My lateral flow is still positive on day 10? Anyone else?

[Labhra87]

Does this mean there's a chance I could still be infectious?

My symptoms started Wednesday 29th.
Took lateral flow on Thursday (didn't go anywhere in between) - positive

I haven't taken any more until today and didn't do PCR.

It's still positive.

Has this happened to anyone else and when did it finally go negative??

You can remain showing as positive on lft and pcr for up to 90 days which is why the guidance is not to test again in that period...also why this whol test on day 6 & 7 is batshit crazy!

You can leave isolation on day 10, positive or not so don't keep using tests!

After 10 days you aren’t infectious anymore so are free to leave isolation, the lft may just be picking up old virus.

You don't need to test on day 10, provided you don't still have symptoms you isolation is up. Is there a reason you are testing?

@Terminallysleepdeprived

You can remain showing as positive on lft and pcr for up to 90 days which is why the guidance is not to test again in that period...also why this whol test on day 6 & 7 is batshit crazy!

Although my DD tested negative on LFT Tuesday but started feeling rough later in the day. LFT was positive Weds - dark line. Went for PCR Thurs which came back as positive. She felt better yesterday and only a very faint line on LFT today. So very possible she'll be clear tomorrow (6 days after symptoms started)

I know I can leave isolation.

Tbh I don't do much anyway, so it'd be not much hardship to me to stay in another couple of days if I could be still infectious.

That's why I'm asking, sorry, I should've said that.

Is there a chance I could still be infectious??

@Mindymomo

After 10 days you aren’t infectious anymore so are free to leave isolation, the lft may just be picking up old virus.

This isn't quite right and depends if she still has a fever or feeling unwell. Then OP must still isolate as probably still infectious.

If you have a positive LFT and are symptom-free you can go out. Cough and loss of smell/taste doesn't matter after day 10 as they can last for a long time in some people.

@Terminallysleepdeprived

You can remain showing as positive on lft and pcr for up to 90 days which is why the guidance is not to test again in that period...also why this whol test on day 6 & 7 is batshit crazy!

It's not crazy, it's totally sensible. There's no need for isolating if you test negative on day 6/7. How can that be anything other than the way to go?

There's probably an outlying chance you are still infectious but most people won't be. You will not know for sure tbh

I don't feel ill at all anymore.

Still got phlegm a little, but it's like the 'after effects' I usually get after a virus iyswim.

I do still feel a bit hot in the afternoons but that could be hormonal. I don't trust my thermometer because it swings wildly from one second to the next.

My NHS trust has said that anyone testing positive between day 10 and 14 need to stay off work, so I would say that yes there is a possibility you might still be infectious. The official rules for the public, however, is that you can leave isolation after 10 days.

I tested positive up to and including day 11. Day 12 was negative so I’m sure it will disappear soon. I didn’t do a lot on that extra day, saw my sister but I told her it wasn’t negative yet and she was fine with it. It was so faint as well so definitely less viral load

My whole family caught covid over Christmas (woop woop). So 12 of us. Only one of us has so far been able to leave isolation earlier than 10 days, the rest of us have still been testing positive on and beyond day 10. I'm on day 14 of isolation as my daughter tested positive. She was day 7 yesterday, and still testing positive, so no early release for us. This is despite showing nil symptoms at all. My sister, who was quite poorly with it, left isolation on day 8 after 2 negative lfts. We all picked it up early, as we were testing every day after my niece tested positive on Christmas Day.

@ThirdTimeIucky

My whole family caught covid over Christmas (woop woop). So 12 of us. Only one of us has so far been able to leave isolation earlier than 10 days, the rest of us have still been testing positive on and beyond day 10. I'm on day 14 of isolation as my daughter tested positive. She was day 7 yesterday, and still testing positive, so no early release for us. This is despite showing nil symptoms at all. My sister, who was quite poorly with it, left isolation on day 8 after 2 negative lfts. We all picked it up early, as we were testing every day after my niece tested positive on Christmas Day.

But this shows no understanding of the rules at all! Why are you all still testing and isolating beyond the ten days if you are showing no symptoms?

No wonder there are no bloody LFTs available for people who actually need them!

You test positive on a LFT - you self-isolate. On Day 6 you LFT again. If negative, you LFT on Day 7. If negative, you can stop isolating on Day 8. If either of those tests are positive, you can’t.

On Day 11, if you have no symptoms other than a cough/loss of smell or taste, you are free to leave isolation. No further testing required.

