Government set to announce those with positive LFT will not need PCR

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news.sky.com/story/covid-19-around-a-million-people-isolating-due-to-coronavirus-in-uk-as-testing-rules-set-to-be-relaxed-12509316 COVID-19: People who test positive on lateral flow tests won't need follow-up PCR, govt to announce - as 'around a million' isolating 

Whilst this sounds like a good idea, what about those of us who have recently had positive lateral flows and negative pcrs? There seems to be a lot of us.

Well I guess this (plus a shortage of LTTs) is one way to get confirmed Covid cases down.

You could even go one stage further and not report the daily figures or even just make up some low ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if cases / hospitalisation and Covid death figures are no longer reported by winter 22/ 23.

You could even go one stage further and not report the daily figures or even just make up some low ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if cases / hospitalisation and Covid death figures are no longer reported by winter 22/ 23.

Surely we're not going to be reporting figures forever? There has to come a time when it stops.

I test positive on LFTs constantly! A few have been strong lines but majority faint. Always followed by a negative PCR. What am I supposed to do??????

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

You could even go one stage further and not report the daily figures or even just make up some low ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if cases / hospitalisation and Covid death figures are no longer reported by winter 22/ 23.

Surely we're not going to be reporting figures forever? There has to come a time when it stops.

I think it'll stop before the summer. Maybe even as soon as Easter.

@1dayatatime

Well I guess this (plus a shortage of LTTs) is one way to get confirmed Covid cases down.

You could even go one stage further and not report the daily figures or even just make up some low ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if cases / hospitalisation and Covid death figures are no longer reported by winter 22/ 23.

Indeed you are meant to log LFT results but a lot of people won’t bother now unless they specifically want a pcr. Predict case numbers will fall dramatically!

I really doubt this lot have the competence to pull off master plans.

Ds was issued a mega LFT pack from his school to use over Christmas & for his return to school. It appears to be a hospital testing pack with bottles of liquid to measure into the testing phials. Bit concerned the cassettes don’t have any QR code to register on the testing site should he test positive whilst asymptomatic. Not sure how widespread these test kits are in public circulation?

I think it'll stop before the summer. Maybe even as soon as Easter.

Hopefully. Then people might stop getting whipped up by anxiety.

@Artichokeleaves

Well that will successful make it impossible to know how many people in the UK have covid, and therefore avoid anyone requiring the govt to do something about it. Will avoid anyone being able to accurately work out the really scary numbers about to hit us, and will definitely successfully hide the evidence if it turns out that 'do nothing and see what happens' was a really, really stupid idea on the part of Johnson and co while the rest of Europe took precautions.

We don't need to do anything about the number of cases as long as they don't result in serious illness and deaths. As Europe has huge numbers of cases too, the extra restrictions they took obviously didn't work.

Good!

LFTs are around 95% effective and only show up as a positive when or just after a person becomes infectious. With delta there was a longer period between getting the virus and showing symptoms, so the more sensitive (diagnostic) PCR test served a purpose to catch more cases during that limbo period.

It is not needed with the Omicron strain as symptoms show up much faster from getting infected, and the length of time that someone is infectious with Omi is much shorter, so the benefit of taking a PCR test is more limited.

Why should someone need to isolate for the full 7/10 days if they are no longer infectious on an LFT?

LFTs have been shown to be very effective at detecting when you are most infectious, which is really what we want to know.

I think this is all fine as long as people log their LFT results.
Many people who want to dodge T&T don't report positive LFTs.

I don't know if I'd bother logging a positive LFT unless I had to for work. I don't want to speak to T&T and I'd just isolate according to the guidance at the time. I've never reported a negative either

@JasmineGarden

That sounds odd, without PCRS they won't be able to do any sequencing, something which we have (internationally) made a big thing of being one of the best at.

Yes this. Also how will the numbers be counted ? How will they know if infections are rising too rapidly etc ?

@Megan2018

I've had 5 false positive LFD's (negative PCR's), they weren't faint either.

I'l be in permanent isolation if I can't get a PCR (I have to do 2 LFD's a week at work).

If the LFD's are to be believed I have had Covid since October (jabbed and boosted with no symptoms) that is undectable on a PCR.

Me too Megan.

I am now up to 8/9 (lost count) of positive LFT and negative PCRs.

According to LFTs I have had Covid since August.

@Watapalava

Megan you wouldn’t

You isolate 10 days then free whether lft still positive or not

But I have had 8/9 positive LFTs since August. So that's 80/90 days out of 5 months.

@Artichokeleaves

Well that will successful make it impossible to know how many people in the UK have covid, and therefore avoid anyone requiring the govt to do something about it. Will avoid anyone being able to accurately work out the really scary numbers about to hit us, and will definitely successfully hide the evidence if it turns out that 'do nothing and see what happens' was a really, really stupid idea on the part of Johnson and co while the rest of Europe took precautions.

Its been a while since cases alone have been an issue. Its only been hospitalisations and deaths for a while. We currently also have an issue with staff absences. The government can still 'see' the level of the problem with that via the public sector.

Under normal circumstances we would say 'great that will stop the nhs wasting money'. But seemingly not with covid.

I will ask the question again : if you have a positive lateral flow why do you need to also have a pcr if these tests are effective enough? Why pay to prove the same thing twice. Lateral flows and pcrs all cost money.

There may be exceptional circumstances where a few individuals need to, but for the most part the majority of people only need to do either a lateral flow or a pcr - once they have a positive on either they don't need a confirmation test to prove what they already know.

Concerned

Once you have done your first isolation you shouldn’t be testing even on lft for 90 days

@Watapalava

Concerned

Once you have done your first isolation you shouldn’t be testing even on lft for 90 days

That's not the advice at all - especially now you're allowed out of isolation if you test negative on day 6 and 7

It is still the advice

It’s been reported that you can use them to escape isolate but that it doesn’t overuse the rule of them not testing again in 90 days

Nhs and care home staff who are most likely to pass in covid are still told not to test with lft as is my workplace and we only received our updated gov advice yesterday (can’t say where I work but advice comes right from the top of government)

No lft or pcr following a recovery

@mamatro

I test positive on LFTs constantly! A few have been strong lines but majority faint. Always followed by a negative PCR. What am I supposed to do??????

This is my problem @mamatro. I have never had a negative LFT since August.

I also don't want to pass anything on to a vulnerable person, of whom I have several in my friendship group. I have never had any symptoms so should we just lie and say we have symptoms to get PCR to confirm we am not infectious? Or do we just never see anyone indoors again.

It's a nightmare.

@mamatro @ConcernedAuntie me too !

If you are constantly testing positive you simply have no choice but to only test if you have symptoms.

You presumably are seeing people indoors after a lateral flow anyway - you can't be doing pcrs (and isolating awaiting results) every single week anyway.

You can only do as much as is possible under the circumstances. Limiting socialising indoors probably should be on everyones radar anyway and its not forever.

If lft effectively don't work for you, theres not a lot you can do other than that.

@Watapalava

Concerned

Once you have done your first isolation you shouldn’t be testing even on lft for 90 days

But I have never had to do an "isolation" (apart from between the positive LFT until receiving results of negative PCR) because I have never had "confirmed" Covid by PCR.

We need to be moving to:

Get vaccinated.
If ill stay at home until you're better.

Job done.
It's over.