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Original poster

How do people still not know?!

125 replies

Biscoffandtea · 26/10/2021 15:12

Currently on a self catering holiday for half term in the UK. My FIL turned arrived yesterday full of cold coughing continously. He said he's fine as he's done a LF. I pointed out as he has one on the main three symptoms he needs to have a PCR. He claims he had no idea that it was a requirement and doesn't know what the main symptoms of covid are. He said he would book a PCR but wasn't going to isolate whilst waiting for the results.

I'm so cross about it all 😤 How on earth, over 18 months later can people claim they don't know when they should get PCRs?!

OP posts:
morticiamarkle · 26/10/2021 16:45

Honestly didn't know this was a rule?

If I have symptoms, I do an LFT. If it's negative, I carry on.

If positive, do a PCR to confirm

It worked for me: my snotty cold was correctly rejected as covid, and my covid was swiftly identified & correct measures taken. Minimal inconvenience & risk for all concerned.

mswales · 26/10/2021 16:49

@morticiamarkle

Honestly didn't know this was a rule?

If I have symptoms, I do an LFT. If it's negative, I carry on.

If positive, do a PCR to confirm

It worked for me: my snotty cold was correctly rejected as covid, and my covid was swiftly identified & correct measures taken. Minimal inconvenience & risk for all concerned.

Yep this is what I thought too. LF tests are very effective in detecting Covid in a symptomatic person.
ejhhhhh · 26/10/2021 16:50

Hmm, I’d be rethinking the holidays with FIL in the future. He sounds quite selfish, at the very least he could have warned you that he had a bad cold.

SPSN · 26/10/2021 17:17

I had a negative lateral flow on the same day I tested positive on a PCR, so I don't think they are as accurate.

Justwingingit2005 · 26/10/2021 17:23

My understanding what LFTs shouldn't be used with symptoms. You get a PCR with symptoms.
My son had neg LFT an positive PCR. He was tested due to oldest son having covid.

With regards to people and tests. A friend of mine had a daughter with fever, cold and cough and wouldn't get any sort of test as in her words '10 days isolation would mess up my life'. Daughter carried on at school......

Tigerblue · 26/10/2021 17:25

It would have been totally courtesy to let those who he supposedly loves/cares about know that he had cold symptoms - maybe he's confused about the three main symptoms to test for, but surely he knows some of the symptoms that come alongside the main three.

antsinyourpanta · 26/10/2021 17:33

Not just small business owners, people on 0 hour contracts, those that only get ssp, those that have exhausted company sick pay etc.

Some families just can't support this, so people will hide symptoms, test results and the like.

I've had 2 notifications from the app in the last 2 weeks.(Both times I think from my train journey to ir from work as I haven't been anywhere else on those days)
.
I've taken a pcr test each time but I'm lucky that I drive and I can be there and back in half an hour.
However I work for a small business (less than 5 people) and it would have been a nightmare if i had had to isolate both times, like the previous rules. (For a close contact - I would have obviously done so if positive myself)
A lot of the people I work with are self employed - i wouldn't be surprised if any of them ignored symptoms.

TheBlackHeart · 26/10/2021 17:41

@morticiamarkle

Honestly didn't know this was a rule?

If I have symptoms, I do an LFT. If it's negative, I carry on.

If positive, do a PCR to confirm

It worked for me: my snotty cold was correctly rejected as covid, and my covid was swiftly identified & correct measures taken. Minimal inconvenience & risk for all concerned.

Same
hellcatspangle · 26/10/2021 18:38

Everyone I know who's had covid (positive pcr) has also tested positive on LFTs

NavigatingAdolescence · 26/10/2021 18:41

@stingofthebutterfly

There's an Oxford study that claims lfts are 95% effective at picking up covid cases when used in symptomatic people. There's not much difference between them and PCRs.

That's good enough for me.

If you’re going to quote studies it’s best to be clear.

They’re as effective in newly symptomatic people. Not those that have been ill for some days.

PuzzledObserver · 26/10/2021 18:49

The classic symptoms - fever, new persistent cough and loss of taste/smell - are now wildly outdated, according to the Zoe Symptom Tracker app. In kids, and in vaccinated people, Covid more often presents with runny nose, headache, sore throat - typical cold symptoms, in fact.

The Zoe people are desperately trying to get the Government to change the messaging on symptoms, so far without success.

Overthebow · 26/10/2021 18:56

Honestly people are sick of this now. A lateral glow test should be good enough to be able to carry on if negative. Unless really unwell I’m not getting PCR tests now, it’s too disruptive to life. Quick lateral flow test and I get on with my day. People worried about covid need to take into account other people not testing when doing their own risk assessments.

