Stop overusing lateral flow tests!

[musicalfrog]

How many posts on this forum say "ooh I tested twice yesterday", or "ooh I'm waiting for a pcr result but still taking a lateral flow every day"...

Have some fucking thought for the expense to the taxpayer of all these tests, and the poor folk who are struggling to get a supply of tests to keep their loved ones safe while you fritter them away without a second thought.

You DON'T need to take more than one test a day, you DON'T need to keep testing while waiting a pcr result (you should be isolating) and you DON'T need to be testing every day unless you're a close contact.

Over consumption is killing this planet, these are prime examples.

I doubt that has anything to do with stockpiling.

I've not said anyone is stockpiling

People will stockpile now there’s a known shortage.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Stockpile from where?!!

I've not said anyone is stockpiling

Same thing as hoarding, which you did say.

read the guidance & highlight where it says test for every trip on public transport.

That link has the same advice as the NHS site. Explain why you don't think public transport is a risky environment? Or do you need to see every single example listed? What was it you were saying about critical
thinking?

*What an absolutely pointless thread.

I don't know anyone who tests more than once a day (how would I even know, anyway? It's not like it's a topic of conversation is it? Unless you're very weird?).*

If you look in the coronavirus section, there is loads of people who have took multiple tests in a day as they don't believe the result.

So yes there are people using them like candy.

@BoredZelda I have no idea why you can't interpret my posts correctly.

I have simply stated that the guidance doesn't say you should test for every trip on public transport & that I don't believe the gov have capacity to do that since there are millions of journeys each day & the highest week of LFTs testing was approx 4m.

Same thing as hoarding, which you did say.

No the point I have made throughout this thread is that I don't think the shortage is due to stockpiling or hoarding. 🤦🏻‍♀️

@BoredZelda

why do you think the guidance doesn't say use them for public transport?

The guidance (in England) says do rapid tests on days when you are more likely to catch or spread covid. Can you explain why you think that doesn't apply to public transport? Given it's the first place the government chose to introduce and then re-introduce masks, one can assume a there is a higher likelihood of catching or spreading covid there.

why do you think there's a shortage then? because people are hoarding them or because the government didn't forecast millions to be used daily.

It isn't an either or situation.

NHS advice is if you are a close contact you should test every day for 7 days, so one can safely assume an element of daily testing has been accounted for.

The supply chain problem can also just as easily be the same supply issue that happens in many other areas over Christmas. We've been waiting 2 weeks for one of my daughter's medications. I doubt that has anything to do with stockpiling.

@BoredZelda There is nowhere on the government advice that says est when using public transport. There ARE lots of idea about how to stay safe on it. And wearing a mask is a legal requirement,

The guidance (in England) says do rapid tests on days when you are more likely to catch or spread covid. Can you explain why you think that doesn't apply to public transport?

It doesn't even say what you have quoted above.

The advice is to test before meeting CV people. Or going to a large gathering like a concert/gig, etc. That does not include a bus or a train.

Please stop inventing things and thinking that what's in your own head it right.

Please stop inventing things and thinking that what's in your own head it right.

From the NHS website.

Again, public transport is first on the government's list when introducing masks.

Tell me why you think, sitting for a prolonged period of time, in an enclosed usually unventilated, often crowded environment magically isn't somewhere you are likely to catch or spread covid?

Do you need the guidance to list every single place that might be a problem? Or do you think the government might expect people not to be idiots?

Masks certainly don’t stop it. Rife up here and masks all along, all day in schools

Don't waste your breath. Test, test, test is the MN mantra🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

😂test every half an hour you will receive your medal one day

And yes people on here were testing their whole family every day on the run up to Xmas. And guess what, many of them found Covid because throw enough darts at the dartboard….

@ChristmasyFairy 👏🏻

@BoredZelda so you are saying millions of people should test every day twice a day because they use public transport.

My point is I don't believe the government expect that hence why it's not explicitly stated in the guidance & I don't believe we have the volume of tests to do that.

@noturavgmum

Does anyone else not understand the need for schools to be provided with so many when there’s are shortages for other workplaces where people are forced to work in close proximity? As all the people I know who have been able to give boxes of spare tests away during this shortage are teachers

Schools are testing students regularly. They are provided with thousands of tests for use in school and boxes are also given to students and staff to take home during holidays. Instructions are to test regularly. It’s the only way schools remain open.

