Having a covid test

The gov site, where you can book a test explains what to do and how to do it.

Pleased you got a negative result, wonder what was wrong with you and how you caught it.

cornishpatsy

The gov site, where you can book a test explains what to do and how to do it.

Pleased you got a negative result, wonder what was wrong with you and how you caught it.

We hadn't caught it. We went because hubs felt shivery, shakey and tired and we were worried it could be 'it'. He was soon better

Also Cornishpatsy where we live in London, you don't have to book a test, you just turn up

We have to book a test here in Wales. hubby had one on Dec 7th th which came back positive on my birthday two days later. He stayed in the bedroom the whole time. I took trays of food/drinks/tablets etc up for him and left them on the landing. At no time did we meet, just speaking through the bedroom wall and on the phone, yet 1o days later I had a temp, had a test and was also positive. That's how virulent this virus is. I have to say that at the test centre everything was explained clearly to us -albeit through the car windows which were shut at all times

My son and daughter in law had test before Xmas that came back negative. We saw them two days later on Xmas day. Her father has tested positive so they got themselves retested. Positive this time. We are now awaiting our test results. All very worrying

Sunlover that's the problem isn't it. You can be clear at that moment in time but the following day be in contact someone else who has it

Overthehill, my son and daughter in law isolated after the first test till Xmas day. We just think it was too early in their infection to be picked up by first test. We are now just waiting to see if we have it. Feeling a bit under the weather so think we probably have. ???

I had a Covid test last month; again a DIY but there was someone there to talk me through every step

We hold too much faith in the Covid tests. Not only were they not designed to test for Covid-19, but they can be inaccurate and lead to false confidence. On the day and precise moment in time you take the test, you may well test negative and then pop to the supermarket on your way home and pick up Covid. So 24-48 hours later when you receive your negative test result, you trot off to see your friends/relatives believing you are Covid free, but in fact you could now be harbouring the virus after the supermarket visit. It is also known that there are numerous false positive results, so whilst I don’t mean to scaremonger, but merely to point out the obvious, I am trying to remind people ‘hands, face, space’ and if we don’t start to take this seriously, we will be living in hope for some time to come. I have watched my middle class, sensible neighbours all see their loved ones over Christmas/New Year despite being in Tier 4 and mixing with at least 3 other households. I’m exasperated with these Covidiots and want to ask them if they are immune and what is their secret if they are!

Sounds like my daughter - feeling generally unwell at christmas but negative test. I sympathise with the test paraphernalia as I did a survey one at home, and it was complicated enough in the quiet of my own home

This is pure gossip, but I’m quite cross with a neighbour.

They have always been extraordinarily social people, and it was obvious that they were going to struggle over the Christmas period in particular.

Well, they didn’t struggle very hard!

They picked mum up from Kent, one of the highest rates in the country, spending a couple of days there when doing so. They then saw their family of 9 children and grandchildren over Christmas.

Every single one of them had now been tested positive for covid.

I fervently hope that they didn’t spread it when going shopping, stopping to talk to neighbours, friends etc, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

I feel very cross! Hope they recover ok though, they are lovely people.

I’ve done a couple of self service tests now at the local drive through testing centre. We have to book but, being in a pretty rural area, we can go online to book and be there half an hour later. I found it all straightforward and the staff were very helpful. My main worry was that I wouldn’t hold the swab in the right place for long enough but the advisor said that as long as you are in the right general area it will pick up enough to do the test. Thankfully I’ve been negative twice and have also had to isolate twice - including all over Christmas.

I’d be very cross too. No wonder it keeps spreading so quickly. Not only do they have it but have probably infected others who have been far more cautious. Plus costing the nhs for the tests and maybe further treatment. No thought for others!

We have been part of the ONS survey for months and regularly get tested at home. We are given the equipment to do it ourselves and the surveyor asks us lots of questions each time. It forms part of the results they show on the gov.uk site and tv press calls. I just don’t understand the people who either disbelieve it’s real or think they are immune. One of our good friends is fighting for his life in hospital. Perhaps a disbeliever would like to swap places with him!

I was tested on 22 December - still have no result!! As it happens my initial symptoms cleared up very quickly but I am still none the wiser as to whether they were caused by Covid. I was under the impression that the test and trace system had improved but my experience certainly doesn’t bear that out.

If I felt unwell at all then i think i would self isolate for a couple of weeks anyway reguardless of result..

They were doing community testing here for asymptomatic people. Had no symptoms but a bit of a sore throat, and had followed all guidelines but thought I’d go just to be on the safe side. Shock horror an hour later I was told it was positive!!was advised to go for another test the same day. Exactly same test same procedures and got negative result 24hours later. Which one do I believe? Have no symptoms so happy with the negative-but now there is a positive result in the statistics. How many of these in the daily figures I wonder.

In the summer, our local paper reported 'new case in this area'. Then we were told it wasn't really a case, along with a confusing 'explanation' of why a person may test positive then negative because they don't really have covid.

I thought that it was like a pregnancy test - you could test negative but still be positive, but you couldnt test positive and actually be negative?

Another bit of anecdote.

Just come in from garden picking lettuce and my neighbour wished me Happy New Year from her window.

They decided not to go to London to see their family over Christmas, which appears to have been a family gathering.

Every single member has now got covid.

The new strain must be incredibly brilliant at infecting people, no wonder the government and NHS are panicking.

My daughter was feeling really ill just before Christmas and went for a test which came back negative. fortunately, because she was feeling so poorly she cancelled having her father who is in their bubble for Christmas day. As she continued to feel really ill she had another test which came back positive. She had suspected this all along. Apparently up to 20% of all negative tests are false negatives. Beware. This is all the more unfortunate as she has an underlying medical condition which makes her very vulnerable.

I have had 4 tests so far ... 2 we’re pretty operation tests both at regional testing centre where the test are done for you through the car window the other 2 I was contacted and asked to take part in survey and anyone from my household could join me. We went to another testing centre where we were given a testing kit and asked to park further on and do the tests ourselves. Found putting the swab down your own throat without gagging difficult to do as it is best to concentrate on your breathing, the nose swabbing is easy. The next one was at another regional testing centre and as we drove in they gave us a choice on DIY or someone else do it, we chose someone else’s fit was much easier. I was worried the one we did on ourselves was not done properly and may have given a false result. All 4 came back negative.

Sorry that should read “pre-operation” not pretty!

The Covid test is, at best, like an MOT, you can only really rely on it at the moment it is done but, even then, you are relying on the tester's observation skills and subjectivity. Then, on top of that, there is the window when people might have been exposed but their systems aren't showing the virus where the tests are being done, in the throat and nose. Some people will have had the virus for longer than they realise and may have got to the point where they aren't shedding it but the DNA is still there so they show up as Positive. All in all it is a minefield which means we have to be more vigilant than just relying on tests.