Testing times - Covid in 2022

[Ella77]

Only for the very vulnerable, LM, not everybody unfortunately.

[overthehill]

I do think if you (one) are still testing positive, you (one) should stay at home.

I'm not taking the moral high ground, it's just how I feel and what I would do taking into account my situation . I may feel differently if I wasn't able to work from home and didn't get sick pay.

Was that to me or to Lily?

I absolutely agree. I wouldn't dream of going into work if there the positive line is still showing - we're too enclosed a space. But, based on the extreme faintness of the line, after a pretty strong positive on Sunday, I'm pretty sure I'll test negative on Friday - so ok to work on Saturday. If that's not the case, I'll be staying at home.

[Texaco Shirley]

Honestly, the low-level rage when I got the email .

I meant to say you have lovely handwriting

[Lily]

I have tested negative! Which means all my plans are back on. Rather hectic but I'm on the train to London. I hope you test negative soon OTH.

[Starry]

Thanks for that. I had no idea. On the other hand, I had a look and I think the reason you can get them is because you have children. The HSE site says you can order free tests for your child if there are cases of Covid in their class. Otherwise, they seem to only be available to healthcare workers.

They’ll send them out regardless. All they ask for is a name and address, I’ve had a few boxes sent out for me since they changed the antigen testing rules.

E still has no symptoms. H and I are still negative, for now.

[Hazey_Jane]

I thought it had gone away but my husband’s just getting over a bout of the Delta variant. He tested positive in November with no real symptoms but has described this second case as like a bad case of the flu

[Demelza]

We had notification of a positive test for D yesterday. We're part of the ONS survey so were all tested last Friday; Mr D and I were (and are still) negative.

D had a bad cold last Monday - tested negative, off school for a day but felt fine the following day and tested negative so went back to school. He's had no symptoms since. Mr D had the same sort of cold all last week but tested negative throughout. I'm assuming D picked it up from school as cases are still quite high there – it's a surprise that he hasn't caught it until now quite honestly.

[Lily]

How do we know which variant we have, nowadays?

My friend with cancer has it. So far he reports it is like a bad cold. I think the window was too long for me to give it to him, especially as he's been to Germany & back since I saw him. I don't know anyone who hasn't had it now.

[overthehill]

R and I are a disaster zone at the moment. R had got over his flu-like symptoms and I had done my 7 + 3 days isolation and was testing negative on Friday last week, so we went into the shop on Saturday. Our junior assistant (for want of a better term), A, only works 3 days, Tuesday to Thursday; and our manager, S, works Monday to Friday. R, S, and I were all in the shop on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, R was feeling too rough to get up for breakfast. I left him in bed and went into work with S and A. Unusually, for him, he didn't call me at all during the day and, when I got home, I found he hadn't got up or eaten anything all day. We did a couple of antigen tests. R's T line came up a bright red positive within, literally, seconds - before the C test line had even had time to develop properly! So, whatever he had had when we got back from the UK, it wasn't Covid. And he had been needlessly isolating with me for all that time.

I texted S to let her know, as they'd been working together on Monday and agreed that she should take Wednesday off (for A's sake) and test before coming in on Thursday. Needless to say, she tested positive and is now pretty miserable with painful sinuses, an upset stomach, and a hacking cough!

Meanwhile, almost as soon as I was over my symptom-free Covid, I came down with a filthy cold. The symptoms are coming and going. I took the day off on Friday and left the shop closed, thinking it was a holiday anyway. It was only when the courier rang to ask if we had anything for him to collect, I realised it wasn't. (A lot of businesses close anyway on Good Friday, so it wasn't the end of the world.) I was more or less ok yesterday, so opened up on my own. I was quick to mask up every time a customer appeared, explaining that I had a cold, and they were actually quite appreciative. This morning I woke feeling like shit. Luckily R seems to have recovered enough to operate the coffee machine and toaster.

They’ll send them out regardless. All they ask for is a name and address, I’ve had a few boxes sent out for me since they changed the antigen testing rules.

Thanks. I must try that. A box of 5 tests cost me €20!

[overthehill]

And I've just tested positive again ...

[H1ppychick]

I’m sorry, OTH, that is really unfortunate. I hope R is recovered enough to look after the pair of you.

In contrast I’ve also got a streaming cold but I’m testing negative.

At least it’s progressing fairly quickly, having announced itself on Saturday evening with a sore throat, that’s already gone and it’s now mainly in my nose. I’m hoping not to have to postpone the facial I’ve got booked for Wednesday evening.

[Princess Morripov]

On Friday our next door neighbour appeared whilst A was mowing, and I was outside with the boys getting some stuff ready for an Easter Egg hunt, and I said jokingly "oh you are more than welcome to pop by on Saturday if Easter Egg hunts are your thing" as a joke, and he just said "Oh, well I shouldn't even be out to be honest as I've got Covid" I MEAN WTAF? Luckily we were outside and all at quite a distance but he'd been stood there chatting to A for about 15 mins before he dropped that clanger. And he'd actively come to say hello (for no reason), it wasn't like we'd dropped by his house.

[Skips]

Two more people in our despatch office are off with covid after someone was positive last week and continued to come into work. I'm hoping as we are on a different floor we might escape the spread.

My mum also got it last week so I'm the last one standing in my family. She seems to be ok, although the eye she had her recent corneal transplant in is very bloodshot (she's had it checked and it seems to be ok and isn't being rejected).

[Epponnee Rae]

Preliminary data from the vaccine booster trial I’m in has been released https://investors.modernatx.com/news/ne ... fault.aspx

Which seems pretty positive! Also the US mask mandate for travel has been lifted. So can’t wait to get on my flight back tomorrow to really test that booster effectiveness…

[Ella77]

Would you not still wear one?

My SIL and BIL have both recently had Covid, which they caught on a short flight. Did they wear masks? Did they fuck.

[Epponnee Rae]

Oh I definitely will. But I’ll be more exposed at the airport and in flight when I’m eating and drinking (which I’m not going to forgo!)

ETA sorry about your B and SIL, hope at least they’re having a mild case.

[Ella77]

Oh, they’re fine, don’t you worry. They’re young and a bit cocky. Thank you, though .

[viggy]

I’m still short of breath and exhausted 2.5 months after catching Covid - I thought it might all be pregnancy related and just bad timing, but the GP confirmed that the shortness of breath is likely an after effect of covid.

There’s nothing to be done but keep my fingers crossed it eases

[Starry]

S was on a flight in the US when the flight crew announced the change. He said it was obnoxious.

I pinned H and swabbed him today before S gets home - he has to be tested for US travel on Saturday. He was distinctly unimpressed with the whole process.

[Ella77]

I heard about that. Imagine getting onto a flight on the understanding that everybody has to wear a mask, and then the pilot doing that. Total arsehole.