TheBlackHeart · 26/10/2021 19:13

@Overthebow

Honestly people are sick of this now. A lateral glow test should be good enough to be able to carry on if negative. Unless really unwell I’m not getting PCR tests now, it’s too disruptive to life. Quick lateral flow test and I get on with my day. People worried about covid need to take into account other people not testing when doing their own risk assessments.
Totally agree with you.
SweetBabyCheeses99 · 26/10/2021 19:23

Because you can’t force people into getting medical tests, whether it’s for their own good or others.
Plenty of people have unprotected sex and then don’t have an STD test, sometimes passing infections on.
Plenty of people at the moment have symptoms of serious illness such as cancer and they can’t even get a GP appointment let alone testing.
The world doesn’t revolve around covid and people can’t get tests forever for the symptoms of a cold.

wtfisthatspiderdoing · 26/10/2021 19:28

Well I've been full of cold for the last few days, totally wiped out. I've done lateral flow tests which are negative, I had no idea I was supposed to do a PCR test too even though the lateral flows are negative, and I work in public sector where Covid is rammed down your throat constantly. So in answer to you question, after all this time , No, some people don't know.

FindingMeno · 26/10/2021 19:41

I tested strongly positive on lft and on pcr. All other times I've been negative on both.
If the lft works when you have no symptoms, why wouldn't it when you do?
It doesn't make sense to my (admittedly non scientific and non medical) brain.

ItsSnowJokes · 26/10/2021 19:48

My SIL's Dad has been out and about the past 2 weeks with a "cold" (despite having a hacking cough and a high temp), going on public transport, to his working man's club etc........ and when SIL said he had to get a test yep you've guessed it covid. They don't live near us, but I just cannot believe the stupidity and blatant disregard for fellow humans. Its been 18 months and people still are selfish stupid cunts.

ApolloandDaphne · 26/10/2021 19:49

I had a horrible cough. I did three LFTs all negative so I didn't do a PCR. Everyone I know who has had Covid had a positive LFT first.

LindaLooky · 26/10/2021 19:54

So are the people who saying they cant be arsed any more, seriously saying they'd rock up to a shared holiday loaded with symptoms??

Hope your arrogance isnt contagious too.

stingofthebutterfly · 26/10/2021 19:56

@NavigatingAdolescence whilst that's true, I don't know many people who don't have an lft available, to perform as soon as they start experiencing symptoms.

I doubt there's much difference in test results between newly affected people and people who've been ill for a while though.

secretllama · 26/10/2021 20:00

@Overthebow

Honestly people are sick of this now. A lateral glow test should be good enough to be able to carry on if negative. Unless really unwell I’m not getting PCR tests now, it’s too disruptive to life. Quick lateral flow test and I get on with my day. People worried about covid need to take into account other people not testing when doing their own risk assessments.
Agree!
Overthebow · 26/10/2021 20:10

@LindaLooky

So are the people who saying they cant be arsed any more, seriously saying they'd rock up to a shared holiday loaded with symptoms??

Hope your arrogance isnt contagious too.

No, I’d be sensible abc take a lateral flow test and let the others know what I’ve done. This has happened on my family holiday actually with a family member and everyone was fine with it. We got on with our holiday as normal and no one worried about covid.
tickingthebox73 · 26/10/2021 20:12

@Biscoffandtea

That's the thing though, why bother to do a LF but then claim he knows nothing about needing to take a PCR. *@MrsTerryPratchett* that is how I feel - he can choose not to test but I'm angry my ability to do a risk assessment for my self and my children has been taken away from me.
because he hasn't done a lateral flow....he thought he'd fob you off by saying he'd done one. But you called his bluff
Mynameismargot · 26/10/2021 20:21

I was skeptical about the Irish governments reluctance to introduce lfts but I think this thread really demonstrates why they can be a bad idea.
People worried about covid need to take into account other people not testing when doing their own risk assessments.
It's really sad that it has reached the point where people like this poster are not just happy to walk around spreading covid but also to shift the blame onto the people they have given covid to for not factoring into their 'risk assessment' that some people don't give a shit if they spread it those more vulnerable than them.

Overthebow · 26/10/2021 20:26

It's really sad that it has reached the point where people like this poster are not just happy to walk around spreading covid but also to shift the blame onto the people they have given covid to for not factoring into their 'risk assessment' that some people don't give a shit if they spread it those more vulnerable than them.

No, it’s not. Do people care about spreading other viruses? How many times have people gone into work with a cold, or taken their kid to school with one? It’s everyone’s responsibility to keep themselves safe, it is not people’s responsibility to do that for everyone else.