No longer testing for CV.

I think you’re hospitalised when you start struggling for breath. The vast majority of people won’t need hospital care.

Maybe the government want to stop counting ordinary people.

Thanks for replies. I'll pass that on tickingbird. My son has asthma.

Oh never mind Anne, you are being a wet blanket and like Eeyore. That's what I have been told. Don't waste you time worrying it will deplete your seretonin. Thats another tip.

Instead enjoy Aldi, the empty streets and the cheap flights.

It is a waste of time and resources to test anyone with symptoms of cold, cough and fever. Most people with coronavirus will have a mild self limiting illness and get better. If someone is really unwell and struggling to breathe then they will need medical intervention. At this stage the diagnosis will probably be confirmed by testing.

I agree annepl people should be tested otherwise how do you know you've got it or when you've recovered whether you've had it? That could be important if you need to mix with older folk later on. It could be another virus you've had and then you get CV later and become infectious to the oldies. That has not been thought through and is not good enough.

I'd be interested to know whether 111 asked them their ages and whether they had any health issues.

As I've said above people need to know whether they've had corona virus or they could later become a threat to older folk. This is madness.

Where are we going to suddenly find all the scientists and laboratory workers, plus facilities, to test everyone who has symptoms which may or may not be COVID-19?

They are working flat out as it is.

I understand it requires a lot of staff, but if the vast majority usually test negative, a lot of people, whole families in some cases, are going to spend time at home in isolation for nothing, with a huge cost in SSP and staff shortages in workplaces. Not to mention the worry involved wondering have you got it, or passed it on to others. It doesn't make sense. In my opinion, but of course I'm no expert.
Perhaps things to could be explained better.

If a person tested negative on one particular day there is no saying that say two days later they may have a positive test.

Interesting article although haven't read it all yet. (A favourite programme awaits me!)

www.google.com/amp/s/fortune.com/2020/03/12/coronavirus-uk-response-boris-johnson/amp/

It has been changed to 1 week off for cold symptoms . I have worked throu a cold as I need the money. I did ring 111 who said it sounded like a normal cold

If the "powers that be" have no idea how many people are actually infected, how do they expect to make effective plans for reducing and/or controlling infection?

We mustn’t forget that the common cold and flu are also doing the rounds so it wouldn’t be possible to test everyone experiencing symptoms such as a cough and raised temperature.

I am sure the idea is for people to rely on their own common sense and judgement as to whether they are seriously ill enough to require medical intervention.

It has been stressed often enough that for the vast majority of people it is a mild short lived illness which also doesn’t require massive accumulations of toilet rolls!!

But I watched a news item on Tuesday which showed in some detail the different kinds of testing station. As far as I remember they concentrated on N Ireland where there was both a room you entered with a nurse in complete protective outfit who took swabs and possibly blood.

Then they showed a drive in testing station. The reporter drove up and while still sitting in his car, a medical assistant came out and took samples from his nose, mouth and throat. The piece then were on to talk about the time it took to get results, 5 hours in N Ireland, up to 10 days elsewhere.

This is like smoke and mirrors. So has this been abandoned now? Do this government know what they're doing?

If they don't test anyone except people who are hospitalised then the figures for how many have the virus are invalid. I have a cold, DD has a cold and 3yo DGD and 22 month old DGS have a cold. So how do you self isolate a mummy, granny and toddler? Does the toddler look after themselves for 7 days? Does the mummy isolate herself from the toddler for 7 days - who then looks after the toddler? The granny who also has to self isolate for 7 days? This is not very practical and what if they only have a common cold? DD work - why are you off sick with a cold? Why can't granny look after toddler as usual? Who can prove anything? DD waste of a SD great I need to be off non existent work for 7 days and no one can prove anything!

anne
I totally agree with your post at 20.42. Today my daughter has decided to self isolate one of her twins, and so she must stay at home as she doesn’t want us to have him. We’re in our 60s and have high blood pressure and I have asthma. The trouble is she’s a GP and so is her husband. She may be able to work from home taking telephone consultations, as may her husband who is also a GP. Difficult though with a toddler and a six year old under their feet. And then if the other twin starts to show symptoms???

Now if the twin with a cough could be tested, and if it’s not Coronavirus they wouldn’t have to make life so difficult for themselves. Tests should be available for anyone with symptoms in my opinion.

I will repeat that people need to know whether they've got corona virus. If they don't know then how can they inform others that they may be infected? The advice is to self isolate if you've been in contact with someone who's infected but you won't know who is or who has been infected! It's all totally bonkers.

Chestnut
I’m with you 100%. We need to be able to be tested if we have symptoms. We could self isolate for two weeks, and all we’d had was a cold. We need to know.

Exactly, everyone. I think we've stopped testing here in NI too. I know testing costs, but surely not testing costs more.
Hopefully we'll get some clarification.

Now that the virus has a hold, there is little point wasting resources testing. It is said that many people have no symptoms anyway so, unless every single person were tested, the results would not be completely valid. The symptoms of Coronavirus are readily available and it is easy to compare with symptoms of flu and a common cold. If not sure, why take the chance of infecting other people by not self isolating?

On another forum a father has been advised to stay away from his daughter as she has suspected CV. She's 4! He has chosen to ignore the advice. I think that by not testing they will be able to reduce the numbers. If you never get confirmation you won't know whether you have immunity. If you do actually get immunity that is

The World Health Organisation has just slammed the UK for stopping testing! Every country should find and test every possible case. They should be isolated, tested and treated to limit the spread of the disease. I'm glad they agree with me!