Covid-19

[Pippedydeadeye]

T&T call you every five minutes* to remind you of your isolation period. Hope your FIL recovers soon.

*well day 3 and 7 so far and I’ve heard day 10 happens too.

I don’t think they ever had a PCR that they reported.

One is now coming in the post to them.

[Texaco Shirley]

On the left is Tuesday’s test, it took 20-25 minutes to get to this point, not very strong but definitely there (neg pcr same day). On the right is Friday’s which appeared the moment the fluid reached the T line (pos pcr same day).

[Disco]

Wow.

[Arrietty]

It’s quite surprising that you got a negative PCR the same day as the faint line. I got a positive PCR two days before I got my extremely faint line, and then only got symptoms the day after the faint line, so three days after the positive PCR. I do wonder if the dodgy PCR results that were reported nationally recently are still happening in some cases?

[Texaco Shirley]

I had negative LFTs in between those 2 so I have no idea.

[Dutchie]

That's actually quite worrying too, Tex. You were persistent because you were convinced something was up but how many people wouldn't get the negative PCR and throw themselves into crowds of people, falsely believing they couldn't infect anyone?

[overthehill]

They do say that while false negative LFTs are quite common, if used correctly, false positives are extremely rare. Interesting that the LFTs seem so much more sensitive in early Covid than the PCR test. Ireland is still resisting antigen testing. None of their latest guidelines re opening nightclubs, bar service, etc., make any sense whatsoever.

[Texaco Shirley]

I wonder if it could be anything to do with the style of swab and user error. They tell you not to touch your tongue with a throat swab or it could destroy the sample, maybe this is more critical with a low viral load? Lfts are nose only.

I heard the other day that Ireland are introducing lfts.

ETA oh, only if you’re a close contact. Not routine testing.

[Disco]

Monk was given LFTs from his employers - newer ones than we have at home but still the same as I've ordered from the gov - and they've not been very good as there isn't enough liquid or something. They don't show a result, I think the void line comes up. I don't know if it's just some batches but all his colleagues have experienced the same issues.

[Pippedydeadeye]

I’ve noticed there’s less solution in the tests recently. We have to keep binning them.

[Texaco Shirley]

We had a box where we couldn’t get the foil off the tubes.

[Chicky]

I’ve been struggling with the amount of liquid too, I’ve had to redo a number of them recently.

I do LFT with both nose and throat as per the booklet, are the newer ones just nose? I hate doing my throat :retch:

[Texaco Shirley]

Newer ones are just nose. You can do the older ones just nose too but I don’t know how much it affects the accuracy.

[Ruby]

There's different brands now. I've got a really good box, which is nose-only, has 20 tests in and has bottles of the buffer solution rather than those shit capsules. But it's running out and the next box is a different brand.

I am really annoyed with a friend of mine. As I was off school on Friday, she asked me to go for a coffee. When we got there, she told me her daughter had tested positive but I was already there and thought it would be fine as allegedly she'd already had it and we're both double-vaxxed etc. Anyway, now she has tested positive - turns out she hasn't had it before and she just thought she'd 'probably had it before testing'.

I'm really irritated and irritated with myself for not going home when she told me her daughter currently had Covid. My dad is meant to be coming for tea tonight and he still hasn't had his booster.

[sally maclennane]

Arghhh Ruby, that would really annoy me too. I has similar with a friend a few months ago when a group of us met up for drinks and she blithely announced that her son had tested positive but that she was double vaxxed and had had a negative PCR. I still didn't think she should have come along.

[Edith Bacon]

That’s so selfish and stupid.

[sally maclennane]

I meant to say, the LFTs I have done so far have all been nose and throat, I hate doing the throat ones as I always retch. I got a new pack the other day and noticed that it's different packaging so they may be nose-only.

I do them a couple of times a week as I'm in the office once or twice a week, and also because my mum is vulnerable.

[Ruby]

That’s so selfish and stupid.

I know, but I think people's sense of risk has been totally eroded. She's def a bit of a twat (she also isn't reporting her positive tests or getting a PCR because "what's the point?") but when kids are meant to be in school if someone tests positive at home, the messaging is so blurred. If you just 'advise' people to do something, it immediately gets stored in the "not important" section of their brain.

I've tested us all at home with LFTs now and I've been for a PCR myself. I've told my dad I'll see him when I get my test results back. Partner has cancelled a trip to his mother's. I got the message from my friend via a Facebook post whilst I was out getting N vaccinated. She'd tagged me in something to ask if I wanted a ticket because she now couldn't go as she was positive, I doubt she would have told me otherwise.

[Marth]

I think my mum has covid. It's that or the flu. Very hot, feverish, persistent cough, sleeping for hours, right through the day etc. She won't test though and I obviously can't make her and don't want to do a test on her. She's isolating anyway, and I've been down to throw food at her from a distance.

I've ordered some tests, hoping they are the new ones and going to see if I can get her to do one. I followed a link for the "orient gene" tests.

[Texaco Shirley]

If she’s isolating anyway there doesn’t seem to be much point upsetting her with a test. Hope she feels better soon.