Coronavirus Disease Outbreak COVID-19 #79

[jazyblu]

The payment incentive they gave to travellers needing to quarantine didn't work, many people didn't even get the payment, so there's no guarantee they'll get this payment.
How do they police that people will still isolate? They can't and won't, leaving this incentive open to abuse.
For blatant rule breakers they get a £200 FPN, but whilst breaking the rules and possibly catching covid they get £500 towards that fine now.
Over 3 million people haven't had any financial support through this, that money could be helping them!
Most importantly, where the bloody hell is this money coming from?!

I don't really see why every single policy needs to be picked apart because "what about X". If other financial help is needed for other groups that is a valid but separate conversation.

Right now one of our biggest problems is people with symptoms not getting tested and not isolating. In order to stop the spread and allow a return to normality that is what needs to be addressed.
Ultimately if everyone who had symptoms properly isolated in the first place we probably never would have needed a third lockdown because the R number would be kept low if people couldn't spread it about a lot.

Read beyond the headline of the article you posted and it will tell you exactly why this is needed.

only 17% of people with symptoms are coming forward for testing, while just one-in-four comply with rules to self-isolate for 10 days after testing positive

If 75% of people are not self isolating you are never going to get a handle on this. Ultimately the biggest factor in the way of people self isolating for the full working 2 weeks is financial, address that and you go a long way towards addressing the problem.

If that stat was reversed and only 1 in 4 didn't self isolate after testing positive as opposed to 3 in 4 then we probably wouldn't need these restrictions for everyone else.

 

[wizardora]

It changed to 10 days because you told the app you had symptoms by you ordering a test.

If you have the main symptoms of covid you should isolate for 10 days even if your test is negative.

I don’t think so? If the initial 5 days of isolation is up today, it’s changed to 10 days because of a symptom but if negative no isolation needed. Even if it’s a ‘main symptom’.

 

[SarahGard83]

Boris bingo tonight at 5pm. Let's see how many times he can say alas

 

[Saddlesoap]

I voted staying in the UK.
We have a holiday booked in July, but I do not expect to go on it. I've moved another one 3 times - finally to March 2022, so I'm concentrating on that now.
Will hopefully manage a few smaller breaks away, but really depends when I get my vaccine. Really hoping it's not too late in summer. My husband is extremely vulnerable and my work leaves me exposed due to the nature of working very closely with my colleagues (our faces can be within a foot of each other) and face to face with the public.

 

[Tublet83]

Boris bingo tonight at 5pm. Let's see how many times he can say alas

He does this every Friday and I worry he’s going to to ban my Friday night takeaway

 

[Doc]

Sorry for quick change of topic but I just wanted to ask a wide spread of people... if you take a test and it comes back inconclusive, does that mean a likely positive?

 

[Saddlesoap]

My 5th day is up today, when i started with the taste thing i updated the app and ordered a test and then it changed to isolate for 10 days. Would i still have to see the 10 days out even if negative?

I don't think so.

I think when you update your app with the test result it will update your isolation period.

Sorry for quick change of topic but I just wanted to ask a wide spread of people... if you take a test and it comes back inconclusive, does that mean a likely positive?

No it means inconclusive. I'm not sure how they run the test, but you should still consider yourself potentially positive and retest.

ETA Could be inconclusive for a number of reasond. Poor sample, not processed fast enough, user error.

 

[Pixipoppy]

I had my jab yesterday after much deliberation!

Happy to report my only side effect so far is a very sore arm. So fingers crossed that’s the worst of it.

 

[rivermonster]

Back to holidays - looks like there will be no Spanish holidays this Summer. This applies to tourists from other Countries, not just Brits.

Brits won't be allowed into Spain until end of summer, country's PM warns

Pedro Sanchez said he did no't expect to be welcoming tourists back until most of the population had been vaccinated

www.chroniclelive.co.uk

 

[Doc]

No it means inconclusive. I'm not sure how they run the test, but you should still consider yourself potentially positive and retest.

ETA Could be inconclusive for a number of reasond. Poor sample, not processed fast enough, user error.

It’s not me but someone that could have a knock on effect of a vulnerable person in my bubble, I wasn’t sure how alarmed I should feel. Thanks for the info

 

[bellinibobble]

Back to holidays - looks like there will be no Spanish holidays this Summer. This applies to tourists from other Countries, not just Brits.

