Should we get PCR?

[purpleme12]

My child was poorly yesterday so off school. Negative left in morning then later tested positive on LFT.
So I did one too and mine is showing positive too now
Should we get a PCR too?
Are these accurate enough?
I've heard of people getting false positives before on LFTs

If you’ve both had a positive LFT you do not need to do a PCR.

Don't need to follow up on PCR now

Follow the guidance. What do you think the chances of both you and your child getting false positives are?

Actually it depends on what 'poorly' means. You are supposed to PCR is you have the symptoms.

Don't need PCR but you need to record your positive LFT.

They won’t be false positives, the guidance is anyone with symptoms should get a pcr. Lft are not for folks with symptoms. So your child needs one, you don’t.

You need PCRs because your DC has symptoms.

Its so confusing now isnt it, PCR if you have symptoms but im not sure what the 'symptoms' are meant to be. In my area positive rates have dropped by 50%, but I doubt that very much, just about every person I know, including work have got, or had in the last couple of weeks covid.
I imagine people arent reprting positive LFT or ordering PCR anymore.
All this of course makes Boris look very good - effectivley my decision making has beaten covid.

The guidance exists because the feeling is that with Omicron so widespread and infectious if you have a positive LFT you have Covid.

So yes you have covid! But if your child is poorly with a cough or a temp you can get a PCR.

Or you can log your positive LFTs and then isolate etc as if it was a PCR

Its so confusing now isnt it, PCR if you have symptoms but im not sure what the 'symptoms' are meant to be.

I'm not sure I believe there is a single person in the UK that doesn't know the symptoms that dictate a PCR. They have been the same three for a very very long time now. How can it possibly be confusing?

@ShinyHappyPoster

You need PCRs because your DC has symptoms.

Not in England. You only need a pcr if you yourself have symptoms (I’m assuming the op is fully vaxxed).

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/test-results/positive-test-result/

This is help from public health England…

2.PCR tests are still essential for people with symptoms

We are not discouraging people who need them to get a PCR test. If you develop any of the main symptoms of COVID-19 (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or you’ve lost your sense of smell or taste or they’ve changed) you should still get a PCR test immediately, rather than a rapid lateral flow test.

If you have received a positive lateral flow test result but have no symptoms, then develop symptoms while you are isolating, it is not necessary to confirm your positive result with a follow up PCR. Your positive lateral flow test result means it is very likely you have the virus.

But if your symptoms are getting worse and you are concerned you should seek medical attention.

ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2022/01/11/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-recent-changes-to-testing/

No, neither of you do a PCR. Currently, a positive on an LFT is sufficient confirmation. There is always a very small possibility of a false positive, but when infection rates are high (and even more so when you have symptoms) the chances are negligible and it is not worth the cost of doing a PCR to confirm. You should both follow the self-isolation rules from now on.

People saying that with symptoms you need to have a PCR are incorrect. If you have symptoms, you are supposed to do a PCR straight away and skip the LFT. Or possibly do an LFT and if it is negative then confirm with a PCR. This is because the rate of false positives with an LFT is high (and if the infection rate is high and you have symptoms, it is particularly likely). There is a very specific list that needs to do a PCR even if the LFT is positive. This includes people who want to claim for self-isolation payments, people returning to the UK, people taking part in a trial, and the clinically vulnerable who are eligible for some new treatment (can't remember details...). May be another group but I can't remember! It doesn't include having symptoms!!!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51943612
www.gov.uk/government/news/people-with-a-positive-lateral-flow-test-no-longer-required-to-take-confirmatory-pcr-test

People saying that with symptoms you need to have a PCR are incorrect. you are supposed to do a PCR straight away and skip the LFT. Or possibly do an LFT and if it is negative then confirm with a PCR.

No. You are supposed to PCR: you don't need to internet that to mean skip the LFT because that's not what the guidance says. It says if you have any of the main 3 symptoms you do a PCR.

OP has not confirmed what 'poorly' means though so we don't actually know if the child needs a PCR

[quote irregularegular]www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51943612
www.gov.uk/government/news/people-with-a-positive-lateral-flow-test-no-longer-required-to-take-confirmatory-pcr-test[/quote]

Read your own link

Anyone who has one of the core symptoms of COVID-19 – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – should self-isolate and take a PCR test.

That should be the first step @elelel

If you’ve not followed that but done a lateral flow test instead, you don’t then need to follow that up with a pcr to confirm it’s positive.

It’s pretty clear from looking at the guidance as a whole that PHE don’t want people with symptoms doing lateral flows and deciding because they’re negative, they don’t have covid. That’s why the rules that if you have one of the three key symptoms you need to pcr and isolate is still there.

It doesn’t mean that if you test positive on a lateral flow but have symptoms you must also get a pcr. That’s essentially dealt with in the link I posted earlier. This is the relevant part.

If you have received a positive lateral flow test result but have no symptoms, then develop symptoms while you are isolating, it is not necessary to confirm your positive result with a follow up PCR. Your positive lateral flow test result means it is very likely you have the virus.

Her head hurt and she felt sick yesterday morning but I believe it was more the head
You could tell she wasn't right

I haven't seen her since then. She's with someone else as at that point the LFT was negative

So no pcr needed for either of you.

Hope she’s feeling better soon and you stay asymptomatic.

You are only supposed to have a pcr test if you have symptoms and have not done (or do not have any) lft test.
As you've both done lft, that's all you need to do.

OK, sorry, that wasn't the clearest link (I think I muddled it with one which was a bit clearer.... ) And I can see why people are misinterpreting it. Try this. Particularly the part in the yellow box!

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

There is no need for PCR it positive LFT.

We have also had contact from Track & Trace after positive LFT.