Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

The Covid case numbers are falling because we were told not to get a PCR anymore, right?

133 replies

Habbyhadno · 17/01/2022 23:30

Are the cases really falling off a cliff because we've been told to lateral flow and not go for a PCR and people aren't reporting the result?
Personally this weekend and today have been the worse I've experienced for Covid numbers, we all have it and 80% of our friends and their kids have it (not caught from each other as I haven't seen them for months). The school emailed today to say that it has been the worst day for Covid absences since the start of the pandemic.
Is this the case nationwide or are we just in a hot spot this week?

OP posts:
Giveaschitt · 18/01/2022 13:20

@RockinHorseShit

I was thinking this too. DH & 5 of his friends caught it & have just finished quarantine. No PCRs taken due to changed guidelines & there doesn't seem to be anything gathering up non PCR case for stats, unless he's missed something

So I agree

Yes, he did miss something - LFTs are still supposed to be reported - there's information in each pack of LFTs about how to do this, and they are included in the stats along with PCRs.
knittingaddict · 18/01/2022 13:32

@Blubells

3 children were sent home yesterday with symptoms. What on earth were those parents thinking?

Hopefully we can soon continue to send our kids to school and go to work despite having (mild) symptoms!

Hopefully yes.

If you had seen my grandson on Sunday you would have agreed that there was no way he was going to school on Monday. For some children it may be just a cold, for others it knocks them out completely.

Angrybird123 · 18/01/2022 13:32

presumably a lot of people won't report a positive LFT precisely because they don't want T&T on the phone. Not that they plan to break the rules necessarily but things have changed this far in, employers are less understanding, kids who are negative need to be got to school, possibly by the positive person, the country generally is less on "defcon 4" footing so its something to be dealt with within normal parameters of illness, as PP have said.

knittingaddict · 18/01/2022 13:35

If you have symptoms you are still required to get a PCR test. That hasn't changed. The guidelines are really opaque when you look at official sites. I think I could write a more understandable set of rules than the government have managed.

Moonbabysmum · 18/01/2022 13:43

In my area, v few over Christmas, but now we are absolutely riddled.

Bitbloweyoutthere · 18/01/2022 13:47

I didn't think you had to do a pcr if it was pretty clear you had cv.

The Covid case numbers are falling because we were told not to get a PCR anymore, right?
Blubells · 18/01/2022 13:48

For some children it may be just a cold, for others it knocks them out completely.

Yes, like with colds or the flu - some people will feel ill and need to stay at home for a couple of days.
But many people are well enough to continue going to school and work. We shouldn't force those to isolate who are well enough.

Blubells · 18/01/2022 13:49

If you have symptoms you are still required to get a PCR test. That hasn't changed.

I didn't think you did anymore...?

Bluebluemoon39 · 18/01/2022 13:54

If you had seen my grandson on Sunday you would have agreed that there was no way he was going to school on Monday. For some children it may be just a cold, for others it knocks them out completely.

Like any virus or cold.

In my area, v few over Christmas, but now we are absolutely riddled.

As we are always "riddled" in flu/cold season. December through February are peak infection times:

"Colds, flus and other respiratory illnesses are more common in colder months. People are indoors more often, allowing viruses to pass more easily from one person to another. And the cold, dry air may weaken resistance."

MsMartini · 18/01/2022 13:55

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/get-tested-for-coronavirus/
www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

If you have symptoms (the big three) - get a PCR
No symptoms - do an LFD

What has changed, as per that NHS page, is that a positive LFD now does not need PCR confirmation, for most people - the exceptions are clearly listed.

RockinHorseShit · 18/01/2022 14:19

Yes, he did miss something - LFTs are still supposed to be reported - there's information in each pack of LFTs about how to do this, and they are included in the stats along with PCRs.

Thank you, I've missed that too though it's been a hell of a 10days picking up the slack with him in quarantine & I was thrown into it whilst still recovering from gastritis & gout I'll get him to look at it & report it. Wishing this information was more obvious on the new guidelines though, as I'm guessing from his friends that a lot of us are missing this

Macaroni46 · 18/01/2022 14:27

But does any of this matter? I tested positive today and have no symptoms whatsoever. I only tested for my job. Now I'm stuck at home and my class have no teacher. All week.
All the kids who are positive are either symptom free or very minor. So why are we all hiding away, crippling the economy and damaging children's education.
Obviously we should test before visiting vulnerable people but other than that I think all the testing and isolating should stop.

DirtyDancing · 18/01/2022 14:31

Worth keeping and eye on ONS infection survey to dashboard cases. This is a better indicator with the drop in PCR. Cautiously good news, we see the trends match.

I have never attached anything MN so here goes...

