Dm over to visit with cough, but a negative covid result? ?

[Nicecupofcoco]

Hi all, my dm lives alone, although she has plenty of friends and family she sees, she works too. She developed a cough last week, and has since tested negative for covid. She wants to pop over to see us this weekend. The plan was just to sit in the garden, if the weathers OK, inside if not. I have a young baby and just don't know how I feel about this. I know you can get false negatives, and I'm worried it could be. It really is just a cough, no other symptoms. Am I just being over cautious?

I don’t think so. Even if it’s not Covid most coughs are contagious so you get it and then all need Covid tests and to isolate till you get results. Really not worth it if she can just hold off a week.

Good point from previous poster. I personally wouldn't be worried about covid if she has had a negative test result, but would not want to catch her cough and have to have a test (no joke with a small child or baby!) and/or seld isolate

Agree with what others have said, plus I think it's possible to have a false negative result, so if she has symptoms, I'd be suspicious the test didn't work properly or wasn't administered correctly.

@nailslikeknives - there are MANY other viruses out there than cam causes coughs. I get a cough from my pretty terrible heyfever. We cannot all go through winter thinking we’ve had false negatives for every cough & cold. We have to trust the tests at some point or frankly, I’ll never be leaving the house. My kid coughs for the majority of winter usually!

OP, does your mum feel ill in any other way? Coughs tend to come from something- a cold? Runny nose from heyfever causing nasal drip?

If you still want to see her, I’d tell her it has to be outside & a good 2m apart. No holding baby etc! You’d be highly unlikely to catch anything if you do that. I probably wouldn’t go indoors just in case. A reasonable compromise?

At this time of year, a cough could easily be an allergy. Ds2 has been coughing like a smoker, today. Likely mould spores. Social distance and don't be paranoid

25% false negatives.
I would wait a few weeks

25% false negatives.
I would wait a few weeks

That's just what I was going to say, although I thought it was about 20%. Still too high though

I'd meet in the garden but distance, and make it clear to her that she would need to distance and not hold the baby. You don't want to catch a cough and have to worry about isolating and testing with a new baby. We had this when I got mastitis and we all had to isolate while we waited for the negative result. Complete pain in the arse (but necessary obviously) you could do without.

As she has had a negative test I would be fine for her to come over and sit in the garden at least 2metres apart and no holding the baby. I wouldn’t go inside or let her hold the baby given the current situation.

[quote Bol87]@nailslikeknives - there are MANY other viruses out there than cam causes coughs. I get a cough from my pretty terrible heyfever. We cannot all go through winter thinking we’ve had false negatives for every cough & cold. We have to trust the tests at some point or frankly, I’ll never be leaving the house. My kid coughs for the majority of winter usually!

OP, does your mum feel ill in any other way? Coughs tend to come from something- a cold? Runny nose from heyfever causing nasal drip?

If you still want to see her, I’d tell her it has to be outside & a good 2m apart. No holding baby etc! You’d be highly unlikely to catch anything if you do that. I probably wouldn’t go indoors just in case. A reasonable compromise?[/quote]
This.

Most reasonable people will be prepared to be a bit more cautious about having a cough for a while.

But treating every cough as Covid under the risk of false negatives will not be a healthy, sustainable attitude when summer ends and the colds season starts.