Will the new close contact rules have opposite effect to intended?

[Greentrees2021]

Apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere.

I was just thinking if I got mild Covid symptoms now (other than the main 3) I would take a LFT and, if positive, I would now think twice about doing a comfirmatory PCR where I wouldn't have before. I would of course isolate off the back of the positive LFT, but if I went for the PCR there's a chance it called be Omicron which could then force my children and a whole bunch of my double/triple vaccinated family and friends into 10 days unnecessary isolation before Christmas.

If other people thought this same way actually, actually this strict new rule of the Government's could backfire in making people less likely to do PCR test and making it harder to track and analyse Omicron.

Am I missing something? What do you think? Is this a risk?

@Lazypuppy but they can’t make an informed decision unless they know what variant you have.

YOU might not care what variant it is, but THEY might.

“Hey friend, I’ve got covid - you might be required to self isolate for 10 days, or you might not, i don’t know because I’m not getting a PCR to find out.”

@CrumpledCrumpet 😂 literally no one i know cares what variant it might be. This new rule about self isolating even if you are double jabbed is ridiculous, and i don't know anyone who would volunteer to do it unless they are ill themselves.

Now. We wont test, we wint isolate, we dont care, we just want to live normally

Y number of weeks from now.....
Why cant my child get his broken leg fixed, why has cancer treatment been cancelled
Why has tesco shut with no staff.

Numbers of hospitalisations, deaths and people too ill for work shot up from nowhere, there was no indications that the varient was spreading so much

Lets hope your gamble pays off and this varient isnt more transmisable and doesnt cause a jump in deaths and serious illness.

Id prefer a sensible cautions approach personally.

Equally, there's also the risk that increasing the numbers of people required to isolate will lead to problems with the food supply chain, staffing hospital wards etc. Really, there's no option here that doesn't potentially take lots of people out of the workplace, with all the associated problems.

Yes I think it’s going to have the opposite effect! I don’t know anyone who would give family/friends names to T&T, I would tell friends myself and then they can make their own call. Putting people out of work for 10 days on the off chance they have a new variant is ludicrous and frankly people can’t afford to do it and why should they?

I also know of plenty of people who are blocking the T&T number and email address after the rule change. Even before omicron I have said unless it’s for travel reasons I would never take a PCR if I’m ill or have a positive LFT I will stay out of peoples way and that’s enough 20 months into this in my opinion!

[quote Lazypuppy]**@CrumpledCrumpet 😂 literally no one i know cares what variant it might be. This new rule about self isolating even if you are double jabbed is ridiculous, and i don't know anyone who would volunteer to do it unless they are ill themselves.[/quote]
You haven’t really grasped the basics of variants here, have you? Which might explain why you think it’s ridiculous.

If omicron turns out to be as bad as they think it might be and manages to outcompete delta in the U.K. because we’re doing very little to stop it’s spread and people are ignoring the little we are doing then in a few weeks, I’d guess it won’t really matter because basically we’ll end up with all close contacts having to isolate anyway.

You can only be a close contact if you answer the phone to T&T .

Variants aren't necessarily a bad thing, nor is more transmissable. Its about deaths. South Africa are laughing at countries like UK who have responded this way, everything i have read is this one is less severe, and most people are double jabbed so why are we all supposed to be isolating...makes no sense to me

OP - I have had my sister tell me at the off not to tell T&T if i got a positive that i have seen her. So I would still get a PCR but tell sister and respect her request. Could that be a option? No one can double check who you have or haven't seen.

My sisters best friend is self employed and if she had to self isolate everytime she had a close contact she would be ruined. She is more than capable of unofficially taking self isolation unofficially off radar under her own stream.

For people who are only doing lfts and telling their friends/close contacts they need to self isolate because they dont want a pcr and to fill the test and trace form in - donyiu realise if your close contacts arent exempt from isolation they wont be able to receive financial support if they need it because you havent been through the test and trace system
But it's ok as you dont want to compete an online form

I think there’s two issues that have caused this to be the case.

