All essential workers in England - and members of their household - are now eligible for coronavirus tests, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

FacesOfStone · Post by **FacesOfStone** » 23 Apr 2020, 19:52

The Goats Toe wrote:A guy in our office delivers to the new Covid testing facility and he got tested today. Hes perfectly fine and showing no symptoms at all, he was telling me this evening that it only takes abt 15minutes in total. But he has to register on a website and they will email him in the next 24 hours with his results. SO if he comes back as positive are we all to isolate for 14 days? plus everyone house/business he delivers to?

For anyone who has been in close contact, it absolutely should be 14 days isolation - that he is asymptomatic is irrelevant, this thing doesn’t need coughs and sneezes to spread. It would be a potentially fatal dereliction of duty not to isolate.

Post by **rogersh** » 23 Apr 2020, 19:58

LouBarlow wrote:Full list here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... ing-tested" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From that link;
"essential staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 essential services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors."

I trust the substantial amount of agency workers being employed will be included for testing.

frankieboy · Post by **frankieboy** » 23 Apr 2020, 20:04

From what I've read employers should have informed all of their staff today, my wife who works in retail and her friends who work different supermarkets have been informed via email and letters, looks like Royal Mail ignoring this and making up their own rules again.

Post by **wallop** » 23 Apr 2020, 20:18

A2B wrote:
frankieboy wrote:If I've heard it right on the news then we are on the list, Royal Mail will be cacking it right now because any person that is tested positive then they have to trace who they been in contact with, work wise and public wise, then all them people must isolate. This could mean whole offices closing down. I'll be on the website first thing tomorrow morning.
Didn't they stop the trace procedure a while back because it wasn't practical

The Govt briefing today said they were hiring 18,000 to continue contact tracing.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 23 Apr 2020, 20:35

mickeymacca wrote:Many of us who have partners working in the NHS risk taking them out of the frontline for 2 weeks if we get symptoms that might not be CV19 so this is a welcome development.

Okay I see where you're coming from however you're only going to get tested if you have flu like symptoms, a high temperature and a cough which means that although you don't have Covid-19 you do probably have a contagious respiratory infection so what do you and your partner do then?

There's also the fact that a positive result for COVID-19 with a nasal swab is far more reliable than a negative test. These tests are great at telling who has the virus but not that great at telling you who doesn't. That's why they're used to confirm a diagnosis, not to discount one.

Flashman_ · Post by **Flashman_** » 23 Apr 2020, 20:46

If you have symptoms the advise and in fact the mandatory thing to do is to isolate for at least 7 days. A test does not really change this, as the tests can produce a false negative fairly easily.

FacesOfStone · Post by **FacesOfStone** » 23 Apr 2020, 20:57

Flashman_ wrote:If you have symptoms the advise and in fact the mandatory thing to do is to isolate for at least 7 days. A test does not really change this, as the tests can produce a false negative fairly easily.

You’re right, but I have a feeling that employers won’t exactly operate in that spirit if an isolating employee returns a negative test. Similarly, there will be plenty of employees who pride themselves on working while half-dead who rock up to the office pale and perspiring before spending the day coughing all over the place, assuring colleagues that they’re fine because of the negative result.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:00

Isn't this really just a desperate attempt by Matt Hancock to reach his 100,000 tests a day by the end of April thing?

sindba · Post by **sindba** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:03

Woody Guthrie wrote:Isn't this really just a desperate attempt by Matt Hancock to reach his 100,000 tests a day by the end of April thing?

Yep. They'll have 100,000 a day registering on the website. Next press conference "we are arranging 100,000 per day as promised". Scam done.

mickeymacca · Post by **mickeymacca** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:35

Woody Guthrie wrote:
mickeymacca wrote:Many of us who have partners working in the NHS risk taking them out of the frontline for 2 weeks if we get symptoms that might not be CV19 so this is a welcome development.
Okay I see where you're coming from however you're only going to get tested if you have flu like symptoms, a high temperature and a cough which means that although you don't have Covid-19 you do probably have a contagious respiratory infection so what do you and your partner do then?

