A doctor has explained what to look out for and the tell-tale signs of a wrong Covid result. Scots are being encouraged to take lateral flow tests more regularly.
In Scotland, the Scottish Government are urging the public to take rapid lateral flow tests regularly, before meeting with other households or going to the shops.
In a bid to control the spread of the Omicron Covid variant, Scots have been asked to limit social contact as much as possible to only three households at a time.
Data from World Health Organisation states that from December 24, Lothians recorded 1,296 new Covid cases, making it a main hotspot in the whole Europe.
While more people are taking lateral flow tests, a London doctor as explained that a very faint line on a lateral flow test might be a sign of a wrong Covid result, the Daily Record reports.
Nathan, the London based medical professional posts under the Instagram name, expedition_doctor.
Recently he shared an image of a lateral flow test with an extremely faint line next to the ‘T’.
He reassured his followers and said that if this line appears after the 30 minute window, then it does not count as a positive test.
Nathan explained that the appearance of the line may have been caused by very weak contaminant, such as food or drinks.
But if the line appears within the half an hour window, then Scots should self-isolate and book a PCR test as soon as possible – which is the same for people with symptoms of the virus.
The doctor explained: “Essentially, if any line appears before the end of the interpretation window (check leaflet, usually this is 30 minutes), then this is a positive test and you must self-isolate and book a PCR.
“The picture above is my positive LFT from this morning, and I have confirmed Covid.
“However, if a line appears after the interpretation window then this does not count as a positive test.
“You do not need to isolate and you do not need to book a PCR.”
He added: “If a faintly positive line appears after the time window, the most likely cause ie either that there has been some contamination, or there are just incredibly low levels of the virus.
“If it is the latter, and obviously assuming you are asymptomatic at this point, then you are very unlikely to be a transmission risk anyways, and so it is of little significance.
“Therefore, the most sensible next step, in my opinion, is not to isolate unnecessarily (bad for mental health and work etc), and not to book a PCR (makes it harder for people who genuinely need them to get one), but to be extra careful with precautions (social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing), and to continue testing with LFTs as per NHS guidance.”
