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Rapid Covid tests should not be used as a green light for those who test negative to abandon social distancing, warned a senior member of the NHS Test and Trace operation.
Susan Hopkins’ warning came after it was revealed that rapid response ‘lateral flow’ kits detected only five out of 10 people with coronavirus during mass testing in Liverpool.
Lateral flow tests are being implemented to allow students to return home at Christmas and for nursing home residents to receive visitors, and Boris Johnson suggested this week that there was “a real possibility” that they would allow events like weddings to be held. out in a more normal way. path.
But Dr. Hopkins, who is Test and Trace’s senior medical advisor, said it was vital to “resist” the message that a negative result meant that people could lower their guard and return to more normal social contacts.
Lateral flow tests, which can give a result in minutes, were helpful in quickly identifying and isolating asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers, he said. But they missed too many cases of infection for a negative test to be considered proof that a person is free of the disease.
“We have been very clear that this test finds people that we could not otherwise find,” Dr Hopkins told BBC Radio 4’s. Today.
“We are also very clear that until we have a much lower prevalence of disease in this country, we should not change our behaviors.
“Where we use this test is where people are already doing something. And this gives them additional information. What we are not saying at the moment is that we should publish everything. “
Dr. Hopkins said the NHS Test and Trace was not pushing for the tests to be used to allow people to have more social contact at events like weddings or sports games.
“We need to resist that until we have the prevalence in the community at a much lower level,” he said.
“Clearly, if we have the prevalence in the community to… where we were in the summer when there was a very small number of cases, then that’s what has the biggest impact on reducing disease transmission. These tests are a complement.
Dr. Hopkins also revealed that the NHS Test and Trace is considering asking all contacts of coronavirus carriers to have lateral flow tests as soon as they are identified, rather than waiting to see if they develop symptoms themselves.
She said the move could encourage more people to isolate themselves, after an investigation found that only 11 percent of close contacts who were told to quarantine actually do so.
Currently, people who test positive for the coronavirus are asked to list their recent close contacts, who are tracked and told to stay home and avoid social contact for 14 days.
But Dr. Hopkins said the low level of compliance was forcing officials to consider changing their methods.
“We have to find new ways to discuss this with people,” he said. “We have to find the cases, because we all know that we are much more likely to change our behavior if we know that we are positive.
“Testing people who are contacts, testing people who are in environments where we know there are many cases, will be the most effective way to get people to isolate themselves.”
When asked if testing all contacts was being considered, he replied, “That is definitely something that we are evaluating and testing at this time, to see if it is an effective way forward. We’re not there yet, but we’ll definitely work hard to see, now that we have these tests, if that’s something we can do. “