There's also the fact that a positive result for COVID-19 with a nasal swab is far more reliable than a negative test. These tests are great at telling who has the virus but not that great at telling you who doesn't. That's why they're used to confirm a diagnosis, not to discount one.

Well that well an truly f@cks my comment then. Although on your first point, there wouldn't necessarily be a 14 day absence from work by the more important key worker, although your second point ultimately supercedes that line of thinking, so as we were....

Post by **rambo1** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:36

themailman wrote:
mickeymacca wrote:
LouBarlow wrote:Full list here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... ing-tested" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I guess we come under the utilities, communication and financial staff heading.

Many of us who have partners working in the NHS risk taking them out of the frontline for 2 weeks if we get symptoms that might not be CV19 so this is a welcome development.
Exactly.
Although I don't fancy being the person who has to trace the contact that a postman has had with the public - even with the 2m rule.

Or contact with all their work colleagues, and therefore all their contacts........it could go on for ever.

Dorset Plodder · Post by **Dorset Plodder** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:54

My Missus was getting all excited, "Oh you'll be able to get one of those tests now"

I just told her, "I'll just wait until all the Doctors & Nurses have had theirs, and then if there's any left over I'll have one .... maybe"

As Woody says if it's trying to trace the spread/cause of CV19..... and it helps then fine .... but it's no silver bullet to solving it. And it wouldn't change my attitude .... Unless I was Positive. I already know the sypthoms,and I follow all the Guidelines.

sindba · Post by **sindba** » 23 Apr 2020, 22:07

Dorset Plodder wrote:My Missus was getting all excited, "Oh you'll be able to get one of those tests now" I just told her, "I'll just wait until all the Doctors & Nurses have had theirs, and then if there's any left over I'll have one .... maybe"

As Woody says if it's trying to trace the spread/cause of CV19..... and it helps then fine .... but it's no silver bullet to solving it. And it wouldn't change my attitude .... Unless I was Positive. I already know the sypthoms,and I follow all the Guidelines.

You work in Rotal Mail, how are you following all the guidlines?

No-one in RM is following all the guidlines apart from the managers who are safe at home.

Post by **aiden01** » 23 Apr 2020, 22:17

sindba wrote:
Dorset Plodder wrote:My Missus was getting all excited, "Oh you'll be able to get one of those tests now" I just told her, "I'll just wait until all the Doctors & Nurses have had theirs, and then if there's any left over I'll have one .... maybe"

As Woody says if it's trying to trace the spread/cause of CV19..... and it helps then fine .... but it's no silver bullet to solving it. And it wouldn't change my attitude .... Unless I was Positive. I already know the sypthoms,and I follow all the Guidelines.
You work in Rotal Mail, how are you following all the guidlines?

No-one in RM is following all the guidlines apart from the managers who are safe at home.

Surely all the managers arent at home wishful thinking job would be much better without them..

sindba · Post by **sindba** » 23 Apr 2020, 22:28

aiden01 wrote:
sindba wrote:
Dorset Plodder wrote:My Missus was getting all excited, "Oh you'll be able to get one of those tests now" I just told her, "I'll just wait until all the Doctors & Nurses have had theirs, and then if there's any left over I'll have one .... maybe"

As Woody says if it's trying to trace the spread/cause of CV19..... and it helps then fine .... but it's no silver bullet to solving it. And it wouldn't change my attitude .... Unless I was Positive. I already know the sypthoms,and I follow all the Guidelines.
You work in Rotal Mail, how are you following all the guidlines?

No-one in RM is following all the guidlines apart from the managers who are safe at home.
Surely all the managers arent at home wishful thinking job would be much better without them..

Not all, no. There are still enough of Rico's Oppengruppenfuhrers turning up to make sure we risk our lives for no good reason.

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