Schools are crowded places. Hundreds of people moving around. Children don’t social distance.

Having said that, our school has more tests than they know what to do with. I’ve said it before but someone is making a lot of money somewhere.

@NinaDefoe that’s what I mean! Schools are supplied with so many tests but other workplaces where it is impossible to socially distance aren’t. For example in hospitality and retail. And what’s more those type of jobs tend to be zero hours where you can’t get sick pay if you do get covid not to say schools shouldn’t be supplied with them but what’s with the abundance of them when they are scarce for everywhere else

Instructions are to test regularly.
It’s the only way schools remain open.

Not true. Primary schools have had no tests at all and have remained open despite much higher case loads.

Now that 12-18 year olds are included in vaccine program and all teachers should be boosted I don’t see the need for continuous testing in secondary schools personally. I’d rather see it either transferred to primaries where there are no mitigations in place at all, or out into the wider community.

We test twice a week at work. I work in a factory with hundreds of other people. This year colleagues have died with covid.
Nobody can get tests. Fortunately work do have them at the main gate but this means people testing positive at work surrounded by people- not ideal.
This week alone we've had more than a dozen test positive.
I have no choice on spending 8 hrs a day in a room with lots of other people, we'd like to know we could test and weren't spreading the virus though.

Once again people are so busy arguing with each other that no-one is realising that we have all been treated like cashpoints by our own Government.

(Apologies non-UK people)

@BoredZelda Oh come on! You are taking that information you posted out of context!

On the government guidance there is a very long section on staying safe when using public transport. It does not include taking a LF test before travel. IF they wanted us to, it would be in that list!

Have you any idea of the number of people who- when it's not WFH - use the tube daily or commute? Millions. If all those people did LF tests, there would be a greater shortage than there is.

The guidance on using public transport is very clear. It does not include doing tests beforehand. It does include face coverings, choosing quieter times of day to travel, not travelling if you have symptoms etc etc.

If you want to bang a drum for something, make it about the lack of vaccinations amongst some parts of London. In some areas (Lambeth) where they have almost 4000 cases per 100K, only half the population has had ONE vaccine, let alone two or a booster.

@musicalfrog

How many posts on this forum say "ooh I tested twice yesterday", or "ooh I'm waiting for a pcr result but still taking a lateral flow every day"...

Have some fucking thought for the expense to the taxpayer of all these tests, and the poor folk who are struggling to get a supply of tests to keep their loved ones safe while you fritter them away without a second thought.

You DON'T need to take more than one test a day, you DON'T need to keep testing while waiting a pcr result (you should be isolating) and you DON'T need to be testing every day unless you're a close contact.

Over consumption is killing this planet, these are prime examples.

I have a stockpile of them for you know, just in case, next to the loo paper mountain, near the tin of beans and tomatoes stash.

For you @BoredZelda

Travel safely during the coronavirus outbreak
Following this guidance will help you stay safe and protect others by controlling the spread. Every action to help reduce the spread will reduce any further resurgence of the virus in the coming months.

Before travelling:

check the guidance on how to stay safe and prevent the spread
download the NHS COVID-19 app before you travel, if possible, and check in where you see official NHS COVID-19 QR code posters
You must wear a face covering when travelling inside a public transport vehicle and when in indoor transport hubs in England, unless you are exempt or have a reasonable excuse.

Help keep yourself, other passengers and transport staff safe by taking the following precautions:

plan your journey and check your route
open or keep windows open for ventilation where it is possible for you to do so
wash or sanitise your hands regularly
avoid touching your face
cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or the inside of your elbow when coughing or sneezing
dispose of waste safely, including items such as used disposable face coverings
You must not travel at all if you:

are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are mild
are self-isolating
*
NOTHING about testing before travelling.

Don't waste your breathe!

It doesn't take a genius to work out the gov didnt forecast tens of millions of LFTs to be used daily.

www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

Test before meeting people

England

www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

You may choose to take a test before meeting people and encourage those you are meeting to also take a test

Northern Ireland guidance (again, for the hard of understanding)

Under the latest guidance, anyone over the age of 11, who does not have symptoms, should take a rapid COVID-19 test before:

meeting friends and family
attending an event or social gathering
spending time in a crowd or a busy public place
visiting someone who is elderly or more vulnerable
travelling into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland, Wales or the Republic of Ireland (the Common Travel Area)

Spending time in a busy public place = public transport

Visiting friends and family = public transport if you use it to travel