Who's done with routinely testing?

[LifesTooShortYOLO]

A lot of people I've spoken to lately have all said they are done with doing lateral flows twice a week and aren't testing anymore as life needs to get back to normal we can't test for ever.
I have to agree...
Last week we did a random lateral flow on DS 5 as we were aware the school had lots of kids with Covid and it came up positive. He is completely asymptomatic and we wouldn't have know he had it if we hadn't of tested.
It got me thinking, who are the mugs here the people testing and 'looking for something' that otherwise wouldn't be aware was there or the people who are not testing so long as they feel well and carrying on with their life. Ignorance is bliss they say.
I can bet a lot of parents aren't testing their kids at school if they appear well and I can't blame them.
So honestly, if you don't work in healthcare and have to test for your job are you routinely still testing with lateral flows if you feel well??

@Twiglets1

I’m done with it though would test if I felt unwell

It's not about you though, it's about who you are passing it onto, when you are asymptomatic or pre symptomatic

@Twiglets1

No more isolation for contacts if under 18 or fully jabbed if testing negative on LFT daily seems crazy! Our PCRs picked up infection 1-2 days before LFTs went positive.

Done with it here. Not testing anyone who is asymptomatic. Adult or child.

Will test if anyone has symptoms. Why look for something with no symptoms.

I got a little bit addicted to LFTing, nothing to do with covid, just the closest I come these days to peeing on a stick. I agree previous posters I'm gonna do what's legally required of me and nothing more. I'm not going looking for it anymore. I've got too much life to live that doesn't involve isolating!

Preach to someone else. I work in a school and about 50% of pupils say they don’t do flow tests so that’s on their parents isn’t it or as you might say on mumsnet dear parents

That was to @JugglingJanuary

I still routinely test twice a week, sometimes more often to tie in with social or other events.
I work in a school which = lots of germs everywhere - but I also have elderly parents who I don't want to kill, as well as friends with health issues.
I also do it to protect my self-employed friends' incomes... eg my hairdresser who couldn't work if she were to catch covid from me, our friends who run a cafe which would have to shut if they fall sick.
For me, testing helps me to do the things I need and want to do slightly more safely and with consideration for others.

Never done the twice weekly thing, not going to start now.

Used to be a teacher. Got sick from kids loads of times, including two horrendous bouts of norovirus, one of which landed me in hospital on a drip after collapsing at home at 6 weeks pregnant and having to crawl to my phone to call an ambulance. I think that's the only sickness absence in ten years of teaching where I wasn't required to send in cover work. The other bout of norovirus wiped out my entire department of teachers in one day. Getting ill at work is not unusual in teaching - I've known teachers be sick in the bin in the book cupboard and carry on with their lessons.

The idea that teachers must be protected from what is in most cases pretty similar to a nasty cold is a very new one.

@SirSamuelVimes

Never done the twice weekly thing, not going to start now.

Used to be a teacher. Got sick from kids loads of times, including two horrendous bouts of norovirus, one of which landed me in hospital on a drip after collapsing at home at 6 weeks pregnant and having to crawl to my phone to call an ambulance. I think that's the only sickness absence in ten years of teaching where I wasn't required to send in cover work. The other bout of norovirus wiped out my entire department of teachers in one day. Getting ill at work is not unusual in teaching - I've known teachers be sick in the bin in the book cupboard and carry on with their lessons.

The idea that teachers must be protected from what is in most cases pretty similar to a nasty cold is a very new one.

It’s not that teachers ‘must be protected’, it’s more that if too many school staff test positive and have to isolate then schools have to close.

Also, just because you were a martyr doesn’t mean everyone else has to be. I had covid last year and I’ve got it again now. The first time I had it, before vaccinations, there was no way I could have taught a class full of children. It was not a mild cold.

It's interesting to see the covid denier in the wild @elliehamster. If you're still about I wonder if you can explain why people catch colds (a virus) and how people were catching Covid before vaccination? And how under 12s have been catching it for the best part of 2 years?

@Sparklingbrook

Do you think that people who have not had Covid yet are more likely to be doing this? The ones that know what it entails should it be positive in terms of childcare etc are less willing. I don't have school age children and have to test twice a week for work. I had Covid in December and would really not like to do it again even though I'd have to. I can understand the not wanting to.

My son has had twice in five months so I don't think there is much immunity from catching it 🤷both times it was picked up randomly as we had LFT,s in the house ,.

I wasn't thinking of immunity TBH, I was thinking that they've done it once so wouldn't want to do any more LFTs if it would lead to them having to go through all that again. Especially if it meant losing pay So they'd just not bother which would be understandable.

Sorry if my first post wasn't too clear. I meant Do you think that people who have not had Covid yet are more likely to be doing this? as them not testing.

I wasn't a martyr, I was entirely normal for every school I was in. To be honest I was probably had more sick days than average. The ethos was always "unless you can't physically stand up, you drag yourself in - because that's what we do for the kids".

If the issue isn't the sickness, but the staffing problems caused by staff needing to isolate, then the solution is to remove the requirement to isolate.

The first time I had it, before vaccinations, there was no way I could have taught a class full of children.

That's the point of the vaccinations, then, isn't it? Now that you (and I) have had our three vaccines, it will be milder.

Not to mention that Omicron IS milder than the variants before the vaccinations.

@Oblomov22

Your thread doesn't make sense. You tested and you had it, so it's good you tested.

Is it though? She had to isolate when she was perfectly well enough to be at school... Yes, she may have passed it on when at school, but that's going to happen regardless!

I will continue. I work in a different school every day. Many are struggling with ill staff and loss of staff due to long COVID.

I'm positive now and have been so ill. If I carry on in schools positive how many other staff am I going to infect and cause to be ill.

@SirSamuelVimes

The first time I had it, before vaccinations, there was no way I could have taught a class full of children.

That's the point of the vaccinations, then, isn't it? Now that you (and I) have had our three vaccines, it will be milder.

I’ll tell that to my colleagues who have been too ill to work with it second time round and post vaccinations. Just because your school had a shitty attitude to the mental and physical health of their staff then don’t think every where else is the same.

We're not testing any more. We'll test if we're I'll but that's it.

I've never done regular testing, as in twice a week and neither has my school aged daughter. I'm certainly not starting now!

I do a test if I'm visiting vulnerable or anxious relatives.
I did a few tests this week because a friend of mine tested +ve on Monday after I saw her for a short time.

Dock do you know whether your child sits near a child with a still vulnerable household member?

I still do but it's because of my job. I'm all over the place- schools, clinics and home visits. Quite a few of the DC a I work with are vulnerable and not vaccinated so I do an LFT for the 3 days I work- takes no time at all. I know they aren't totally accurate but better than nothing.

I test every day I'm going to work. DS1 tests twice a week for school plus when he goes to work at the pub. DS2 (primary school) tests before playing sports as required by the club. But I appreciate we lucky in that we can WFH.

Just because your school had a shitty attitude to the mental and physical health of their staff then don’t think every where else is the same.

I worked in multiple schools, state and private, over 12 years. Maybe you teach primary and that's different? But in secondary nothing I'm describing was in any way out of the ordinary.

@SirSamuelVimes

Just because your school had a shitty attitude to the mental and physical health of their staff then don’t think every where else is the same.

I worked in multiple schools, state and private, over 12 years. Maybe you teach primary and that's different? But in secondary nothing I'm describing was in any way out of the ordinary.

What? Throw up quietly in a corner and then back to it?