You test positive on a LFT - you self-isolate. On Day 6 you LFT again. If negative, you LFT on Day 7. If negative, you can stop isolating on Day 8. If either of those tests are positive, you can’t

You can also test on the following 2 days to see if you are negative at that point and can release earlier than 10 days. You don't have to stop at day 7.

Once you get to the end of 10 days you don't need to test to be released

Yes of course it’s possible you are still infectious. The end of isolation after 10 days is just because most people are no longer infectious by then, not because nobody is. Isolation used to be 14 days so as to catch more of the people who were still infectious. That doesn’t mean you are obliged to take a day 10 lft, you can just stop isolating regardless at this stage - except you never took a pcr, so you don’t strictly have an official start or end date for your 10-day countdown, anyway, as the current rules still require you to do a confirmatory pcr if you get a positive lft (this will no longer be the case if you are asymptomatic as of Tuesday, but will still be required if symptomatic). All in all, you have complicated your life by taking a lft again after 10 days and by not doing a pcr.

I'm in the same situation and tested positive on the same day as you. I feel fine apart from feeling a bit bunged up. No temp or cough etc, I do get a bit tired around dinner time.

I only started testing again on day 6 in the hope it was negative and I could stop isolating early, instead the lines have been getting darker!

I was hoping to be back at work this week and one of the offices I go to ask everyone to do a lft each morning, I doubt they'll want me in if it's still showing positive even tho I'll be day 14 by then!

@Walkaround
I know I wasn't obliged to take a 10 day LFT.

To be honest, I knew I was supposed to get a PCR back at the start. The reason I didn't was that I was ok with doing the full 10 days isolation, and I'm in Scotland so at that point (before the rules changed) the DCs would also have to isolate as household contacts for 10 days because of my positive LFT, regardless. I can't drive and have mental health issues at the best of times, so tbh it was a hassle to get a PCR when I knew I'd isolate anyway.

It's not whether I can get out of isolation, it's whether I could still be infectious that I'd like to know, and if others had had positives after day 10.

I am going to do another LFT in a few hours, see what it says.

@LittleMissA
Oh no, that's crap for you that they are getting darker. After the positive test on the same day as you, I never did another until yesterday. I was disheartened when it was still positive (day 10 I think).

I never had many symptoms. A couple of days sore throat and rising temperature, then a day of chest tightness and congestion some chest pains, then a couple days of slight runny / blocked nose. After that the temperature mostly went and that was that. I do have catarrh a bit now and a cough from it. I never felt really ill or anything.

I hope you can go into your work.

OP stop wasting tests. You do not need to test.

I was the same as you, and have very vulnerable relatives so stayed away from them for four more days. I remembered in the very early days of Covid when isolation was cut down from 14 - 10 days the scientists were saying that it was OK because 99%(?) of people were not infectious after day 10, so most people would be fine, but I just didn't want to risk it. I still felt like sh*t too after 10 days, so it wasn't a hassle to stay in bed for 4 more days.

@Watapalava I'm not 'wasting' tests. Today is only the 3rd time I've tested. Also, we were nearly running out of NHS tests and the website was saying none available for ages, so I bought some even though I can ill afford it and something else will have to give in the budget. I'm on a very low income as disabled. So mind your own business.

@Notverygrownup Yeah I'd forgotten it used to be 14 days until someone said on here. My DS had covid back in late Nov / Early Dec 2020. He had pcr but lateral flows weren't a thing. I can't remember if it was 14 days then. I feel completely fine now.

Hhhmmm. I'm starting to panic a bit now as my BIL is still testing positive on day 12. He's due to fly to US on Tuesday (day 14). I don't think he'll get on his flight.

You need to take a PCR test to see if the CT level is over 30. If yes, then you are definitely not infectious and free to go.

Using LTR tests to determine end of quarantine is bonkers tbh. No wonder there are no more left.

@CupcakeTowers

You need to take a PCR test to see if the CT level is over 30. If yes, then you are definitely not infectious and free to go.

Using LTR tests to determine end of quarantine is bonkers tbh. No wonder there are no more left.

This would be a waste of a PCR as they would likely be told they are positive as it can pick up fragments of an old infection even when no longer contagious. Hence being told not to do a PCR within 90 days of a positive test unless you get new symptoms.

It's the government that's sanctioned the use of LFTs for shortening the isolation period so blame them not anyone using them