As cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant surge in London, a meme about the likelihood of having Covid if you’ve left your house at any point in the last couple of weeks has gone viral.
Posted by Twitter user @_BillieBelieves, they highlighted the sheer numbers of Covid cases by joking about a rapid test online that could tell you instantly if you have the virus.
The tweet read, “Can’t believe they’re replacing PCRs with this rapid online test” and continued with screenshots from the real government website, but with fake questions edited in.
Can’t believe they’re replacing PCRs with this rapid online test pic.twitter.com/MBKizWIB3G
— Billie (@_BillieBelieves) December 20, 2021
The first question asked: “Do you live in London?” and the yes option was ticked.
Next, it asked: “Have you left the house this month?” - again the answer was yes.
The last image showed the “result”, reading: “Yeah, you’ve got covid.”
With thousands of people testing positive each day, the viral tweet has been liked more than 12,000 times and counting.
One person joked: “As accurate as a lateral flow test.”
As accurate as a lateral flow test
— Toby Dillaway (@TobyDillaway) December 20, 2021
Another commented: “Pretty much true.”
Pretty much true,
— Lawrie Capp (@CappLawrie) December 20, 2021
One Twitter user said: “Sounds about right.”
Sounds about right. https://t.co/2tqTTnqlo1
— Christos Dimitroulas (@chriswearshats) December 20, 2021
Someone else added to the joke, asking: “Have you breathed London air.”
Have you breathed London air x
— Peta Williams (@petawilliams_) December 20, 2021
Due to the increased transmissibility of Omicron, the UK broke its record for the highest daily number of positive Covid cases three days in a row last week.