COVID tests for employees

[Scotty]

sorry if this has been said before ,
Has anyone started buying and testing there own staff? if so where have you bought it ? how much?
I notice the NFU has pushed for testing for farmworkers , how will/is this working in Scotland?
We have a number of temporary workers about to arrive for lambing/calving/seeding , they stay on site.
We also have a core staff that has been sensible and stayed healthy for the last 12 mths
I'm thinking that it would be sensible to test them on there way in as a precaution and to offer piece of mind to the core employees.
A breakdown of COVID at this point in the year would be a nightmare.
The business wouldn't be able to achieve the spring workload with out the additional staff.
KR

 

[bobk]

sorry if this has been said before ,
Has anyone started buying and testing there own staff? if so where have you bought it ? how much?
I notice the NFU has pushed for testing for farmworkers , how will/is this working in Scotland?
We have a number of temporary workers about to arrive for lambing/calving/seeding , they stay on site.
We also have a core staff that has been sensible and stayed healthy for the last 12 mths
I'm thinking that it would be sensible to test them on there way in as a precaution and to offer piece of mind to the core employees.
A breakdown of COVID at this point in the year would be a nightmare.
The business wouldn't be able to achieve the spring workload with out the additional staff.
KR

You can buy lateral flow tests , but really they need to be administered professionally and they're not that accurate

 

[upnortheast]

The lateral flow test can be as low as 40%a curate. So may as well toss a coin.

 

[thesilentone]

sorry if this has been said before ,
Has anyone started buying and testing there own staff? if so where have you bought it ? how much?
I notice the NFU has pushed for testing for farmworkers , how will/is this working in Scotland?
We have a number of temporary workers about to arrive for lambing/calving/seeding , they stay on site.
We also have a core staff that has been sensible and stayed healthy for the last 12 mths
I'm thinking that it would be sensible to test them on there way in as a precaution and to offer piece of mind to the core employees.
A breakdown of COVID at this point in the year would be a nightmare.
The business wouldn't be able to achieve the spring workload with out the additional staff.
KR

Why not ask them to get a test within three days of arriving and bring it with them.

 

[thesilentone]

Home - Excalibur Rapid Testing

1 Preparation 1) Clear and clean a flat surface 2) Get kit ready 3) Timer at hand 4) Tissues – blow nose 5) Wash hands 2 Unpack the kit 3 Add 8 drops of buffer into the tube 4 Tilt head, insert swab into nostril along floor of nose in backward direction. When you have

rapidantigentestkit.co.uk

 

[betweenthelines]

Why not start by taking temperatures as a first step. You can get a digital readout "gun" of Amazon for a few quid

 

[bobk]

Why not start by taking temperatures as a first step. You can get a digital readout "gun" of Amazon for a few quid

Waste of time with all due respect

 

[goodevans]

You could get them to deliver cattle to ABP once a week,that would do it

 

[farmerm]

Waste of time with all due respect

Agree, plenty test positive who never have a raised temperature. I dont know the stats but probably ever less useful than lateral flow tests!

 

[Highland Mule]

If you’re serious about keeping the core team clear, then pay for the new team to quarantine for a week or so, but make sure it’s a proper quarantine.

I’m assuming that the old team are similarly camped and kept away from the outside world all the time too?

Else you can just accept it’s in the community and bring in measures to stop close contacts between the workers, such that it has no more chance of speeding at work than anywhere else in the community.

 

[Andy12345]

You could get them to deliver cattle to ABP once a week,that would do it

Thatll be me the last 3 weeks, no idea if its conclusive proof of having the virus though!

 

[vantage]

What are people’s thoughts about a having a worker return after his wife tested positive two weeks ago, he was negative, wife confined in a room in the house?

 

[kiwi pom]

sorry if this has been said before ,
Has anyone started buying and testing there own staff? if so where have you bought it ? how much?
I notice the NFU has pushed for testing for farmworkers , how will/is this working in Scotland?
We have a number of temporary workers about to arrive for lambing/calving/seeding , they stay on site.
We also have a core staff that has been sensible and stayed healthy for the last 12 mths
I'm thinking that it would be sensible to test them on there way in as a precaution and to offer piece of mind to the core employees.
A breakdown of COVID at this point in the year would be a nightmare.
The business wouldn't be able to achieve the spring workload with out the additional staff.
KR

I don't think they are reliable enough are they?
Don't forget to test yourself and your full time employees though, everyone says they're sensible.

 

[Al R]

What are people’s thoughts about a having a worker return after his wife tested positive two weeks ago, he was negative, wife confined in a room in the house?

Track and trace should have phoned/text him about when he was ok to go to shops/work again etc. I had a worker test positive, 5 days after I’d last seen the worker I had a test which was negative which track and trace said was the best thing for me to do. My 10 day quarantine finished on Tuesday as I tested negative the week before, if I’d tested positive my 10 days would have started from the positive test result.
it’s seriously confusing and talking to the track lady who was extremely helpful we worked out the best time to get tested based on when I’d last seen the worker etc..

If someone phone’s you from track and trace and you do not have a clue what their saying as you can’t understand a word they say ask to speak to someone in welsh, when the welsh person phones say you can’t speak Welsh but couldn’t understand the person from earlier

 

[betweenthelines]

Waste of time with all due respect

It's what hospitals do for out patients and visitors.

But then, you probably know better than all the fully trained NHS staff.

With all due respect.

 

[puppet]

Testing is like an MOT, only reliable that day but some quarantine and then a test helps. I don't know where you get a kit but as others said it misses a few cases anyway. If they are staying on site that makes it easier as long as you make it clear that they stick to the rules and report any symptoms immediately. How much are other staff mixing outside work? You need to get them together and make it clear that the next few weeks are vitally important. Go over the rules with them and if they are close together lambing a sheep then wear masks. Otherwise always 2m apart at all times which is not difficult working outside. Taking temp is not actually that useful an indicator and by then they will have spread it.