LFTs after having covid

[ladyhat]

My family all had covid in early December, we were doing regular asymptomatic LFTs before that. My understanding was that we shouldn't restart regular LFTs for 90 days after infection, everything I can find online confirms this. DS1 school have said today that he has had an LFT in school and should be doing twice weekly tests even though he has had covid recently. Does anyone know if this is correct. My workplace is still saying I shouldn't test for 90 days unless I develop new symptoms (and I work with clinically vulnerable people.) I am confused! I will restart testing for all of us if that's what recommended but I have been told by my workplace that there is a risk of false positive if testing before 90 days. Anyone know who is correct?

The new guidance to schools (sent out via email on Sunday.... sigh) was to LFT everyone who was past the 10 days isolation, not 90 days any more. I think everywhere else is still on the 90 days. So school are following their new advice, but it's only for schools atm I think.

I don’t know, but now they are telling people to test on day six and 7 to release it does seem strange given that the previous advice was not to do an lft for 90 days!!

@PatriciaHolm

The new guidance to schools (sent out via email on Sunday.... sigh) was to LFT everyone who was past the 10 days isolation, not 90 days any more. I think everywhere else is still on the 90 days. So school are following their new advice, but it's only for schools atm I think.

Thank for this. If the school are following the latest advice then I have no problem with DS being tested. It's just strange that this advice only seems to apply to schools!! I'm a nurse working with a very very vulnerable client group and I haven't been told I should be testing again! I've emailed my oc health department to confirm but I was told last week not to test for 90 days.

nhs and other vulnerable workplaces are told 90 days for lft (we received advice only today) yet schools can do before

seems they're looking for it more in schools imo!

Our school have said the same. New guidance was sent to schools on Sunday that said students are strongly advised to do twice weekly lft even if they have had covid recently

I have just had to fill in a consent form for DS school testing tomorrow, one of the options was no consent due to having a positive PCR since the 7th October, he had a positive LTF on 21st December snd positive PCR the following day so school won’t be testing him.

DS said his mate was told by school staff he still had to test even though he had covid less than 15 days ago. That's ridiculous. This is reducing the reliability of results. So many false results will just add to school data and cause unnecessary isolations.

I hope parents of kids within 90 days withdraw consent.

DD ended isolation (following 10 days rule not 7) last Wednesday - I'm going to have to withdraw consent to test.

This question has just be answered during the briefing this evening.
You can use LFTs to check.

PCRs, being more sensitive, can pick up past infection for up to 90 days - obviously most people don't test positive for that long though. LFTs are far less likely to however hence used for the day 6/7 testing.

Chris Whitty just said on the briefing that LFTs are ok to do after Covid but PCRs are more sensitive and thats why they need the 90 days to pass

That's not what he said

He didn't say anything about lft routine testing at all - i watched it waiting for clarification but he totally dodged the question

He said 'they could be used to break isolation'
He said 'that pcrs can be positive for 90 days'
but didnt clarify if lft can be used in 90 days or deny that they dont show positive for that time

He didnt give any suggestion at all whether that advice about lft for 90 days has changed

Watch it back

In fact BBc on their live reporting went back to edit their own comments as they'd initially written that he clarified 90 day testing when he never did

This is the updated guidance for nhs hospitals and care homes - 23rd Dec 2021

"The 90-day window after a positive test
If someone has tested positive with a PCR test, they should not be tested using either PCR or rapid lateral flow tests for 90 days, unless they develop new symptoms during this time – in which case they should be retested immediately using PCR.

This 90-day period is from the initial onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic when tested, their positive test result."

Yes they are in a more risky envirnment i get that but either LFT are reliable in 90 days or they are not. Why are kids able to just take the risk of false positives?

this is now such a confusing area isnt it.
Ds had covid on dec 19th (positive pcr on 20th) I had negative pcr on 20th (as required for me to go into work - NHS)
I developed symptoms and postive lft on 24th, (having had previous negative daily lfts)
Positive pcr on 25th

But my work have now changed their policy and I was not allowed to phyiscally return until I had had 2 negative lfts either on days 6/7 or two consiecutive days after this. I was till positive on day6, but thankfully negative on days 7 and 8. But I would not have been allowed back, even afetr day 10, without 2 negative lft......yet only a couple of weeks ago we were being told not to retest with lft or pcr within 90 days......
so now ds will need a lft tomorrow on return to school....with chance of false positive, but then also cant have a follow up pcr to confirm or otherwise.....
It all seems a bit of a mess to me and I do wish they would share some clear evidence backed guidance on the use of lfts and how and when they should/shouldnt be used.....

I agree green

Guardian seems to suggest new early release testing doesn't over rule the 90 day window advice but it does contradict

I withdrew ds from school testing given hes 5 weeks post covid, vaccinated and asymptomatic. In year 11 i cannot afford a false positive isolation with mocks at the end of Jan

Email from my childrens school yesterday said not to lft test if they'd had Covid since 31/10. So we haven't

'Even if someone has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 90 days, they are strongly encouraged to take part in LFD testing on-site through ATS or at home once they have completed their isolation period for their prior infection.'

This is a direct quote from the email the DofE sent to schools.

I currently have covid and am cev so the gp called me tonight and this was one of my questions as it’s so unclear.
He said no seeing as the children all had covid less than 90 days ago they should not be taking lft or pcr tests.

Friends with covid now are being told to do LFT to release them from isolation before the 10 days. Interesting how they change the guidance completely.

This was kind of covered in todays press conference. Chris Whitty suggested that it is PCRs not LFTs which are more sensitive therefore the 90 day rule isn’t really relevant for LFTs.

LFTs pick up infectious cases whereas PCRs pick up the virus at much lower levels. You can be reinfected with omicron within 90 days and be infectious again, hence the requirement to test again using LFTs.