How many rapid antigen tests do you do each week?

[NightLight2]

Am stressed and worried, govt (Australia) has told us we must purchase rapid antigen tests ourselves as they won’t be free. They’re as scarce as hen’s teeth anyway but when they can be found can be about equivalent of £4 to £9 per test. We need them for quick testing otherwise will have to wait for PCR results which are taking 48 to 70+ hours. Just how many do you use each week per household member?

None. I do have a box on standby in case I am a close contact.

Just when I'm going to an event.

Work insist on 3x lateral flow and 1xPCR a week 🙄

When I go to my hospital appointments, so once a week. Will start going up to twice a week when little one goes back to nursery but other than that we don't go out aside from walking outdoors.

I've been averaging about 4 a week for myself.

Only when meeting a group of friends indoors. Only then when we all decide to do it.

About 3 each. Me and 2 teens. I do mine on the days I work in the office.
They're free in the UK though.

Two per week normally (teacher in England) but daily atm as I have a cough. Negative PCR but just keeping an eye pending return to schiol tomorrow.

2 if we go places. It was none when we both WFH FT.

None. I'm also in Australia.
It's plastic going into landfill..

I live in Switzerland- they were free for a while. Then free for unvaccinated. Now not free. Dc2 is tested at school
We only test if have some small symptoms and it would affect plans. Eg dc 1 is going skiing w friend for few nights. I feel unwell. Tested. It was negative.
Im jabbed. So are most of family. Can do no more imo.
Covid is here. Life continues. Just with more risk and before. Best to get used to that and continue

Usually none. I did them recently as a close contact but won't bother again apart from days I'm going out and day 7. I also did one to see my family at New Year that was the first time.

Since Omicron I've been trying to test more if meeting up with people. It's soon to be not at all unless I can get more tests which seem like gold dust currently.

We've got about 7 tests left and there's 5 of us. Two DC need to test tomorrow before school/college then me and 1 DC have dental work booked in about a week so am prioritising a test each for that.

I'm hoping the DC bring some home from school/college to cover them but realistically to test twice per week each, which seems like a moderate measure given the transmit-ability, we would need continuous access to 2 boxes a week as a household.

It doesn't seem sustainable at the minute so I'm thinking that omicron is going to cause the current testing structure we have in place in the UK to partly collapse over the next month or so.

They're free in the UK though

They aren’t feee. The government pays for them, as do you as a tax payer.

None, unless I'm a close contact / symptomatic.

None.

In England, twice a week for work but they don’t provide them.

none

I have loads as school give them out like sweets and so do work (2 x lft and one pcr per week) but i don't test asymptomatically

None

None

Never 🤷🏻‍♀️

Only do them when we are going to crowded places like work or meeting friends socially. Probably average one or two a week. Otherwise only if I'm a close contact of a confirmed case where we can test for 7 days (once a day) to avoid isolating if double vaxxed. I'm in England.

I have tested before visiting my parents and when close contact or had symptoms. My son aged seventeen has also had to test before indoor sports events. Since August.. we have used ten.. family of 5. We have also needed a couple of certificates for travel and one mass testing event that we were all mandated to do, which is not included in these numbers.

My youngest child has the most horrendous sneezing, extreme mucous production reaction to the tests so we avoid for him if at all possible. It also takes him days to properly recover for them.

This makes me think they are not as innocuous as they seem which along with the chronic waste and plastic pollution they generate makes me really wish there was a better solution.. litmus type paper you put in your mouth or something...

(Plus when we run out of our assigned 5 per person paid for by insurance, I would have to buy them and I am also a tight git so don’t want to pay!!)

Typically 3 of us do 2 a week. We have done slightly more recently as son tested positive so did daily for 10 days and each time we visited someone new over Christmas. Will go back to 2 a week now.