'Do an LFT before you go out'

[Powersout]

I'm feeling pretty stupid at the moment. My husband tested positive on PCR on 23rd December and started isolating but as my daughter and I were testing negative on LFTs we decided to carry on with the original plan to go to my parents' for Christmas day. My parents were informed about the situation and had no hesitation in letting us come as long as LFTs were negative on the morning. Of course, I woke up with symptoms on Boxing Day and tested positive on an LFT and later PCR. Yesterday my Mum tested positive and now my Dad is showing symptoms...

In hindsight it was such a stupid thing to do. Earlier in the pandemic theres no way I would have gone to my parents house if someone in my household had tested positive. But I have followed government guidance throughout and was therefore following the 'do an LFT before you go out' message that seems to have been rammed down our throats over the last few weeks. But you can be highly infectious 2 days before you get a positive LFT cant you? So why aren't the government qualifying the message at all with this information? I get that it's a simpler message for the majority of the public who have no known exposure to positive cases but shouldn't the message be different for those of us who have had prolonged contact with a case? Or are we meant to just use our common sense which surely is not a great idea for a public health message?

As I said earlier, I feel bad and stupid for passing this on to my elderly parents. Not looking for sympathy but wondering if anyone else agrees that the message is confusing?

This is the email I got from t&t...

Says get a PCR.

NHS Test and Trace has identified you as a contact of someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19. Unless you are exempt, it is your legal duty to stay at home and self-isolate. You must self-isolate until 4th of January (including this date).

You should book a PCR test to check if you have COVID-19, even if you do not have symptoms.

No, other household members don't have to isolate.

Did you get that message today?! The message I got on Christmas Eve said this:

"You're a contact of someone with COVID-19. You do not have to self-isolate.
You should take rapid lateral flow tests for 7 days or until 30th of December if that's earlier. You may become infectious even if you're fully vaccinated or do not have symptoms."
So theyve changed it in the last couple of days with no update on government website!!

I was a close contact in November before omicron and was text by t&t to book a Pcr. I was at work and they said do it tonight, 4 hours later another text saying you need to book your Pcr- then a call that evening too saying no need to isolate and even if lft's clear I still need a Pcr.

I think to have someone positive in your home and think you aren't carrying something isn't truly acknowledging what we know.

My friends partner was Pcr positive and she was clear on lft's but I refused to see her as she could be carrying- few days later she discovered she was.

Close contacts in the home/ at work are the most likely to spread covid.

Hope you are all ok.

Sorry I'm in Scotland and didn't realise England were doing things differently. For us if anyone in household is positive the whole house has to now isolate even with both vaccines and a negative PCR
It's also the case that if you are close contact with someone you go get a PCR and don't rely on just the lateral flows as they can give false negatives.

Personally I'd have kept away if I knew there was the chance of having it. My partner caught it, we isolated in the house apart and I still ended up getting it from him but I didn't test positive until a week after him

It's a shit situation but we also need to use our lien judgement. Personally, I would have told my DM that I wasn't seeing her if we had covid in the household, but I think she also wouldn't want to see me so would be fine with that. @Powersout your parents made their choice and these are the consequences. I hope you all get better really soon.

Surely it’s common k owl edge they have always asked for your movements in the previous 24 hours - which is when people are infectious?

I assume you know ‘isolation’ means completely separate from other members of the household and not sharing spaces/bathrooms etc?

@Akire

You did what you thought was best, you can’t chance the past. Yes you could stayed home but the advice was LTF and GO! You could equally be kicking yourself having not gone and then not got covid.

They don’t explain that you can have covid enough to be passing it on and still show a negative. This happened to me negative 2pm one day. Positive and full covid 9am next morning! Feel sorry for the dentist that I had gone to in full faith thinking I was negative. But that’s all the tests we have for now. Hope your parents don’t have it to badly.

Thank you. My parents are both in their 70s, fully vaccinated and relatively fit so 🤞

You don't have to go out when you're allowed to. You can make a choice.

I Don’t think the guidance says to get a pcr now if you are a close/household contact. You are meant to do an LFT every day for a week and that’s it.

But, we are nearly 2 years in to this now. Surely you knew that the chances were high that you might be carrying covid even if you were testing negative? I’m concerned If healthcare workers don’t know that, there’s Not much hope for other sections of the general population to know either and that’s Very worrying.
The message is confusing so we (the general public) can be blamed for the rising cases if the herd immunity plan goes wrong. we’ve been told to use our common sense about who we see. But your common sense and my common sense are clearly different about what to do if someone in the household tests positive which is where it falls down.

I very much agree with @PieMistee The government give no shits if you or your parents get really ill

The gov guidance does say that even if you have negative LFDs after close contact you should limit contact with others, especially in enclosed or unventilated places for 10 days

I do think that the Govt. aren't being as hard and fast as they might, as they are relying on people to use common sense.

