Do I need to keep ds off school?

[cosmicsweets]

He has a cold which is always accompanied by a cough. Does this mean he cannot go to school tomorrow?

Yep, he needs a covid test and everyone else in the house needs to self isolate until he gets a negative test, or 14 days after he is ill or if they develop symptoms in the time for 7 days after then.

Good luck with getting one tho, hope you fancy a road trip.

Is it a constant cough?

Is it 'new' & persistent?

How's he feeling in himself? Does he have a temperature?

Does he have a cough yet though? Or are you just anticipating he will have one?

If he’s coughing then get on and book a test. We got our last results within 12 hours so if you can get a morning appointment you might get the results back before school starts.

Cough, temp, change of taste/smell. Whole family isolates and attempts to get tested. Testing is a shambles. Good luck.

Same situation here but the only available testing site is 90 miles away! Absolute joke!

Hopefully there is a testing place near to you.
There's 3 near me the joys of being in the NW at the moment

He doesn't have a high temperature and hasn't complained of lack of smell or taste. Only symptoms are runny nose and cough.

Sounds like a common cold but the school will prob send him home to get tested

I've just read you can only have a test if you have the symptoms of
-continuous new cough

• high temp
• loss of smell or taste

So will I even be allowed a test ?

Yes because you say there is a cough.

a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

It's not that bad though, just the odd cough which is new but not as continuous as stated above.

Yes he’s clearly got one of the symptoms on that list

You only need one of the three to get tested, not all three.

So he has coughed less frequently than 3 times in 24 hours?

The testing criteria is one of the symptoms as it has been for ages. He has a new cough therefore he should be tested.
The sooner you test the sooner you can come out of self isolation if it’s negative of course

Yes you need to test. And don’t worry about road trips or booking appointments- we got ours posted. It arrived in less than 24 hours, posted it same day in a designated postbox and results back in 36 hours.

@cosmicsweets

He doesn't have a high temperature and hasn't complained of lack of smell or taste. Only symptoms are runny nose and cough.

He only needs one of the three symptoms to trigger getting a test and the family isolating. Hope he gets a negative and is better soon.

I'm aware that you only need one symptom to get a test. I just don't consider an occasional cough with runny nose to need one.
I will try and book one but if this is the case my family will be getting though a lot of tests this winter.

I wouldn't. He will pass it to the rest of the class and you will pass the worry onto the other parents and teachers.

A friend of mine got her son tested at a GP surgery this week.

I'd keep him.off but not get him tested, you aren't describing a continuous cough
Probably the odd cough caused by excess snot. Check with NHS24, they would tell you.

I'd keep him off though to stop the spread of the cold, and to avoid ant newly qualified doctor cone teached deciding he needs to be tested.

The test is really unpleasant.

I will try and book one but if this is the case my family will be getting though a lot of tests this winter.

Well yes, you and every other family I should think. It will be problematic for sure but I would imagine that if you don't have a test and he starts coughing they will send him home anyway and that will cause a lot of anxiety and drama anyway. Get a test.

The test is really unpleasant.

It's really not at all. It's over in seconds and is mildly uncomfortable.

I read so many comments like this before I had a test and I was more nervous about getting it than I was about the operation I was having 3 days later. I have a friend who was too scared to go for a test because of all the nonsense written about them, but eventually was dragged there by her DH. it turned out to be a positive test too.