Should my child isolate?

[daftoldbat]

Attended a social event over the weekend. Host has been in touch to say they've tested positive. Am I being unreasonable to inform school and isolate my child? Test and trace haven't been contacted us.

Yes you should isolate and get a test for your child (and you and whoever was with you), regardless of whether test and trace contact you.

T&T can sometimes take a few days to make their calls.

@nickingbentcoppers. Sorry to clarify I didn't attend the event. Guidance seems to imply social distance only if asymptomatic and no contact from test trace? Any public health people about? I think we should. DH thinks wait for test trace

Did your child social distance from people at the event- or was it eg a kids' party, in which case they won't have done?

I'm not a public health expert, but it seems like a case where common sense re disease transmission, rather than reliance on T&T, is in order.

Is it feasible that your child could have caught covid from the host? If yes, isolate them and get tested.
Your child won't be able to socially distance at school while you await possible call from T&T, so if there if there is a risk they caught covid, there's also a risk they will spread it in school and cause bubble closure etc.

Child needs to isolate but nobody else in household unless child tests positive. T&T rely on individuals to inform close contacts as they are very busy, might be a day or two before they call, or they may have been told the host has already informed you. Do the right thing

@NickingBentCoppers. I completely agree with you.

Call the school and ask their advice

(they will however tell you to isolate, which is what you should do)

You don’t need to wait for T&T - lots of people don’t use it! Isolate your child.

I know what I believe the right thing to do is. As always govt. communication is opaque.

There have always been massive failings with the T&T system - not just that it could take days for them to contact you, but that it relies on your child having scanned in to the venue or carried their phone in their pocket the whole time they were there. So you’d probably never hear anything from T&T anyway. I’d go with my gut on this one, only you know what the venue was like (indoors or outdoors?) or how close your child is likely to have got to the infected person and for how long.

I'd isolate my child. If they go to school and subsequently come down with it, then the rest of the class will have to be isolated for the first week of the holidays, potentially wrecking long-awaited family holidays.