Gozit

I'm not worried about the actual test, I just don't want to self isolate for any reason, so I just won't ever get tested. I don't agree with the "positive until presumed negative" guilty until proven innocent trope.

Fingers crossed for a negative test result for you though

BristolUK

This seems a giant step on from your understandable irritations on the travel/isolation issues.

It sounds like even if you have symptoms you would avoid having a test because by avoiding the test you would still be free to pass it around.

Gozit

If I got tested every time I had symptoms I would have been in isolation since June since I have summer allergies.

If I was legitimately sick I would stay home until symptoms pass but I don't like the idea of public health officials being up my ass and "checking in" all the time, so yes i would avoid the test as much as I can.

Partially discharged

Your attitude strikes me as 'rules are for others'. I think you need to take more of a collective approach to all of this. Trumpistan may be more to your liking.

If you won't get tested because that may mean that if positive you would have to self isolate seems a rather poor approach to all of this.

Gozit

There is no 'rule' that if you experience symptoms you must get tested. If you experience certain symptoms you just aren't allowed to enter certain premises and i'm happy to abide by that.

It's not the issue of if the test was positive I would have to self isolate, it is the issue of in between the test being conducted and the results coming through you have to self-isolate regardless and that could be anywhere from 2-5 days.

I also just don't see the point when it's likely my seasonal allergies or any other regular sickness you would get pre-covid. The notion that any symptom can possibly be covid is ridiculous. Despite the covid-19 pandemic the answer to all sickness isn't "get tested for covid".

Atlantic Xpat

We had our 8 year old tested last week - she had a mild fever and some red marks on her fingers. Called 811 (Provincial Healthline), Got referred for a test at 4pm, result online 8AM next day & thankfully negative. (Red marks seemingly caused due to spending lots of time hanging on the edge of the swimming pool in preceding days!). Impressed by the speed of both accessing testing and getting results. Of course with 2 active cases in the entire province, test load is low at present. I imagine it would be rather different in a spike or second wave. Incidentally the 8 year old who was very calm about the whole thing ... "the test ticked daddy!".

scrubbedexpat091

I know some places in the US rather than have a nurse or healthcare worker stick it up the nose, they have you do it yourself, to be honest, I don't think I could have done it myself very easily or gone deep enough, I wonder if there is a difference in accuracy with the testing healthcare workers doing the test vs self administered.

BristolUK

The only DIY tests I heard about so far involved sticking it up the nose but only in the nose rather than further in.

Stumpylegs

I'm really struggling to get past the fact that these posts basically state "I'm exhibiting COVID symptoms, but don't actually know, so I'll perpetually kid myself that it isn't COVID unless I get really ill - possibly spreading it to hundreds of other people because I don't want to self isolate because self isolating is isn't what I want to do or agree with."

Personally if i felt under the weather with COVID symptoms - I'd either self isolate or get tested, isn't this how we shut this thing down? if no one who has it spreads it, it effectively dies out. Whilst your own individual actions probably have little to no effect on overall stats, and at worst you might spread it to a couple of folk. Everyone having that collective opinion and acting upon it just turns Canada into America.

If I was to take that approach to drink driving mildly above the limit, (given my alcohol tolerance and prior experience at fine motor skills whilst intoxicated, 99.9% chance I'd be fine, but could possibly kill or injure others) but I'm not complying with the laws, because I don't want to walk home I'd be an asshole if I wasn't OK, and its also against the law. - So I don't do it.

Danny B

I am lucky in that I rarely ever get sick. I may catch a cold once or twice a year and have a runny nose, but that's about it. I have only ever had the real flu once in my life and I was out for a week. I have never had a flu jab.

I know my body very well and if anything didn't feel right, I would immediately seek medical advice. I would hope that others do the same.

The thing that scares me the most about the COVID spread is the asymptomatic spreaders. You can't really blame them for not getting tested if they feel 100% fine. I don't know what measures can be put in place to prevent asymptomatic super spreaders until it is too late.

Siouxie

Just WOW. That's the most self centred attitude I have heard of late. Words fail me... or rather, I am so p'd off with that attitude that I daren't respond..

Exactly.

Paul_Shepherd

I had a test last week....I felt really rough, I had a banging headache, body aches and an elevated temperature, but no cough or breathing issues. I was doubtful it was covid, but you never know, this virus seems to be as individual to each person as their finger prints! Plus to return to work I would have needed a test anyway. So got test. it was negative, so looks like it was a normal bout of 'flu took me out for best part of a week though and I rarely get sick, not even colds....one may start, but never manifest itself....but I got took down this time, at least it wasn't covid, cant afford to quarratine for two weeks.... I guess I would have to find some way to work from home until quarantine had elapsed. Anyway feeling much better now!

Jerseygirl

perhaps the ‘snowflake generation’ should be called the ‘selfish generation’.

scrubbedexpat091

According to the sheet they handed out at the testing site, doesn't look like it's even 14 days of self isolation in BC if symptoms improve and its been at least 10 days.

The sheet says "After 10 days from onset of symptoms you may transition from self isolation to distancing if you have had no fever for 72 hours and symptoms have improved, coughing may persist for several weeks to months and does not mean the person is infectious and must self isolate."

Gozit

The difference is there are multiple alternatives to drink driving that are much safer and don't cause any inconvenience - hail a taxi, order an uber, call a friend for a ride home, call "keys please" or similar...they all cost a little money but are zero inconvenience to you. Before alot of those things came into place people were (unfortunately) ignoring drink driving laws too.

There is no alternative to self isolating if you have confirmed covid test or covid symptoms, and self isolating is just, well, inconvenient.

Asking someone to self isolate on the basis that they 'might' have covid is like asking someone to walk home in a pouring rainstorm because they had a sip of their spouse's beer at supper "just in case" they were over the drink drive limit, and took a breathalyser but that breathalyser would take 24-48 hours to actually spit out a result. That's my issue with the testing and then mandated self isolation until the results come back. There are tests where the results take 2-3 hours to come back so why not just use those?