1. they’ve changed the rules so many times in England. In Scotland we’ve never stopped wearing masks so I’d guess more people would abide by the stricter isolation rules etc.
2. Covid deniers are popping up left, right and centre. I think the mixed messaging is adding to the amount of people now joining this club unfortunately. They had to go one way or another with it. Either Covid is completely fine, don’t wear a mask, don’t isolate or stick with the messaging from early on and have people following the stricter rules (but possibly complying more and not questioning will I bother getting a PCR if no one else is making any effort anymore?)

@Needcoffeecoffeecoffee i'm not telling anyone to self isolate...think you've misunderstood.

I don't want my friends and family forced to isolate because they 'may' have covid because we spent time together. They can isolate/not isolate/test/not test...whatever they choose to do

If I get Covid I won't care which variant it is either. I'm not getting a PCR and being hounded by t&t.

Also think lateral flows do as much harm as good. They do randomly flag up some actual covid cases, to be confirmed with a PCR, but they also have people saying ‘it’s fine, I don’t have Covid’ even if they have symptoms. My mum is a relatively intelligent person, she started feeling shivery and achey today yet confirmed to me it was fine, she couldn’t have covid because she’d done a lateral flow 🙄 It then means people have a false sense of security and maybe go into situations with vulnerable people presuming they don’t have it

I don't mind wearing a mask if I've got to but I'm not self imposing any restrictions beyond what I'm legally required to do.

@Lazypuppy maybe not you and I dosnt name you but other people have said on here they will just do a lft and then if its positive tell their friends

Why even bother testing at all? I hope none of you bothered clapping or supporting the nhs now you cant be bothered testing and answering a phone call or completing a form
The point of the new variant is noone knows what effect it will have and everyone is just being asked to be cautious while scientist work it out but saying you dont care what variant you have is just selfish

I'm not testing, my 1st post was if i did test this is what i would do.

And no i didnt stand outside and clap for the NHS

Why even bother testing at all?

I am sure there are a lot of people who haven’t been testing because they don’t want to know if it’s covid, they don’t want to have to isolate if positive. This was already an issue regardless of the new omicron rules.

most people are double jabbed so why are we all supposed to be isolating...makes no sense to me

Are you just being wilfully ignorant?

Honestly this thread! Just crack on everyone. Don’t get PCRs, ignore T&T - but don’t come crying if we end up back in a lockdown.

Why even bother testing at all? I hope none of you bothered clapping or supporting the nhs now you cant be bothered testing and answering a phone call or completing a form

I have never clapped for the NHS, why should I support them, its a service which is meant to be supplied by the government out of our taxes, if I want anything done now I have to pay.

As a clinically vulnerable person this thread makes my heart sink. The vaccine doesn’t work that well for many clinically vulnerable people at the best of times and with this new variant it’s potentially terrifying and we are relying on the public to do the right thing and follow the rules, regardless of how stupid they may seem to you.

We are the ones who will suffer because of the selfishness of those who refuse to follow the rules but you all crack on doing whatever suits you so you can have your Christmas knees up because that’s clearly more important than the lives of other human beings with jobs and families to care for too.

I despair of humanity.

@Needcoffeecoffeecoffee

For people who are only doing lfts and telling their friends/close contacts they need to self isolate because they dont want a pcr and to fill the test and trace form in - donyiu realise if your close contacts arent exempt from isolation they wont be able to receive financial support if they need it because you havent been through the test and trace system But it's ok as you dont want to compete an online form

I haven't any contacts that would need financial support, DH doesn't and he would probably be my only contact, not everyone mixes with loads of different people. I can't think of anyone else that would be a contact apart from DS who we see about twice a year, and he won't need financial support.

Maybe save your anger for useless T&T rather than people that will be isolating anyway

@toomuchlaundry

How would you feel if you got COVID over Christmas because a close contact hadn’t bothered isolating?

OP specifically said she would still isolate, just not take a PCR test

I don't think that anyone on here has said they wouldn't isolate.

@lazypuppy

I vrry much south africa are laughing right now.... theirhospitalisations are rising steeply.with 10% of hospital cases in under age 2.