The rate of Covid-19 infections in the UK is currently low, a huge relief after two years of pandemic misery and another scare last winter when the emergence of the Omicron variant again placed Christmas in jeopardy and caused case numbers to surge to alarming levels in the New Year before gradually subsiding.
Boris Johnson’s subsequent decision to end social restrictions in England has so far proven justified, with the Department of Health recording just 112,705 coronavirus cases in seven days on Thursday, a 32 per cent decline.
That does not mean that the virus has gone for good, however, as new strains could yet emerge and citizens will need to be particularly vigilant again later in the year when flu season arrives.
If you believe you have Covid symptoms, it is still vital that you take a lateral flow test (LFT) to establish whether or not you have the disease to prevent passing it on to family, friends and colleagues.
For a simple guide on how to carry out a LFT without compromising the result, you can follow the written instructions provided with each kit.
You can also watch the Department of Health’s step-by-step video featuring Dr Amir Khan above or via IndyTV, which addresses many commonly asked questions.
Having completed the test, you can report your result directly to the NHS, which is important to help the health service establish the scale of Covid infections nationally.
To do so, simply go to the health service’s dedicated web portal and answer the basic questions onscreen regarding your circumstances and why you chose to take the test.
The reasons for doing so can include if you were hoping to provide a negative result to attend school, college or work or whether you believed yourself to have symptoms and were following advice.
You will need the plastic test cassette that came with your kit to hand for the final stage, so that you can either scan in its QR code with your smartphone or manually type in its serial number.
The whole process should take a matter of minutes and be relatively self-explanatory, with no need to sign in if you prefer not to.
If the online service is unavailable for any reason, you can also call in your result by dialling 119 free of charge between 7am to 11pm seven days a week.
