Lateral flow mass testing

[seedfut]

Hi all. we are to start weekly Lateral Flow testing this week and as I have had covid at the begining of the November i couldnt have the test as it is less than 90 days from being reported to track and trace. By 1 pm this afternoon this had changed by our BM to you can do the test and if it is positive then you need to have the PCR test to double check if I am still infectious. By 14:10 a NEW edict had come out for Further education that LFT is now a definitive, acceptable (60% accurate) test. Help. What do i do D for E basically shoulder shrugging and Meh. NHS not sure. If i do the test and come back positive on the LFT is that now definative or what?

[twiglets]

As it is voluntary you don't need to do it. You can explain that you will await 90 days then start which can't be far away? If you do it and it comes out positive, ring the number before submitting and see what they say- only ring if positive. If they tell you to go for a test then follow their directions- you can't be wrong then.

[Vera]

I think what Twiglets says is about right (for you) after 90 days start the testing if the BM comes at you for not testing then contact your union.

On the other hand take the test and get a free 10 days off? its up to you really.

[Nail]

There's nothing definitive that says you can't catch it again within 90 days is there? Surely it's your responsibility to be checked, if you can? Why wouldn't you?

[Taz]

There's nothing definitive that says you can't catch it again within 90 days is there? Surely it's your responsibility to be checked, if you can? Why wouldn't you?

My understanding is that regardless of whether you have it or not, whether you have any symptoms or not, you can still show as positive for up to 12 weeks later (90 days effectively).

Therefore if you have had a previous positive, then do one of these tests, then go for a proper test on the back of these (as they advise you should), then you will most likely return a positive test still. With that in mind you would then be taken out for another 10-14 days, come back, test again, and return another positive test.

That's why they advise you don't take one until 3 months after the first. Unless of course you have long covid or get it again, in which case who knows.

Whilst on this subject, we still haven't had our tests delivered yet. So much for starting them this week....

[Nail]

My understanding is that regardless of whether you have it or not, whether you have any symptoms or not, you can still show as positive for up to 12 weeks later (90 days effectively).

Therefore if you have had a previous positive, then do one of these tests, then go for a proper test on the back of these (as they advise you should), then you will most likely return a positive test still. With that in mind you would then be taken out for another 10-14 days, come back, test again, and return another positive test.

That's why they advise you don't take one until 3 months after the first. Unless of course you have long covid or get it again, in which case who knows.

Whilst on this subject, we still haven't had our tests delivered yet. So much for starting them this week....

Is it proven that if you show positive within those 90 days that you're not carrying it around being infectious?

Yes, I'm being deliberately contentious - I'm wondering if one of the contributing factors with this is that people do their 10 days of being ill but then carry it around again later. No one knows for 100% certainty that you're then 'clear' later. We've had a pupil test positive twice. Could have been a false positive but better to isolate him, surely? I've also had it and I'm not being dismissive or over dramatic either.

[Taz]

Is it proven that if you show positive within those 90 days that you're not carrying it around being infectious?

Yes, I'm being deliberately contentious - I'm wondering if one of the contributing factors with this is that people do their 10 days of being ill but then carry it around again later. No one knows for 100% certainty that you're then 'clear' later. We've had a pupil test positive twice. Could have been a false positive but better to isolate him, surely? I've also had it and I'm not being dismissive or over dramatic either.

I don't know, I'm just saying that if you've already had it, no matter how many tests you do in that period afterwards, the chances are you will still get positive results regardless of whether you're still a carrier or whether the virus is dormant.

Get what you're saying completely, and in truth I suppose the answer is who knows. I would like to say that the experts say you're fine after that period, but then it's evolving at such a pace who's to say that the new strain is also dormant in your system after 10 days?

We should have been more like New Zealand at the beginning. They're back to some form of normality now, whereas we're back at square one.

If they're absolutely sure that this virus is dead after 10 days, why not shut the country down and force House arrest for two weeks. Make sure the infrastructure is set up so that everyone has access to home deliveries (we still struggle to get one) and close the borders completely.

Despite the fact we are in another national lockdown, the traffic on the roads is not a lot of different to a normal work day around here.

There's also still plenty of people that couldn't care less, and we even have one parent that despite being given a mask by the school, will still only put it on after being asked to. Then one day last week she responded with "well I'm excempt anyway" despite having no proof of this. She then came in later that day wearing the mask.

So long as people like this are carrying on in this manner, we will never get a hold of this virus.

[steveg]

This is from the frequently asked questions document that was supplied to schools as part of this:

Should I still take part in the asymptomatic testing programme if I have
recently tested positive for COVID-19?

If staff have recently (within 90 days) tested positive for COVID-19, they are
likely to have developed some immunity. However, given the current
prevalence of the virus and the pressing need to reduce transmission, we
encourage staff to take an LFD test regardless of whether they have tested
positive previously as this is a good indicator of high viral load, and therefore
infectiousness. If staff have recently tested positive for COVID-19, they should
complete their period of isolation before returning to school or nursery and
resume twice-weekly testing. If symptoms (other than cough or a loss of, or
change in, normal sense of taste or smell) persist, this could be longer than
the normal 10-day self-isolation period for confirmed cases. This is described
in stay-at-home guidance for households with possible or confirmed
coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

[Nail]

I don't know, I'm just saying that if you've already had it, no matter how many tests you do in that period afterwards, the chances are you will still get positive results regardless of whether you're still a carrier or whether the virus is dormant.

Get what you're saying completely, and in truth I suppose the answer is who knows. I would like to say that the experts say you're fine after that period, but then it's evolving at such a pace who's to say that the new strain is also dormant in your system after 10 days?

We should have been more like New Zealand at the beginning. They're back to some form of normality now, whereas we're back at square one.

If they're absolutely sure that this virus is dead after 10 days, why not shut the country down and force House arrest for two weeks. Make sure the infrastructure is set up so that everyone has access to home deliveries (we still struggle to get one) and close the borders completely.

Despite the fact we are in another national lockdown, the traffic on the roads is not a lot of different to a normal work day around here.

There's also still plenty of people that couldn't care less, and we even have one parent that despite being given a mask by the school, will still only put it on after being asked to. Then one day last week she responded with "well I'm excempt anyway" despite having no proof of this. She then came in later that day wearing the mask.

So long as people like this are carrying on in this manner, we will never get a hold of this virus.

Agreed!

[NEITTech]

We were advised early on by the DfE to test everyone, including the 30+ members of staff who have tested positive in the last 90 days, because of the new variants. We still have to advise people who test positive on a lateral flow test to go for a proper test as confirmation but we do immediately act on the lateral flow results.

None of these people (including me) have tested positive again.
1 other person has tested positive on the lateral flow tests and this was confirmed with a lab test.

[Goode87]

We received our tests yesterday and we've been advised that if we've tested positive to not do the LFT for 90 days after.

[seedfut]

Update.
Tested and negative.
Just laughed though. A slip of paper fell out. I buy a lot of bits and bobs from china for fixing equipment, it looked like a "please leave positive feedback if you enjoyed our customer interfacing with you" note.
Made me and several other staff laugh.
The tests are manufactured there then?!