Brits won't be allowed into Spain until end of summer, country's PM warns

Pedro Sanchez said he did no't expect to be welcoming tourists back until most of the population had been vaccinated

www.chroniclelive.co.uk

I’m surprised by this, as it seems quite early to be making such a big decision! Their tourism, aviation industry etc will be looking for huge bailouts surely?

 

[Happy Lady]

Sorry for quick change of topic but I just wanted to ask a wide spread of people... if you take a test and it comes back inconclusive, does that mean a likely positive?

No @Doc it doesn't. My daughter had an inconclusive result so took another test and she was negative. Good luck.

 

[Beckyboo85]

The other problem is the list of symptoms is too few. The majority of people I know who has had a positive test have had more cold/flu symptoms. If they hadn’t have been tested via work they’d have gone about their business thinking they just had a bug.

Also, community testing for asymptotic cases is vital as in Liverpool. Why isn’t that being rolled out more? I know it’s difficult finding the money and resource to do everything but we don’t seem to move with the times at all.

 

[YouDoYouHun]

What do we think Boris announcement will be about today?

 

[HoGi]

The other problem is the list of symptoms is too few. The majority of people I know who has had a positive test have had more cold/flu symptoms. If they hadn’t have been tested via work they’d have gone about their business thinking they just had a bug.

Also, community testing for asymptotic cases is vital as in Liverpool. Why isn’t that being rolled out more? I know it’s difficult finding the money and resource to do everything but we don’t seem to move with the times at all.

Pretty much every town in Essex has a place you can get a test if you're asymptomatic

 

[Whitelilac]

When we tested positive the track & trace people told me about the £500 payment which people can currently apply for. We didn't need it so didn't apply. They rang me 3 times and my husband twice during our isolation period to check that we were isolating and we were. But they rang us both on our mobile phones instead of the landline so we could have been anywhere. The whole system relies on people playing fair and doing the right thing.
A guaranteed £500 payment still doesn't mean that people will isolate properly, I can see it being abused by people who have absolutely no intention of following the rules.

 

[Tublet83]

The other problem is the list of symptoms is too few. The majority of people I know who has had a positive test have had more cold/flu symptoms. If they hadn’t have been tested via work they’d have gone about their business thinking they just had a bug.

Also, community testing for asymptotic cases is vital as in Liverpool. Why isn’t that being rolled out more? I know it’s difficult finding the money and resource to do everything but we don’t seem to move with the times at all.

Depends on how your public health team are rolling them out. Ours is using them with private carers/manufacturing etc those who can’t work from and it’s difficult to social distance

 

[Skyeball]

Yes, my stepdad was very ill in 2019 with a cough, fever, etc. They did a load of blood work and they said he had a virus but didn't know what it was. Then in Nov 2019, my mum was quite ill too, just thought it was the flu but it lingered for ages.

I was the same between Oct and Dec 2019, ended up on prednisolone because I genuinely couldn't breathe.
I have medical problems, but have never had a chest infection in my life so I was baffled as to why I had this, and why it wasn't getting better.
GP told me there was some sort of superbug doing the rounds because lots of people in the area where requiring steroids when they had previously had healthy lungs.
Unfortunately though, the antibody test I had in the summer was negative. So if I had already had a variant of Covid19 in 2019, I am not immune from a second dose of it.
I find that quite scary.

 

[Renata]

I don't think so.

I think when you update your app with the test result it will update your isolation period.



No it means inconclusive. I'm not sure how they run the test, but you should still consider yourself potentially positive and retest.

ETA Could be inconclusive for a number of reasond. Poor sample, not processed fast enough, user error.

It could be inconclusive because of the way the testing is done. A documentary on testing (undercover) showed that the staff couldn’t care less and were not motivated.

What do we think Boris announcement will be about today?

Keeping us locked up until Easter.

 

[JoeBloggs]

I don’t think so? If the initial 5 days of isolation is up today, it’s changed to 10 days because of a symptom but if negative no isolation needed. Even if it’s a ‘main symptom’.

The OP should be able to log the result on the app and then the app will say what to do. I understood that regardless of a test result if you have symptoms or have been in contact with someone positive you have to isolate as you could become positive at any point?

Sorry for quick change of topic but I just wanted to ask a wide spread of people... if you take a test and it comes back inconclusive, does that mean a likely positive?

Not at all. It basically means your test was useless and you need to test again.