Colleague tested positive - help on isolation guidance please

[ShennaIsAPrawnCracker]

Colleague has tested positive. Symptoms started Sunday. Last in office Thursday. Should any of us be isolating? Boss says only if we had contact in the 48 hours leading up to symptoms?

Guidance doesn't really say as far as I can find online.

No, unless T&T contact you, there’s no need to isolate

Did you have close contact with the person? Eg spend time within 2m of them or less than 1m with a face covering? It needs to be proper face to face contact, not just passing in the corridor. If the answer is yes then when was the last time this happened? If it was in the days leading up to the onset of symptoms then you need to isolate from the day you last had contact with them. I don't think there is a specific time frame for what counts as days before symptoms but I thought people became infectious a couple of days before so 48 hrs sounds reasonable i suppose.

When did you last have contact compared to when he first had symptoms.

It's 48 hours before onset of symptoms, or if symptom free, 48 hours from the date of the positive test being done.

Close contact is 15 minutes of contact within 2m - there's some extra information online to determine close contact too.

Legally you don't have to SI unless contacted by T&T (some other exemptions such as schools, etc) but if you have had known close contact you may prefer to isolate if able.

Based on the time line you described, no one should have to isolate unless they saw them Fri or Saturday

Symptoms started Sunday. Last in office Thursday.

So close contact from the Friday.
If he wasn't in the office on Friday none will need to isolate.

Yes close contact, last on Thursday. Other staff had contact Friday (before she was sent home as someone in her house had symptoms).

I know about the guidance re: awaiting track and trace to contact you before isolating, but seems bonkers when we know we've had contact? We're all just a bit twitchy as work with physically vulnerable people. I'm going to cancel all my visits just to be on the safe side. Will stick to phone calls until next week.

I'm worried about what info she will/won't give track and trace based on what my boss says to her.

P.s does anyone have a link re: the 48 hours rule. Want to send to my colleagues' as reassurance!

if you were followed the rules at work you should be fine. If you didnt then you may have to self isolate

From www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/

Says 48 hours on the screenshot above

Schools operate on that basis. A case on sunday would trigger isolation of that class if they had contact on the Friday.

My understanding and that of ringing 119 is that if you have been in contact with a positive person, then you need to isolate for 14 days from the date you last saw that person.

Thats not what they are asking. They are asking how long before symptoms was the person contagious for. It is contact in the 48 hours before symptoms that T&T ask about

Thanks all. Very helpful