To have pointed out she needs to isolate now??

[Ginmakesitallok]

DSIL has tested positive for COVID. She was at DMILs house yesterday - met outside, socially distanced. DMIL has not yet heard from Test and Trace.

DMIL wanted to put her sister's mind at rest so they could go for their normal dog walk (!!!) and so arranged for a COVID test -despite not having any symptoms. She must have lied to get the test. Anyway - she's back from getting her test and I messaged her to ask if she wanted me to walk the dog for her - she said she was just going out with her now. I replied and said that surely she'd have to isolate until she gets her test result back?

She called me to explain that she doesn't really think she COVID, that she only got the test because her sister wanted them both to, and that she won't go into any shops. Someone else has told her that will be OK.

All so bloody pointless. I've told her that her test will probably be negative because she has no symptoms and its too early, and that if she is contacted by test and trace she will still need to isolate - she thinks the negative test means she won't have to.

I'm now the bad guy for confusing her.

YANBU. If she is too dumb to not understand how Covid, testing and self-isolation work by now, this is not on you.
You did the right thing.

If they were outside and socially distanced then she may not count as a close contact.

Baffles me how many people still don’t understand the rules by now.

DMIL only needs to self isolate if she was 2m from your SIL for 15 minutes in total.

You are right she has to self isolate at home now for 10 days now she has told nhs that she has COVID symptom/S or that's he has been in close contact with someone else with positive Covid result (which she would have needed to do in order for her to be tested)

Depending on her area she may just be able to get a test, some areas are offering mass testing, so she hasn’t necessarily lied.

You are right she needs to isolate if contacted by T&T but I don’t think she has to isolate before her test results if no symptoms and not asked to do a test.

If she was outside and stayed 2m away from dSIL then she isn't a close contact

And legally she doesn't actually have to isolate unless told to by test and trace

I think the key that OP has pointed out , she must have lied somehow about how close they were or that she has symptoms to. The. Nhs. In order to get Covid test and now she has had a test she is required to self isolate until she knows the results and she has to follow the advice given to her by nhs online given to her when she arranged test

Ah in our area, you can only be tested if you display one or more Covid symptom

@dementedpixie

If they were outside and socially distanced then she may not count as a close contact.

exactly - she might not have needed to isolate at all!

@dementedpixie

And legally she doesn't actually have to isolate unless told to by test and trace

But legally she has to isolate while she is waiting for the outcome of a test.

In my area you can get a test regardless of whether you have symptoms. A lot of areas that were Tier 3 at one point have this but as with all things covid/NHS it varies across the country.

If MIL was outside and at a distance then she might not count as a close contact, so your SIL wouldn't have to name her. Of course if your sister has listed her as a close contact then she will be contacted by test and trace and your MIL is absolutely out of order to be going out and about knowing she has been in close contact with a positive case. She can't test herself out of self isolating because of the incubation period.

Even if your SIL hadn't identified her as a close contact, depending on which test she's done she might have to isolate. If she's said she has symptoms and gone to a symptomatic testing centre then she needs to isolate until she gets her result.

The only reason I can see that your MIL wouldn't have to isolate is if your SIL didn't identify her as a close contact AND the test MIL went for was at an asymptomatic community testing centre, as the process is the same as people doing LFT at work, but I might be wrong.

Our area isn't doing mass testing - only get tested if you have reported symptoms

@LolaSmiles

If MIL was outside and at a distance then she might not count as a close contact, so your SIL wouldn't have to name her. Of course if your sister has listed her as a close contact then she will be contacted by test and trace and your MIL is absolutely out of order to be going out and about knowing she has been in close contact with a positive case. She can't test herself out of self isolating because of the incubation period.

Even if your SIL hadn't identified her as a close contact, depending on which test she's done she might have to isolate. If she's said she has symptoms and gone to a symptomatic testing centre then she needs to isolate until she gets her result.

The only reason I can see that your MIL wouldn't have to isolate is if your SIL didn't identify her as a close contact AND the test MIL went for was at an asymptomatic community testing centre, as the process is the same as people doing LFT at work, but I might be wrong.

exactly.

@Ginmakesitallok - no she doesn’t unless she said she had symptoms, which she may well not have done if mass testing is available in her area!

x-post @Ginmakesitallok

If there's no mass testing in your area then she's totally unreasonable and needs to isolate.
It's worrying that there's people telling her otherwise.

I don’t think people understand the ‘close contact’ rule. From government website:-
anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19:
face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day)
travelled in the same vehicle or a plane