Around a time like Christmas, when none of us want to see our plans ruined, it can be easy to follow the rules to the letter, without applying a logical thought process - common sense.

Sorry OP, you took a risk, and it didn't pay off. Probably lots of others have done likewise.

I hope you are all feeling better soon.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Surely it’s common k owl edge they have always asked for your movements in the previous 24 hours - which is when people are infectious?

I assume you know ‘isolation’ means completely separate from other members of the household and not sharing spaces/bathrooms etc?

I honestly didnt know as havent had any contact from them before. I consider myself fairly well educated, albeit with very little scientific background. Theres a lot of people in the general public who cant do an accurate risk/benefit analysis and for that reason a public health message should be directive.

This. Johnson doesn't want to rely on Labour votes to get any more legislation through so he's leaving people to get really ill and letting the NHS struggle.

He's stupid. The knives that are out for him simply will not go back. They want him gone and they won't be satisfied until he has. Shame he doesn't have the self respect to go out sticking two fingers up to them. If I was being pushed out of a job, I'd think sod it, I might as well go out doing the right thing (i.e. follow the science).

OP don't beat yourself up about it. The Westminster government are responsible for the messaging. I wish your parents a good recovery

Btw if they've only just tested positive and are in a vulnerable category, see if they can get one of the new anti viral treatments. We have only a limited supply for now and so treatments are rationed, but it's worth knowing about just in case relevant for your parents.

Hope you and family are ok.

The rules in England seem to change regularly. End of November I was a close contact (someone at work) and told to get a PCR, as double vaccinated did not have to isolate.

If were asking people to use their common sense then maybe throwing in 'and do an LFT' is not a good idea!

Does anyone know the rules??

DD is a high risk contact - Monday - has tested negative this afternoon, I have warned her to stay way from people when out in shops let alone allow her to boast grandparents.

I will also be doing the same - keeping a distance from CV contacts and will not see friends until she’s pat the 7 day LFT stage - and I’ve had Covid recently.

@RevolvingPivot

Does anyone know the rules??

In most countries, probably. England - with the constantly changing confused not following the science rules, perhaps not.

Best advice is forget the politicians (in England) and listen to the scientists and doctors.

I think the requirement changed. Close contacts used to require a PCR but now it’s 7 days rapid flow testing instead (unless unvaccinated then you have to self isolate and do a PCR…)

However it does suggest that if you are doing the 7 day testing, you should avoid mixing with other people especially indoors, you should wear masks and should limit contact with any vulnerable people.

I've had mixed messages from test & trace. DH tested positive on a lft on a Tuesday (pcr results on friday), Saturday I had a message to say if I didnt have symptoms & fully vaccinated I didnt have to isolate, no pcr test.

But then on the Monday I had another text saying to get a pcr even if I didnt have symptoms

I'd ready tested positive by this point anyway so was already isolating.

I agree OP that the messaging isn't great. It's true you didn't break any rules in what you did, though as others have said up thread I do think you should have got a PCR, though I admit too that messaging on this is confusing. I've attached 2 images of messages from test and trace with different content. The first is screen shot I received of email notifying me of contact with a positive case back in early December (which happened at a work Xmas party). It clearly instructed me to book PCR test so I did, though I didn't isolate til I got the results as LFTs showed negative (which perhaps wasn't the best thing but I actually had my MIL visiting when I got the message so I couldn't isolate right away). The second is the much delayed message from T&T I got following my sons positive PCR on 23rd December. They didn't do the tracing call til the 27th so I didn't get the message til then but it only mentions doing the LFTs. Our whole family had already done PCRs anyway - he tested positive on an LFT on the 22nd so we all had PCRs on 23rd. I wonder if the diff messaging is because there's now a lack of PCR tests, or it could be simply diff between email and text

@SLH2003

This is the email I got from t&t...

Says get a PCR.

NHS Test and Trace has identified you as a contact of someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19. Unless you are exempt, it is your legal duty to stay at home and self-isolate. You must self-isolate until 4th of January (including this date).

You should book a PCR test to check if you have COVID-19, even if you do not have symptoms.

Are you vaccinated?

Close contact message from track and test was to Pcr and lft daily this was with a work colleague close contact mid December. I also isolated away from external family members until PCR done

@SLH2003

This is the email I got from t&t...

Says get a PCR.

NHS Test and Trace has identified you as a contact of someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19. Unless you are exempt, it is your legal duty to stay at home and self-isolate. You must self-isolate until 4th of January (including this date).

You should book a PCR test to check if you have COVID-19, even if you do not have symptoms.

Really? I got pinged by the app and was asked to put in more details. I said that I’d had Covid and had had two jabs. Then I was told I only needed to LFT for 7 days. Not self isolating.