Get into the testing habit
TAKING RAPID TESTS AT HOME IS A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO HELP STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU Kim Tobin, from Southend, Essex, works in a supermarket and had a positive Covid-19 test in January 2021
More than half the adults in the UK have had at least one dose of Covid vaccination and lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease. But the virus is still out there and around a third of all the people who are infected do not show any symptoms.
Regular rapid testing is vital to break the chain of transmission – now all adults are advised to do two tests a week. Rapid testing kits are free and you can do them at home, with results appearing within just 30 minutes. If you test positive, you’ll be able to isolate straightaway rather than risk spreading Covid to others.
Millions of people have already made regular home testing part of their routine, as secondary school children and their parents have been able get free tests since February, but now everyone is encouraged to play their part. Every test helps to put your mind at rest and helps protect people around you as the country moves out of lockdown.
Even though you might have already had one or two doses of vaccine, there’s a chance you could still give Covid to someone else, as no vaccine is 100 per cent effective. So it’s vital to test twice weekly as well as continuing to follow social distancing guidance, washing hands, wearing a face covering and letting fresh air in.
Rapid Covid-19 tests are suitable if you have no symptoms of Covid (a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a change in your sense of smell or taste).
“Remember, around a third of people with coronavirus have no symptoms, but could be spreading it to others without knowing,” says GP Dr Amir Khan (pictured). “Rapid testing is effective at detecting people who are infectious and enabling us to find Covid-19 cases that we otherwise would not know about. This helps us in our efforts to stop the spread of the virus. Testing regularly even when you have no symptoms
means we can keep infection levels low and our country safe, and the good thing is they give a result within 30 minutes.”
And, as Dr Khan notes, the tests are very reliable if you do them correctly. “Testing ourselves for coronavirus using rapid Covid-19 tests is vital in keeping ourselves and others safe from coronavirus and keeping infection rates in our communities low. When done correctly, the tests are at least 99.9 per cent specific, which means the risk of false positives is extremely low – less than one in a thousand. This means it is a very good test.”
The more we can do to stop the spread, the more we can protect each other. You can order free packs of tests online – find out if you’re eligible and get more information at nhs.uk/get-tested or by calling 119.
‘The fact that I took the test could have saved lives’
Alex had no symptoms when he tested positive for Covid-19 back in February
Around a third of people with coronavirus show no symptoms, so can infect others without even knowing they’ve been ill. Rapid testing is a vital tool to make sure people know when to self isolate so they break the chain of transmission.
Alex, 29, from Hemel Hempstead, works for Jamvans, a removal company that provides Covid-19 tests for its employees. He was experiencing no symptoms at all when he tested positive for Covid.
“We move people’s homes on a daily basis, and also have a delivery contract with a local hospice – it has about 10 charity stores, and we help them move all the stock,” says Alex. “One morning before work I did a rapid Covid-19 test outside the hospice, then sat in my van waiting for the results. I’d done a few of these tests, and thought it would be fine as I didn’t have a single symptom – but then the test came back positive.”
“I spoke to the hospice on the phone from outside the building, and they told me I had to go for a PCR test. My company booked me in with a private firm and I went straight there. Our company policy is that we have to wear a mask in people’s houses and throughout our offices, and I stick to the guidelines as much as I can, so at first I thought the rapid flow test must be wrong. But within an hour, I was told I definitely had Covid. I couldn’t quite believe it.”
Alex was able to isolate straightaway, ensuring he wasn’t spreading Covid to any vulnerable people he came into contact with.
“I stopped working to self-isolate on full pay, and still didn’t develop any symptoms at all,” he says. “Without the test, I definitely would have carried on working, which is why it’s so important to have regular tests, even if you haven’t got any symptoms. I had the virus and I felt fine, but imagine if I’d given it to my parents, my grandparents or my colleagues?
“If I’m driving between 10 charity shops, with three or four people in each shop, I could have been quite a spreader. I would have put a lot of people at risk, who may not be as young and healthy as I am – you never know who you’re passing it on to. It might sound dramatic, but in my case, taking the test could have saved lives. I haven’t had the jab yet, but I will as soon as I can – and I’ll still be taking two tests a week.
‘All I had was a mild sore throat’
Routine rapid testing in the workplace helped Kim, 54, discover she had Covid, even though she was showing no symptoms. Without the test, she could have spread it to her workmates and customers.
“I had a very, very mild sore throat, just a little scratch and that was it,” she says. “I didn’t even think anything of it. I was all dressed for work, ready to go. Then
I went and had the test, and after 20 minutes the lady who had done it came up to me and said, ‘You need to go home right now because you’ve got it – you’ve tested positive.’ ”
Kim and her family immediately went into isolation and Kim’s daughter Eva also tested positive. Their cases were rela - tively mild, but Kim realises how fortunate it was that she found out she had Covid rather than spreading it.
“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 says.