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REGULAR RAPID TESTING IS A KEY STEP TO STOPPING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19
AS WE follow the UK government’s roadmap out of the pandemic, regular rapid testing of people with no symptoms can help stop the spread of Covid-19 alongside the vaccine rollout, social distancing measures, masks and government guidelines.
Around one in three people with Covid-19 show no symptoms and could be spreading it without knowing.
Rapid Covid-19 tests show results within 30 minutes. Taking part in regular testing alongside other precautions shows you’re doing what you can to help protect your loved ones, customers, workmates, and friends. Testing twice a week if you don’t have symptoms will help stop the virus spreading as people who test positively will know they need to isolate.
The first rapid tests were taken in the UK in October 2020 and since then more than 58 million have been taken. Hundreds of thousands of cases among people with no symptoms have been found which would otherwise have been missed and would in turn have potentially spread the illness to many others.
Kim Tobin, 54, from Southend, Essex, had a positive Covid-19 test in January this year.
She took a Covid-19 test at her local community test site and was told she had tested positive. “I was so shocked, I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Apart from a slight sore throat, I had absolutely nothing wrong with me.”
After Kim’s rapid test, she self-isolated immediately and told her husband Phil, 55, and their children that they all needed to isolate too. Her daughter Eva also tested positive for the virus.
Everyone is being asked to test twice a week – the frequency of testing is important. Taking a test every three to four days is the best way to catch people who may have Covid-19 at the point it becomes highly infectious. If you take the tests further apart, you may miss the window of infection and be spreading the virus without knowing. (See infographic)
Her experience has encouraged her to take part in regular testing, which she hopes others will do too. “There’s a lot of people who could have no symptoms and if you don’t know, if you’re not feeling any of those symptoms, you would probably assume that you haven’t got it,” she explained. “I do think it’s important because we know how quickly it spreads just by one person having it and giving it to somebody else.”
Dr Farzana Hussain, GP at The Project Surgery and co-chair of the NHS Confederation National CD PCN Network, told Eastern Eye, “Covid home testing with the rapid Covid-19 test should be done twice a week so that we can help ourselves stay safe. Around one in three of us don’t show any symptoms when we have the virus.
“The test is very easy to do; you just have to swab the back of your throat and your nostrils. You get the results within 30 minutes in the comfort of your own home.
“I enjoy doing my test twice a week with my two teenagers and it has become a bit of family fun time! If we can test ourselves and our families for Covid, we can prevent the spread of this nasty virus and, hopefully, keep life moving.”
Claire Devy, 47, from Saddleworth, has regular coronavirus tests – and tested positive for the virus in December.
Her employers introduced regular testing in December and staff were given three months’ worth of rapid Covid-19 tests. They were asked to do them twice a week and log the results.
Although working from home as a health and wellbeing coordinator, Claire goes into office every 10 days. There are typically four people in the work environment at a time, so Claire emphasised the importance of the tests. “It was really important for me to do this,” Claire explained.
She took a test at the end of December and “thought she’d be fine” but was shocked to find out that her results had come back positive.
“I don’t know where I got it from. I thought I’d been careful,” she said. “I was the only person in the house who wasn’t going out – my two sons were going to college, my partner was going to work.”
When she tested positive with the rapid Covid-19 test, Claire booked in for a PCR test which confirmed the result. “With the restrictions that had come in December, I fortunately hadn’t seen anyone over Christmas and I was so glad – I’d have felt mortified if I’d given it to someone,” she said.
Her family, including her husband and twin sons, self-isolated. A few days later, one of her sons showed symptoms, but a test proved negative.
Dr Amir Khan, a GP, said: “Remember, around one in three people who have coronavirus do not have any symptoms, but could be spreading it to other people without knowing. Rapid testing is effective at detecting people who are infectious and helping us find Covid-19 cases that we otherwise would not know about, helping us in our efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
“Testing regularly, even when you do not have symptoms, means we can keep infection levels low and our country safe, and the good thing is they give you a result within 30 minutes!”
Anyone who tests positive should self-isolate immediately and visit nhs.uk/Get-Tested or call 119 to order a confirmatory PCR test.
A negative rapid test result is not a green light, no test is 100 per cent accurate and to further reduce the risk of onwards transmission people should still continue to follow the Hands, Face, Space, and Fresh Air rules.
Claire’s experience has made her realise the importance of regular testing. “I’d encourage others to do these tests,” she said. “It’s important so we can hopefully slow down the spread of Covid 19.”
Millions of people are already using regular rapid testing to help protect those around them. Everyone can now get free rapid Covid-19 tests twice a week. Tests are easy to do, and results come back within 30 minutes, so those who test positive can self-isolate immediately and avoid passing the virus on to others. n If you have no symptoms, get your free, rapid Covid-19 tests at nhs.uk/Get-Tested – or call 119, where there are over 200 different languages available.
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Free rapid tests are easy to get from local testing sites, at participating pharmacies and to order online at nhs.uk/Get-Tested. You can also call 119, where there are over 200 different languages available.
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It is important to report your results online straight away, even if it is negative or void. It’s easy to do at gov. uk/report-covid19-result or by calling 119. Recording all results helps us get a better understanding of the spread of the virus across the country. The results are anonymous. Scientists use the information to spot patterns and outbreaks more quickly and accurately; helping reduce the risk of future lockdowns.