Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

High cases, but not growing exponentially anymore. (Probably) there are enough vaxxed / with natural immunity from having had it to be at the herd immunity threshold. There aren't enough people to infect anymore.
End of summer, kids back to school, unis back - none of these have caused a significant spike. Maybe add the cold theory and it seems we are pretty much at the 'living with it' level.

I think you have to wait 28 days for the vaccine after symptoms/testing positive

Yes

so hope that PCR is clear.

Fairly unlikely so classmate will have to have a catch up appointment somewhere which at the moment there doesn't seem to be a system for (eg 12-15 can't use the central booking service).

The local public health people are running a webinar tomorrow evening. I could join and ask but I will probably not bother unless mine is LFT positive at that point.

Got my PCR back: negative. No idea what to think now.

Would the lost test from Friday have been positive?

Can I really have tested positive on two lateral flow tests but not have had it?

Maybe you fought it off really quickly?

Lie it cleared out in a few days as you were vaccinated?

All makes absolute sense. I'm still struggling to process all this being true with daily case numbers being so high, but with so many vaccinated and so many having had it then yes ultimately the virus is going to run out of people.

Not sure I can say that as I've been unwell since the 17th, but that means I'm allowed to stop self isolating from tomorrow so I suppose it makes sense in a way.

I'm not sure what the chances of actually being positive with two positive lateral flow tests and a negative PCR test. But I found I continued to test positive on a pcr test for a month after having it, it's just you aren't contagious.

Can still get it after vax or having had it before as you know. But it's less likely and also less transmissable once you have it. In January, this many daily cases would have been doubling every week or so. The extra exposure from schools back etc is roughly balanced by the immunity levels currently. It may remain balanced as we get into more wintery season (windows closed, people indoors etc) but I'd expect this level of cases will start to slowly drop now.
And also less bad, so the case numbers don't translate into hospitalisation (and serious illness/death) in the same way it did.

But I found I continued to test positive on a pcr test for a month after having it, it's just you aren't contagious.

Thanks to the ONS study they know that some people can continue to test positive on a PCR test for up to 90 days after having it.

It's why the gov.uk 'get a pcr test' website (https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test) says not to get a test if you've had a positive test recently:-

"
You should not use this service if you’ve received a positive PCR test result in the last 90 days, unless you develop any new symptoms.
"

The ONS study is partially responsible for this:-

https://www.ons.gov.uk/surveys/informationforhouseholdsandindividuals/householdandindividualsurveys/covid19infectionsurveycis/howyourresultswillbeused

"
From Wednesday 2 December the self-isolation regulations changed in England - see here - these now exempt participants of ethically approved coronavirus research (like this study) from multiple periods of self-isolation if they have repeated positive swab tests within three months (90 days) of their initial positive test.
"

We were worried that my daughter having tested positive would have to isolate for another 10 days when she was tested in subsequent months, but the above rules prevent that. In reality we just haven't had her tested the last two times, first one because I was unaware of the above, and the second time as she was out when the ONS people came round.

How does this work with travelling after an isolation but still testing positive?

Apparently the case rate for 10 to 14 year olds in Kettering is over 4,000 per 100k at the moment. And rising fast. Crazy!

Why Kettering? And will we see similar case rates in school kids everywhere?

Kettering = Corby in my mind.

Still some broad Scots accents in Corby, due to the steelworkers who were lured down south
in the '50s/'60s?
Assuming some went 'back home' to see extended family and ran into the surge in cases in Scotland.

Kettering = Corby in my mind.

They couldn't be more different at this point.

A friend who regularly travels to Germany and back says that the German border authority will take a "certificate of recovery" (e.g. positive test, recovered, and lasts for ~180 days) in preference to a pre-travel test and vaccination status.

I've been in a similar situation a couple of times. Positive LFT (but a faint line that some people would possibly ignore) followed up by negative PCR (and a negative LFT later the same day). 3 months later exactly the same thing happened again - so even if I did have Covid one of those times it seems at least one of them must have been a false positive (albeit the internet says this is a 1000/1 shot). No symptoms either time.

Also weirdly, a few of my other old LFT tests, that were definitely negative 30mins after doing the test, have a 'positive' line several hours later. My wife's never do this - and as far as I can tell this shouldn't really happen - but it might explain some of those 'positive' tests the press found lying around the tents at the summer festivals!

Given you can spook these tests with orange juice I'm wondering if I'm just abnormally acidic!

Hah, that's helpful, thanks. Was it just one LFT that was positive each time (3 months apart) for you?

Because I did another this morning and it's also positive! Line is faint but I'd be kidding myself if I said it's negative.

LFTs can develop a positive line later on, that's not that uncommon I think. That's why you're told to read them between 15 and 30 mins later and not to read them after half an hour. Although none of my negatives (or other half's) have done this.

I'm going to do another PCR as apparently that's the thing to do and that makes sense to me.

LFTs can develop a positive line later on, that's not that uncommon I think.

IME it depends on the make a bit. The Flowflex (NHS nose only) ones develop a faint line if left long enough, the older NHS throat and nose ones don't.

Still not found a box of the green ones.

@ Fox ^

Yes, just one positive LFT each time (3 months apart), the ones I did later in the day were all negative both times, as were the PCRs. No one else in my household has ever had anything resembling a faint line (even when checked retrospectively - but I've had about 3 of those too).

The only thing they had in common was they were both early in the day, pre-breakfast etc..

Hmm mine have been early in the day too...

But we've been doing LFTs twice a week (normally before breakfast) and I've never had a faint line before I got sick.

Daughter's school mate PCR has come back positive (confirmed to by her mum). Will school contact us? Will Test and Trace be in contact? Will anything happen?

place bets now!

Booked a flu jab at my local pharmacy. Did check whether I was taking it away from someone who needs it more than me (I don't get one automatically) but pharmacy are happy (to take my £20).

I had my company paid for flu jab at Boots this morning

3rd jab for me tomorrow.
Hoping to get flu sorted too.

didn't realise you were that old

:-)

he's not old. just fragile.