The Covid case numbers are falling because we were told not to get a PCR anymore, right?
Bluebluemoon39 · 18/01/2022 14:33

But does any of this matter? I tested positive today and have no symptoms whatsoever. I only tested for my job. Now I'm stuck at home and my class have no teacher. All week.
All the kids who are positive are either symptom free or very minor. So why are we all hiding away, crippling the economy and damaging children's education.
Obviously we should test before visiting vulnerable people but other than that I think all the testing and isolating should stop.

It's beyond ridiculous. I think they'll get this wave out of the way then scrap it all. But they have to do it gently-gently. It's already started with the minimising isolation time. I believe they're going to start charging for LFT's too, so that'll stop a lot of unnecessary testing. Certainly my dc's haven't brought any home for a while after bringing them home nearly every week!

MargaretThursday · 18/01/2022 14:34

I did a pcr on Saturday 11th December, 12:00noon. Got the result the following Thursday morning. Longest I've ever had to wait for results.
Did another on 15th January, also a Saturday at 12:00noon. Got the results back early Sunday morning. The shortest (more than half the time of any other time) I've ever waited for results.

That makes me suspect there are notably fewer tests being done.

Bitbloweyoutthere · 18/01/2022 14:42

I don't think isolation is crippling the economy anymore, or that anyone's hiding away. Having our bills go up may cripple the economy, as so many of us will have no disposable income to spend.

Sunshinegirl82 · 18/01/2022 14:53

@MargaretThursday

I did a pcr on Saturday 11th December, 12:00noon. Got the result the following Thursday morning. Longest I've ever had to wait for results. Did another on 15th January, also a Saturday at 12:00noon. Got the results back early Sunday morning. The shortest (more than half the time of any other time) I've ever waited for results.

That makes me suspect there are notably fewer tests being done.

The data doesn't suggest there has been much of a drop off to me, we seem to back around the same levels as prior to the Christmas peak.
The Covid case numbers are falling because we were told not to get a PCR anymore, right?
Blubells · 18/01/2022 15:25

All the kids who are positive are either symptom free or very minor. So why are we all hiding away, crippling the economy and damaging children's education.

I agree and I expect testing and isolation to end soon.

Blubells · 18/01/2022 15:26

I don't think isolation is crippling the economy anymore,

It's certainly crippling education for our young people. It's also affecting many essential public services m.

Bitbloweyoutthere · 18/01/2022 16:00

A Conservative government has been crippling the education of our kids for years, but no one gave a fuck then.

Can't wait to see all this passion directed at making education better for all, when covid goes.

MargaretThursday · 18/01/2022 16:02

Just an interesting look at numbers on tests.
We could expect that lft tests and pcr tests to be going down in similar percentages.
Would lft tests go down quicker as people may have often gone straight to pcr if they had symptoms or thought for some reason they had contracted covid? Not sure.

So I've done a graph from 4th January:
lft only, lft plus +ve pcr, then those both added together, and pcr only tests.

Because of stopping people having to do pcr after a +ve lft, what we're really looking at is the pcr v lft only PLUS lft plus +ve pcr.

Pcr only tests are dropping quickly. But the total lft tests are not dropping anything like as fast.

If we look at pcr tests on 14th (when we can assume we'll have the majority back) v 4th January, they're at less than 20%. Even if I go back to 12th which should have pretty much every pcr test back, then it's 25%.

Compare to total lfts:
14th v 4th January just under 75%
12th v 4th January 65%.

The Covid case numbers are falling because we were told not to get a PCR anymore, right?
Original poster
Habbyhadno · 18/01/2022 17:52

So hang on, what are the rules? I thought it was:

If you have symptoms or not do a LFT, if it's positive you don't need to confirm with a PCR.

If you have symptoms and a negative LFT have a PCR

Is that not right? Do we all need to go and be PCRd as we all had symptoms before it was confirmed by LFT.

OP posts:
Siuan · 18/01/2022 18:23

@Habbyhadno

So hang on, what are the rules? I thought it was:

If you have symptoms or not do a LFT, if it's positive you don't need to confirm with a PCR.

If you have symptoms and a negative LFT have a PCR

Is that not right? Do we all need to go and be PCRd as we all had symptoms before it was confirmed by LFT.

No. LFTs are only if you have no symptoms. If positive no need to confirm with a PCR. If you have symptoms you do a PCR. "Symptoms" being the three original ones that no-one gets any more
Theunamedcat · 18/01/2022 19:13

@Blubells

If you have symptoms you are still required to get a PCR test. That hasn't changed.

I didn't think you did anymore...?

If you have a positive lfd no if you have symptoms yes
PennyRoyal · 18/01/2022 19:58

I have reported all my (negative) LFTs - it takes less than 2 minutes. I do 3 or 4 a week (visiting schools) and DD works in hospital so hers are mandatory to be reported. DH does them now and again (he still WFH). Surely if they're not reported, the positivity rates will be skewed.