Anyone that's taken a lateral flow test and has come back positive will know - all Covid lines aren't created equal. Some lines across the T section, which indicates if you have coronavirus or not, come back so faint you can barely see them, while others are even bigger and bolder than the line above it.
This can be quite confusing - does the boldness of the line actually have anything to do with your health? Does a fainter line mean you are less infectious? And does a bold line mean you are more infected than others?
Well the government has issued some guidance on what to do should you get a faint line, or one a lot stronger. According to the Gov.uk website, lateral flow tests can be less sensitive when a person has lower levels of the virus in their system.
Covid patients in city hospitals reachest highest point in a year- - read more here.
However, the Government guidance states that “… even faint lines, shows the test is positive”. It adds: “Result lines may appear smudged or faint, but they are still valid results and must be reported.”
So, if you do get a faint line, the bad news is that you do still have coronavirus - but you must still report it and you are advised to act accordingly.
Lateral flow tests are no longer free and provided by the Government - it was scrapped in England at the beginning of April, with the exception of some NHS workers, carers, prison workers and employees in high-risk domestic violence refuges. Around one in three people with the virus don’t show any symptoms at all, so can spread to others without knowing, according to NHS Inform.
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