossed for you.

Thank you @GruntBaby for the very clear explanation. We've been through this ourselves but with the added confusion that the first positive LFTs were over 2 weeks ago and we only got a positive (postal) PCR this weekend.

It's good that it is being looked into but it would really help if some official guidance came out to let people know what to do. We've been given guidance by the local school who now say that a positive LFT + symptoms should mean isolation regardless of a PCR result but so many people are getting -ve PCRs and being reassured and carrying on as normal.
Also on a wider basis, and based anecdotally on cases I know of, this could mean that case numbers are very much higher than currently being reported. Anecdotally, about 30-50% of people I know of who you'd expect to get a positive result are getting negative ones.

Glad it was a helpful account.

Absolutely agree a change to guidance would be useful. These things typically take time though - they need to go through multiple checks, consider the impact on public confidence etc. and probably want to be certain what they're dealing with first. Obviously the downside of delay is that the infection could continue to spread without check and local infection rates could be much higher than people realise.

Yellow - I'm sorry to hear that, but please don't blame yourself, you weren't to know. Hopefully your mother is fully vaccinated and that should give her some protection against a severe case.

Re: timelines. One DC started 3 weeks ago, and immediately ran into the testing discrepancy. I'd heard of a couple of similar weird testing cases in school the previous week, but initially assumed it was coincidence, because it is possible to have a false positive. As it continued to spread (because no one was isolating) multiple test case discrepancies started cropping up multiple times a day. As we're in an area with multiple medical & scientific institutions, there are a lot of parents who realised something didn't make sense, started looking into it, and raised the alarm through their networks.

This is exactly what happened to DD. 4 positive lfts (flowflex). Several negative lfts (innova). Two negative pcrs. Very confusing- govt advice is to just carry on with life! We isolated for 10 days as she had all the classic delta symptoms. I know of others who have had pos lft and neg pcr and haven’t isolated...No wonder covid is rife.

Please update us with the results OP following with interest x

@Yellowmellow2

Now this is going bit crazy. Have done two of the new up the nose LF tests and both are positive. Done one nose and throat LF test and it’s negative, and a negative PCR. How am I suppose to interpret that 🤷‍♀️

This also happened to me. Are they the flowflex ones? I've tested positive more than once but always negative PCR (I had covid in Jan so it's not lingering). Very very odd but there are loads of us - there is a thread on it here somewhere

@TacoTues

Every flowflex test I do has a faint second line.

Negative on any other LFT and negative PCRs.

I don't know if the fault is with the flowflex tests to be honest.

Yes - it's always the flowflex!

Something doesn’t seem right for this issue to be so widespread. Another person I know had the same thing happen to them this weekend. Either they’re withholding something from us or they haven’t got a clue as to what’s happening, either way it needs addressing properly.

Friend is based in North West.

Thanks from me too @GruntBaby, you sound more knowledgeable about this issue than all the scientist and mathematicians I’ve read on Twitter!

I hope you won’t mind that I’ve copied this thread and directed people to your explanations on the Data thread and a schools thread. People need reliable information.

I wonder how long it will take the UKHSA to
A investigate and come up with an answer;
B (depending on its implications) to tell us what it is!

So, now have a cold but none of the three symptoms. Another positive LF. Have been for another PCR 🤷‍♀️

@Piapiano

Technically yes but a false positive on LFT is very rare. There are a lot of reports of false negative PCRs at the moment. Personally I would assume its covid. You can do another PCR again in a few days to check.

I know someone who did this and second pcr was positive.

@Yellowmellow2

So, now have a cold but none of the three symptoms. Another positive LF. Have been for another PCR 🤷‍♀️

You are definitely doing the right thing.

I had a stuffy nose, lateral flow faint positive followed by 2 negative lateral flows. My PCR came back positive but I wouldn’t have known I had covid as I don’t have the 3 symptoms.

Look at the Zoe list of Covid symptoms. As the virus has mutated into e.g. Delta variant, and also as people have different vaccination status, symptoms are no longer cough/fever/loss of taste. It presents more like a cold now.

covid.joinzoe.com/post/new-top-5-covid-symptoms

And the latest advice, as reported in the Guardian yesterday, is to be cautious and assume that a positive LFT is Covid, whatever the PCR might say, whilst they try to figure this testing issue out.

@GruntBaby

Look at the Zoe list of Covid symptoms. As the virus has mutated into e.g. Delta variant, and also as people have different vaccination status, symptoms are no longer cough/fever/loss of taste. It presents more like a cold now.

covid.joinzoe.com/post/new-top-5-covid-symptoms

And the latest advice, as reported in the Guardian yesterday, is to be cautious and assume that a positive LFT is Covid, whatever the PCR might say, whilst they try to figure this testing issue out.

Saw the article in The Gaurdian. Unfortunately though, the government advice hasn’t changed which makes it very difficult to know what to do. If my PCR comes back negative, then I should go back to work as that’s the guidance.

So, PCR has come back negative. Just done another Flowflex, from a different box and it’s positive! So that’s three positives. Wtf?! Have snotty nose, headache, sneezing but no fewer or cough. I think I should probably assume I have COVID?

Assume you have Covid. Stay at home. The fever and cough are no longer key symptoms but government guidance hasn't changed.

@Yellowmellow2

So, PCR has come back negative. Just done another Flowflex, from a different box and it’s positive! So that’s three positives. Wtf?! Have snotty nose, headache, sneezing but no fewer or cough. I think I should probably assume I have COVID?

I would order a postal PCR as they seem to be getting better results for some reason.

If you just assume it it saves you having all the t&t faff .

@tiddlysquat

If you just assume it it saves you having all the t&t faff .

Good point! Will also do a postal.

I meant don't do a postal as you get immersed in all the mandatory stuff. It's likely covid. So just behave accordingly ? No need for pcr

This scenario is now BBC headlines which is interesting. Glad I took the decision to isolate as now clearly unwell.

How many days has it been now. Hope you're feeling better soon. You keeping yourself occupied?