Close Contact - Can't Get LFDs

[Rockhopper81]

My cousin and his wife have 4 children (aged 4-14), so 6 in the household. Child number 3 has been identified as a close contact of a positive case, so he has been told the household now need to do LFDs for 7 days.

He went online to get the code to collect them, but none of the pharmacies near them have them in stock. He has 2 left at home allocated to him (has been performing then twice weekly for months - works in education), the older 2 children also have 2 each left (secondary age, also testing twice weekly for months). Clearly this is just about enough for them all to test tonight, but...

What is the protocol if they can't find anywhere with LFDs in stock? Do they have to isolate? Does child number 3 - who was the close contact - have to isolate, but the rest are okay to go to work/school?

I'm off to see if I can find somewhere with some in stock, but I'm not overly hopeful. Cousin popped out on lunch break and the person at the pharmacy had no clue what the protocol was if he couldn't get hold of them. I tried Google, but I think I'm searching the wrong thing, as I can't find an answer!

Any help would be gratefully received - thank you!

they dont have to do anything - the daily lft testing for contacts is advice only. Ive never done any and been a contact dozens of times.

Who told them the whole house? Only child 3 was the close contact.

The whole household of a close contact has to do daily LFTs? Wow, no wonder there are none to be found.

I'm surprised about the whole household having to do lfts. Who told him that? I don't think there has ever been testing of contacts if contacts.

there is advised testing of contacts only

Contacts don't have to do it so no restrictions if they dont

Contacts of cotacts are not affected i any way

@thewhatsit

The whole household of a close contact has to do daily LFTs? Wow, no wonder there are none to be found.

This is what I thought to be honest!

I was also surprised it was the whole household, as I thought it would just have been child 3. Not sure who he spoke to, he just called and asked if I'd try a couple more pharmacies to see if anyone had any as he had to go back into class.

I haven't found a pharmacy with any, unsurprisingly, but I did find someone more helpful in a pharmacy that's also a vaccination site who basically said to keep trying online, but if they can't be obtained, they can't be obtained.

I shall also remind him that it's guidance, so not statutory - as I say, half the household are testing twice a week anyway. I think he just wants to make sure he's doing as much as he can as he's around so many people in school.

Thanks for the replies! 😊

I’ve managed to get some delivered, but they seem to be taking 3/4 days to arrive. I am a on local Facebook groups where people have been helping others out when people need them.

Ok ordering them on the website is really hit and miss but after trying for two weeks I finally got some and it seems there are three times a day they get 'released' and snapped up, so I'd advise you to try at 7am and just after, 12 lunchtime and just after, and 4.00 and just after. There's a bot on twitter that alerts when they have them and combination of these two meant I finally got some within a day of using this system.
That was the day before yesterday and they arrived this morning. Here's the link to the twitter bot, according to whom there are some right now so try now!

twitter.com/LFT_alert

I would forget the whole household thing. They are unlikely to find enough test kits at short notice. If the child was the close contact I would try to get one box of 7 to cover them.

Try asking on the local Facebook group - there is usually someone who has a spare box they're willing to offer if all other avenues fail.