Should we self isolate?

[Simba999]

My child has a cough and had a very slight temp yesterday but didn't require medication. He no longer has temp, but has a persistent cough, he went to school with the cough, his teacher ensured he was well hydrated. I thought the schoo may call me to come collect Dc, but they did not. He's obviously just got a normal viral cough, my other child had it before the corona business, I then had it and now my husband and this dchild. Coughs take months to get better, I still have mine slightly. Dh keeps commenting how we as a family should self isolate, however I don't think we should right?? Am I wrong?

Before a lot of people start saying I should think of the elderly vulnerable, it's a normal cough, so in reality this cough wouldn't be an issue if we didn't have Coronavirus going around.

*Simba999" You may think that your son's cough and temperature, and your husband's cough, are related to the cold/cough that you and your other child had previously However the truth is that you cannot know that for sure. To your child, and to your husband, this is a NEW continuous cough (and a new high temperature). Therefore under the guidelines, the family needs to self-isolate: your son and your husband for 7 days or until better, whichever is later; and yourself and your other child for 14 days, to allow for the CV to infect you and then run its course.

I don't think the guidelines are clear. I don't think they are necessarily right. But I do think you should acknowledge that this is a new cough and therefore is of concern. You don't know that it's not CV.

OP. It is possible that your son has a normal cough. Just like it's possible my son had a normal bug causing a fever last Thursday. But you don't know and neither do I - so we both need to do the right thing. .

@PotholeParadise exactly which makes it bizarre that the 14 day rule would apply to everyone in a household including the initial person with the symptoms.
And that there would be a different rule for someone with symptoms living with others, to someone living alone.

The advice is SO clear. You should all be isolating now.

Honestly I don't know how much simpler it could be.

I'm getting so angry with all the selfish people who won't do what they're told!!!

Yes you should self isolate. We’re on day 1 of self isolation. DS who is hardly ever ill woke up with fever and mild dry cough this morning. So DP is now off work, DD is off nursery and im working from home- fun times (not).

Can’t be sure if this corona and in ordinary circumstances DS may be off school for a day or 2. But these are extraordinary circumstances so yes you should self isolate.

You do realise the common cold is a Coronavirus right, so in children this killer to the elderly Coronavirus often presents just like a normal viral cough...to then no worse than a normal cold, if however he’s given it to someone else like a an asthmatic teacher or little Johnny Who lives with his 90 yr gran they have a 6-20% chance of being dead in two weeks. Get you all at home now

Can you use your incredible prescience and ability to determine which cough is corona to help the NHS direct their resources.

Fucking
Moron.

It still says 14 days for the whole family but if the person who is ill is better after 7 days then they can return to normal .
Your right it's not clear but it makes sense so by day 7 the person is either better so not cv or worse so you know to stay isolated.

SweetPotatoAddicts

exactly which makes it bizarre that the 14 day rule would apply to everyone in a household including the initial person with the symptoms.

I agree.

@PotholeParadise @ilovecakeandwine
I imagine the 14 days is because if the first person (a) shows symptoms of CV and becomes well within the 7 days that's fine.
Because we're not testing people we won't know for definite it was CV. It may just be a cold.
But if someone else in the household (b) on day 3 of the original 7 begins to show symptoms and it definitely is CV (a) who may have only had a cold, after another 4 days will go out spreading (b's) CV bugs.
14 days allows for everyone to recover from the cold or CV.

We have very little clarity on how the milder versions of Covid-19 present. It may very well be that for huge swathes of the population (esp children) it is nothing more than a mild cough/fever. But that same virus can still be spread to other more vunerable people, where is is proving to be catastrophically fatal. Hence the advice given for family isolation, to prevent the spread.

So yes, family isolation even if it feels like an over reaction to something so mild.

And it's 14 days because there is evidence to show that you are still contagious even after you are 'better'

Yeah stay off and lick old people.

FFS.

Yeah makes sense to me .
Definitely stay home op .

This is going to be bad, really bad

People can hardly process their own life's, let along make the changes required for this.

Yes and everyone else coughing in public makes it acceptable .... not!

Genuine question @MrsFrisbyMouse or anyone else
In a household there are 3 people A, B and C

Person A (dad) wakes up and have a new cough and is a little warm on Monday - so family, as per advice, self isolate for 14 days
On the Sunday Person B (child) then starts coughing and the mum (C) then starts on the following Wednesday (so 9 days after person A) - this is how coughs tend to end up going in my family normal years - at what point do/can that family come out of self isolation?

Is it 14 days after person A started?
14 days after person C for all of them (so 23 days)?
Does A stay isolated - or can he go back to work after his 14 days on the basis that it's the same thing they all have and he is now immune

@iolaus

I think C needs to stay at home for 7 days after symptoms start. A and B are ok after 14 days. I've seen suggestions that A can go out after 7 days, but not sure about that bit (A for us is 10y, so a bit young to drive to tesco!).

Ffs do as you are told

@iolaus in your scenario I am person A. I started with symptoms on Wednesday and have been self isolating since Friday, after the 7 day guidelines were announced on Thursday evening.
So after the new guidelines, the other 4 people in my house are also now in quarantine for 14 days, and I was due to go back to work this Thursday. However I received an email from HR this morning that said in light of the new guidelines I would now be required to stay at home for 14 days from the start of symptoms.