Testing suggests 3% of NHS hospital staff may be unknowingly infected with coronavirus.

[2greys]

Patients admitted to NHS hospitals are now routinely screened for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and isolated if necessary. But NHS workers, including patient-facing staff on the front line, such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, are tested and excluded from work only if they develop symptoms of the illness. Many of them, however, may show no symptoms at all even if infected, as a new study published in the journal eLife demonstrates.

cam.ac.uk/research/news/tes...

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I don't doubt it, all the more reason to stay put at home, stay safe and well everyone. Mind you they would be wearing masks if treating any one and from here on every one has to wear masks inside public places, assuming hospitals as well as supermarkets.

[Tugun]

Very interesting and helpful to know. Grateful thanks for all the information you send 2greys.

[Badbessie]

In reality these results should come as no surprise and highlight why NHS staff must be given priority over other workforces. Happily it does show the hospital's "Red & Green" policy is effective with nurses working in green zones showing 3 times less infection. There have been reports that in some areas that 3% of the population carry the virus. These hospital's work under a heavy viral load and if these results carry on thought-out the UK then it does show how effective PPE is in preventing spread to others as there as not clusters associated with individual hospital's.

[Tala1 in reply to Badbessie]

Interestingly in NZ we currently are investigating a cluster related to one hospital where the staff theoretically had full PPE but staff and patients have caught covid-19. Don't know if it's the way the PPE is worn or what yet.

[Badbessie in reply to Tala1]

There are different levels of PPE. Unless you have a full pressurised suit there are no guarantees that you cannot get infected. If I remember correctly the infamous N95 mask is only 95% effective. My brother wore full PPE for every shift and caught Covid. As he put it you can protect while at work. But when you finish work you can still catch it from the bus driver on the way home. My daughter along with 7 others caught it at the chemist where she works. They all wore PPE. Sadly they were all given equipment but no training on infection control. Part of my duties as a nurse was infection control I basically was the unit go too guy if we had a infected patient. I have nursed everything from a viral heamorragic fever to some quite nasty resistant bugs. There are protocols to follow and As I told many nurses you only need to make one mistake.

[Tala1 in reply to Badbessie]

Yes, makes sense. The official stance for the public in NZ is that mask wearing can give you a false sense of security and obviously needs to be used correctly. I guess it would be the same with nursing staff and full PPE.

[2greys in reply to Tala1]

My partner works in a nursing home and she tells me of other members of staff who cannot get to grips on the correct,safe, method with the removal of PPE.

[knitter]

I wonder what percentage of the general population have been infected in the past also, or are infected now and don’t know it .

Two of my daughters think they may have had Covid 19 but until a reliable antigen test is available they won’t know.

Both of them had a cough before the lockdown and couldn’t understand why they and a partner had chilblains later Now it’s been seen that others have had them too.

Covid 19 seems to manifest itself in many ways.

I have had a sore throat and headaches, hot flushes and weird sore knees , very painful to walk....but I always have a cough, throat mucus and hot flushes so I really don’t know. This was before testing was available.

I have been watching Hospital on tv, and was surprised how little PPE some of the staff were wearing in some areas , others were fully protected.