DD positive LFT but negative PCR

[BlackInk]

Apologies. I know there are a lot of posts on this subject but I still feel unsure what to do.

DD age 9.
Friday - lack of appetite.
Friday night - couldn't sleep, shivering.
Saturday 6am - threw up once, fever.
Saturday 10am - positive LFT (went for drive-through PCR).
All day Saturday - tired and lack of appetite, mild fever on and off.
Sunday - PCR result came through negative! DD feeling ok. Repeated LFT looks negative I think?

NHS guidelines seem to say to go by the PCR so I guess that's what we'll do, but I don't feel entirely comfortable. My DS has just recovered from Covid (came out of isolation 7 days ago) and I thought the rest of us had escaped it. DD has been on half term this week and no close indoor contact other than with family who are all well. If it's Covid I would guess it's caught from DS.

1st pic is yesterday's positive LFT, 2nd pic is today's.

She didn't eat or drink for a few hours before yesterday's positive LFT.

So, I guess we carry on as normal, but will LFT her regularly and keep an eye out for any symptoms? Feels dodgy!

Sorry, this is today's negative. Accidentally uploaded 2 of yesterday's positives above!

Both of those LTFs look positive to me. I'd be inclined to go for a second pcr test, I think.

Oh, x post. Yes, second one looks negative. Not sure then. Symptomatic plus positive ltf still strikes me as a significant risk, especially when she has recently been a close contact of a known covid case. I'd still want another pcr, I reckon. Or at least carry on with the isolation for the full 10 days.

I think you’ll have to do a LFT later today and see what happens, probably need a second PCR test

Did you do LFT daily since in contact with her brother? You may have caught the tail end of it and not known she has COVID

NHS guidelines seem to say to go by the PCR

Due to the lab scandal where thousands of people were given the wrong results, advice has been given that if you have a positive LFT plus symptoms and you've been a close contact, it is highly likely you have covid and you should isolate.

I'd at least do another PCR.

When did she last do a PCR as a close contact with brother?

Do schools insist on seeing a positive PCR test result if a child is kept off for Covid? If not, can you not just tell the school that your DD has tested positive for Covid (which she has) and keep her off for the remainder of the 10 day isolation period?

In your shoes I’d be doing another pcr and probably go by that result

We did daily LFTs whilst DS was isolating, and have been doing them probably every other day since. All have been negative until DD's yesterday. We also all did negative PCRs around day 4 of DS's isolation so I don't think we can have just caught the tail end of it.

@noblegiraffe
Do you have a link to that info please? I googled but couldn't find it.

I don't really want to isolate her unless I need to, although I obviously would if I thought she might have Covid. School won't ask for evidence of positive PCR I don't think, but what if she wet on to actually catch Covid in a few weeks??

www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-lab-suspended-after-false-negative-covid-tests-2021-10-15/

This shouldn't be happening any more though who knows

Yeah, I think that's all been cleared up now @CloseYourEyesAndSee but I suppose it could happen again.

If her LFT this morning had been positive I would definitely have taken her for another PCR. I don't want to just treat her as positive just in case really. I would have to stay home with her for 10 days and wouldn't be able to work. She would miss 7 more days of school, not to mention all the fun stuff.

Obviously though we will be cautious and do regular LFTs.

“The advice is also to think about your local situation, do an individual risk assessment … so what is the likelihood that even though the PCR is negative, that you may still have Covid?
“If thinking it through there is quite a chance you have Covid, even if the PCR is coming back negative, then regard it as Covid and self-isolate.”

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/09/negative-pcr-test-covid-symptoms-self-isolate

Thanks @noblegiraffe that's not official advice/guidelines though is it? It's a Guardian article with quotes/opinions from some scientists/doctors. The government website (or the pages I've found) says that PCR trumps LFT except in a couple of situations, which don't apply to us.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/test-results/negative-test-result/

No, it’s not ‘official’ govt advice but was advice from a public health adviser which makes complete sense - PCRs can give false negatives and so shouldn’t be blindly trusted if all other signals point towards covid.

I’d suggest another PCR.

I'd probably do another pcr. Maybe a postal one.

If her LFT this morning had been positive I would definitely have taken her for another PCR.

It is positive! There’s a clear line visible on the photo.

Just do another PCR - you’ve had covid in the house and the gap between cases could be 10 days, hence that isolation period.

As a teacher where we had a nightmare at our school before half term with the amount of positive cases I'd ask you to please take her for another pcr. Hopefully the half term might have acted to stop the cycle and the last thing needed is children coming to school with covid and potentially kick starting the whole thing again. Just do another pcr.

Both tests have lines. Plus LFTs are more likely to give you false assurance i.e a false negative. So I wouldn’t rely on LFTs alone.

Definitely do another PCR

Sorry I think I was looking at the wrong picture.

If she had two positives yesterday, doesn’t that tell you she was almost certainly positive yesterday? What are the chances of getting two false positive lfts?
It sounds like a second pcr is the right way forward.

I'd definitely err on the side of caution and go for another drive thru PCR

I've spoken to 119 and they told me to go by the PCR and only retest if she develops new Covid symptoms. I'll err on the side of caution and LFT each day for a while, and avoid close social contacts.

Please don't send her to school. The chances of her doing 2 positive LF (assuming supervised and no chance of gaming them wih cola/juice etc) and NOT having covid are infinitesimally small.
There is a much higher chance of a false negative pcr than a false positive LF.
This happened to DS, I kept him home another 2 days took him for a second PCR and still negative. 119 and school said to send him back. School told me they'd had quite a few in same position. It transpired that his PCRs went to the dodgy lab and were false negatives. I bitterly regret listening to 119 and sending him back to school, who knows how many people he infected

I then ended up in the same position, and while unofficially isolating did a lot of reading about the tests. If I'd known what I learned when DS was positive LF/negative PCR I'd have ignored 119 and school and kept him home. He only had a runny nose, not ill at all but probably still contagious.