The great South west PCR mystery

[3asAbird]

They say they investigating when we going to find out outcome?

inews.co.uk/news/covid-lateral-flow-tests-negative-pcr-1236141

Is it option

1. faulty batch pcr tests only at South west drive through test centres? 2/ corruption or negligence at the local lab? Does the South west have 1 giant lab that processes bath/ Swindon and Bristol pcr tests
2. some new varient that evades pcr tests like the one in France.

Are we even doing much genome sequencing these days?

We did have surge testing in Bristol last winter with varient e48k similar South Africa but that was pre delta.

We had massive cases in locally June and July.
Local r rate seems low currently despite so many off school and 2 Universitys return.

3 kids my child's year have postive lft but negative pcr.
We don't have any set date for covid jabs.
The school is not declaring any cases at all publicly..

Weirdly people saying home tests giving postive results.

That lft more likely to bring us false negative than postive..

Just makes me worried so much covid all over the region undetected with postives not isolating.

So many if these postive lft negative pcr seem to be school children.
ONS forecast 1 in 14 teens had covid last week yet all teens at our school with covid symptoms have negative pcr?

So glad I sent off for postal tests after repeated local negative PCRs (SW). We all have COVID. Even if the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing expecting different results! So many kids must have gone back to school when in fact positive.

Where do the postal ones go to?

@Languidblueseas its gone up the figures

I reality its too late lots Bristol and South glos students were told to return to school after postive lft and negative pcrs.
Now bcc sent advice saying if postive lft stay at home.

@NelsonMandelaHouse we had opposite here , the older nose and throat very faint positive, the newer nose only instant positive almost

@3asAbird

I reality its too late lots Bristol and South glos students were told to return to school after postive lft and negative pcrs. Now bcc sent advice saying if postive lft stay at home.

I'm in this area. So many people are in the office reassured by their negative PCR test.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54923641

Seems a lab in Wolverhampton has been identified as the potential source of the false neg pcr tests….

To be fair though it would always take time to find any causes , your talking hundreds of thousands and god knows how many labs.
And lots of theories to investigate

[quote Karma1981]www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54923641[/quote]
That says they are contacting those affected so that's something at least

@GoldChick have they had positive lvt though or just symptoms
As there are lots of other cold/ flu going around too

Am in Bristol and a fair number of my kids' friends have had positive LFTs and still gone to school after negative PCRs over the last three to four weeks. Parents have since gone on to develop Covid in at least two cases.

[quote worriedatthemoment]@GoldChick have they had positive lvt though or just symptoms
As there are lots of other cold/ flu going around too [/quote]
Two of them at least have had positive LFTs.

And yeah the cold and flu going round is what reassured them.

Why on earth are tests from sw being sent to wolverhampton is there not a lab this way ?
We had pcr tests yesterday , normally always back by next morning early , currently still waiting .in south west

@GoldChick i have had a bad cough , really bad cold twice in july / august
My son had an awful cough and sore throat and couple negative pcr - his lft negative as well, we were convinced covid but apparently not
He still has the cough sticking around 5/6 weeks later - just ofd cough at night
Now wondering if he has been caught up
In this all though none of us got it and he was quite poorly so was in for at least 6/7 days

Bit late innit, given that the issue goes back to 8th Sep

I know personally of 5 people including ourselves that this has happened to.
It has implications not least spreading it about.
I'm glad that it has eventually been identified, hopefully now it will get sorted!

@Frazzled2207 yes I wonder if they will offer antibodies tests or something otherwise you would just never know you had covid
My son was even tested for glandular fever as it wasn't shifting and left with a slight cough now weeks later.
The only thing is none of us caught it and we didn't isolate as such , he was in his room a few days.
He had his second covid jab as well within this as dr said fine as it wasn't covid

Its not like they can re test the samples is it ? If they even keep them let alone still be viable.
So what will they do contact and say oh you may have had covid or not

@Languidblueseas

The infection rate in the UK is nothing like the reality on the ground. Everyone I know is catching covid, we are going down like flies and yet the infection rate figure hardly moves! It is the same steady number more or less every week, which I also find very hard to believe.

I agree - all my family up and down the country have it at the moment. First time for us all - and no we haven’t met up in person

@ThemedName it feels worse here too but thats because we didn't get hit so much by the first couple waves , I think in some areas where they did maybe they are hearing less of it .
My relatives in cornwall a few weeks ago said how rife it was there and all knew a lot with it but numbers soared there and had been low and same in my area , I know more but our numbers reflect that

Very dodgy contract awarding:

bylinetimes.com/2020/11/09/119-million-covid-19-testing-contract-four-month-old-gene-analysis-firm/

The company who appear to be running the lab are also being investigated about breaking the law over their pcr travel tests:

www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-continues-action-in-the-pcr-testing-market

@Languidblueseas agree, I know more people who have or have just had COVID atm than I have at any point other than March/April 2020 and our cuty has always had high rates compared to most places. The Zoe App estimates for our area are double the accepted government figure and I believe them!

They seem to be saying Newbury testing site nit really mentioning any others.
Do people honestly believe this place and lab is the only one to be having problems with PCRs?