Video vs Photo upload - Antigen take with you.

mar7t1n

Can anyone confirm which companies are operating a Skype video and which operate photo upload evidence for return to UK tests. 

I want to order with a company which operates by photo - as I don't want to waste a day of my holiday tied to being in the hotel to meet a random appointment time nor suffer tech issues.

Specifically interested in Chronomics as flying with BA so there's a discount on this one.

mar7t1n

Having used this service I have answered my own question. 

This test is completely pointless but as it's what Gov.UK want.... You simply perform the test and take a photo, upload it, and tick a box to say it's negative. You get an instant certificate. It's clearly not verified unless later called into question. The airport wasn't interested in verifying the name and passport number of the certificate was even mine, and at the UK border it was also not checked on this occasion.

This test was easy to do, and convenient. No need to hunt down a test provider locally, or book a specific time slot. Once done we uploaded the certificates and PLF file to DropBox.com so that if one phone failed the results were still accessible on the other's at the airport. 

The UK could improve the process by allowing early completion of the PLF with the ability to print a QR code before you travel out, so that you have it for when you come back. Addition of any missing details would then be quite simple via mobile, as most people will know everything except their seat number - also pointless as our airline was letting people change seats once on board.

silvercar

The hope is that decent folk would not think to board a plane with other people if they tested positive.
The slight advantage of taking your own test with you is that if you did test positive you could choose where to isolate yourself rather than be forced by the health department of the overseas country to follow whatever rules they have.
it also gives you the ability to come home once you test negative rather than waiting the full 10+ days.

That there are unscrupulous people around who would use someone else’s test result to travel home knowing they could pass covid on to fellow travellers is disappointing. 

mar7t1n

Unfortunately @silvercarI think you may be overestimating the ethics of our typically selfish general public. Hence why Covid has spread unchecked in the UK. Unless presenting as sick, I anticipate most will be tempted to falsify their results to allow them to travel home. That is achieved by swabbing nothing, and uploading the result picture! It's a total scam that these tests are still in place as the only people it's benefiting is the politicians with shares in the testing companies. We paid £65 for a receipt to say we paid £65 for the required tests - nothing else.

silvercar

I naively think that people avoid doing these tests so that they can assume that they have  no infection and go about their lives, but that if you actually did a test and found your were positive you wouldn’t be so selfish as to endanger the lives of others. 

I still find it hard to believe that someone would get a positive result and then get on a plane/ coach/ bus.

eskbanker

silvercar said:

I still find it hard to believe that someone would get a positive result and then get on a plane/ coach/ bus.

Some don't seem to have an issue with doing so....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/ck1d91546j0t/margaret-ferrier

Sandtree

silvercar said:

The slight advantage of taking your own test with you is that if you did test positive you could choose where to isolate yourself rather than be forced by the health department of the overseas country to follow whatever rules they have.
it also gives you the ability to come home once you test negative rather than waiting the full 10+ days. 

Surely you should be following the law of the land and not advocating breaking local law by hiding the fact you've tested positive and just self isolating @silvercar until you can get a clear test?

mar7t1n

When it comes to money - a lot of people do whatever they can get away with regardless of the detriment to others. As long as they personally don't have to spend £1000's rearranging their travel and waiting abroad and risking their job - that is probably all that matters. Above this there's a whole set of people falsifying the forms knowing that in general they are not checked. It's just a PDF file. 

The moral is - don't assume that airside at an airport will be covid free. 

Travel is quite a worry as it is, the forms and feeling the mobile phone might break and they'll just say sorry no form no boarding pass makes it an experience you have to consider if it's worthwhile doing.

silvercar

Sandtree said:

silvercar said:

The slight advantage of taking your own test with you is that if you did test positive you could choose where to isolate yourself rather than be forced by the health department of the overseas country to follow whatever rules they have.
it also gives you the ability to come home once you test negative rather than waiting the full 10+ days. 

Surely you should be following the law of the land and not advocating breaking local law by hiding the fact you've tested positive and just self isolating @silvercar until you can get a clear test?

Well I would, but others on here seem to think that there are people around who may fake results when they know they have covid. So better that they choose to self isolate somewhere themselves than jump on a plane and infect a load more people. People have their own levels of appropriate behaviour.

Ganga

mar7t1n said:

Having used this service I have answered my own question. 

This test is completely pointless but as it's what Gov.UK want.... You simply perform the test and take a photo, upload it, and tick a box to say it's negative. You get an instant certificate. It's clearly not verified unless later called into question. The airport wasn't interested in verifying the name and passport number of the certificate was even mine, and at the UK border it was also not checked on this occasion.

This test was easy to do, and convenient. No need to hunt down a test provider locally, or book a specific time slot. Once done we uploaded the certificates and PLF file to DropBox.com so that if one phone failed the results were still accessible on the other's at the airport. 

The UK could improve the process by allowing early completion of the PLF with the ability to print a QR code before you travel out, so that you have it for when you come back. Addition of any missing details would then be quite simple via mobile, as most people will know everything except their seat number - also pointless as our airline was letting people change seats once on board.

When you fill in the PLF on GovUK  you supply your passport number ,your covid result certificate number etc ,this is linked to your passport so when you pass through the custom control at the UK airport they have all the info ,we returned from Cyprus and printed out all the forms but were told we did not need to show them as all the info cold be read by the customs / border control officers.