Please help, I'm panicking :-(

[sadpapercourtesan]

I have my CEV 81yo father staying for Christmas, and his partner due to arrive tomorrow, they're supposed to be travelling home together on the 31st (it's 250 miles)

We all tested repeatedly before Dad arrived, reduced contacts etc.

I've woken up this morning with a sore throat and blocked sinuses, done a lateral flow and it's a really clear immediate positive.

I'm terrified I may already have given it to Dad, obviously, but what do I do now? Isolate upstairs? Tell Dad's partner she can't come? Sorry, I'm flapping (I'm CV as well and quite scared)

@Feelingoktoday

I thought the govt was now advising not to worry about getting a pcr if you have a positive LFT and symptoms. You have Covid what else is there to prove. Has your father had Covid? I wouldn’t panic. I didn’t get Covid when my partner got it (I had to do an immunity test and have never had Covid).

Where have you heard that? It’s not their official line.

@Mamamia7962

If you have symptoms then you need to do a PCR test not a lateral flow test.

Why? The LFT test has confirmed it's covid.

If symptoms and LFT negative then immediate pcr is helpful because it may tell you something new.

Right now she knows she has covid and the immediate isolation of CV people is necessary.

OP - isolate from your dad. Open windows and if you can put heating on so no one is cold.

I'd suggest dads DP drives down today and they leave first thing. You can isolate for that time but you don't want to be isolating in a room away from him for ages whilst he stays.

Sorry missed a page!

Isolate together then in the home. No need to isolate from each other.

Still open windows to keep the viral load your expelling low in the air which will help.

Your DF DP can come next Sunday if you all have negative LFT next sat/sun.

Hope you all feel better soon

@Mamamia7962

All the websites I have looked at say don't take a lft if you have symptoms.

If you have symptoms and you are at home - the first thing you can do is take an LFT... then I would book a PCR. Everyone I know who has had covid symptoms was picked up by LFT first.

Dd had done a PCR at work on Christmas Eve. She did a LFT at night due to the fact that she had a scratchy throat. No symptoms otherwise.

Yesterday morning ds does a LFT, positive and no symptoms.

Me, Dh and dd's bf are negative but her PCR returned positive.

We're waiting on our PCR results now but hAve had the test and protect 10 day isolation text as a household contact.

@Mamamia7962

All the websites I have looked at say don't take a lft if you have symptoms.

are you going to just be pedantic or are you going to add something helpful to the thread. The OP feels unwell. A PCR would not give her results immediately so in terms of her family who are with her, she has done the right thing. PCR to confirm

@Mamamia7962

All the websites I have looked at say don't take a lft if you have symptoms.

And wait a few days before doing anything?

She has new symptoms and tested clearly positive... Yes, a PCR would confirm but that's obviously not her immediate concern as it's 99% certain she has Covid

Just to clarify, we have immediately booked PCRs for all of us! We are having to have them delivered, as I am not well enough to walk 4 miles to the nearest testing venue, we don't drive (medical reasons) and of course can't travel by bus/taxi with active covid. The LFTs were already here in the house, so it seemed insane not to use them to get an initial answer!

Is you father likely to be entitled to the new anti virals ? Phone 111 and ask , if yes the sooner the better

Oh bless you. Well your Dad is positive so at least you can all look after each other. Fingers crossed will just be cold like symptoms and pass in a few days. Try and rest and relax together - nothing to be done now and it’s so rife it’s kinda unavoidable.

I hope you’ll find this reassuring more than anything, although I’ll drop in the caveat in advance that I understand everyone’s symptoms are different. It’s just rife where I am in London, I barely know one family in my local community that didn’t have one person isolating over Christmas, I had it last week. My CEV 80 year old father tested positive on Tuesday, another CEV elderly member of the family also positive last week. I’m not aware of one person that’s had more than a mild cold, although that may just be the people I know. My father was offered anti virals but in his words “it’s a nonsense, my normal winter cold is always worse than this”. He’s cross but accepting he has to isolate even though he feels completely fine.

@bordermidgebite

Is you father likely to be entitled to the new anti virals ? Phone 111 and ask , if yes the sooner the better

Just re-posting this. He may have received a letter at home. It's not too late to take action.

@Mamamia7962

All the websites I have looked at say don't take a lft if you have symptoms.

This is in case you get a false negative on an lft as PCR are more reliable.

The reason you need a PCR when you have symptoms is that a negative lft could be wrong.

It's not that we're not allowed to do lft with symptoms. If you're worried, I'd say do an lft first, if it's positive it's a good indicator (pretty definite) you have covid and follow up with pcr. If you get a negative lft you can't rely on this alone when you have symptoms

OP did the right thing as found out much earlier that she has covid than if she'd waited on a PCR without lft

I had positive PCR on Wednesday but negative LTFs until Friday. It is likely posiitive. Ask your Dad what he wants to do. If he is going to get ill, might be better he is with you and you can help him....

So many people still confused about the use of ltf. Of course you can use them if you have symptoms but if they are negative you must not rely on that being accurately they are less reliable than PCR tests in general. As OP's tests were positive though, that is irrelevant