Do I have to self-isolate after a negative coronavirus test????

[grandehorizontale]

Ahhhh - last Thursday I had a slight contact with someone who on Friday fell ill with Corona symptoms. She was tested that day and on Saturday received the positive result. I had a test yesterday and was told it was negative. I have no symptoms. My question: do I have to now self-isolate until 14 days post my contact with the infected person? The guidelines seem to suggest that I have to self-isolate if the track and trace people contact me. The track and trace system seems not to work, so they are probably not going to contact me. Any help anyone? GH

Yes if they tested positive you now have to self isolate for 14 days

What official guidance is this from?

No no no

Please read guidance you are all spreading lies

It clearly says if you have not been contacted then don’t isolate

STOP MAKING YOUR OWN RULES UP!!

@MajorClanger123

For everyone saying yes she should - she was handed a can of diet coke by the person testing positive. Time spent together in close contact? Probably 30 seconds max.

Risk of passing virus on? Virtually non-existent

Unfortunately that isn't true.

It's not clear whether people were wearing masks or not. If not (and a visor doesn't count as a mask) then latest studies suggest being indoors means you are much more likely to catch the virus irrespective of social distancing (this also explains the current slow spread since we are outdoors more)

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Yes

@Vinoonasunnyday

It clearly says if you have not been contacted then don’t isolate

STOP MAKING YOUR OWN RULES UP!!

Quite!

@RaspberryRuff

The OP doesn’t need to quarantine if she was only handed a drink by her. By that measure if Maureen on the till at Aldi got it every customer she gave change or a receipt to would need to isolate which is plainly not the case.

Yes I agree with this. You dont take contact details in shops because you're in contact with other customers/staff for such a short period of time. This situation is the same, you were near each other for less than 30 seconds. Unfortunately lots of people who went onto that hairdresser will now think they need to self isolate even if they had next to no contact with this particular staff member

Dear all, thanks for the many responses. I just rang 111. They couldn't initially answer me, and then someone rang me back. She said I do have to self-isolate for 14 days because I had been a contact. I pointed out that the website seems to suggest that I only have to self-isolate if contacted by the track and trace people. They seemed to fudge that and say I had to self-isolate whether I had been contacted or not. It's easy to contact people who have been to a hairdressing salon as all their details are kept. But I haven't been contacted. Nevertheless I have to self-isolate. GH

FFS. They don't know their arse from a hole in the ground, do they? You don't need to self-isolate. Ridiculous.

It's a difficult one. Chances are really small, but your hairdresser had been in close contact with you and with the person with Covid, so you could possibly be in the incubation period...

Negative tests mean nothing if not done at the exact right time... 3-5 days of symptoms.

Personally, I would isolate. It seems the right and sensible thing to do regardless of the ifs and buts of the guidelines.

The 111 operator was just wrong. Look at their website.

The second photo is talking about your contacts if you test positive.

I wouldn’t isolate for the sake of someone handing me a coke, you will have been in their presence for seconds.

If people think this is a valid reason to stay at home for two weeks, this country will never recover.

I'd take the advice of 111 over MN keyboard warriors who feel they are now medical experts.

@TheClaws read it for yourself. It’s right here...

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

People just making their own rules up

Half the people working for track and trace don’t have a clue either - think I heard they’ve only made dozen calls since it started

Giv advjce states no

Who would you? You’d be isolating every five minutes

Common sense

14 days if they tested positive because it can incubate for that long, you won't Brest positive until 24 hours prior to symptom onset

Kkkq

It isn't just whether she handed you the coke.

How close was she the rest of the time? How big was the space? Were windows open? Was she wearing a mask?

Did she wash her hands before getting the drink? Was the container wiped down before you drank it?

It all makes a difference.

But the 111 advisor was not interested in any details about my interaction with this woman.

How could they possibly determine if you were a close contact or not then?

Exactly @WhoWants2Know.

It's not just a case of being in close contact with the person that has covid, it's the the point that she was in close contact with her hairdresser for a reasonable amount of time who HAD been in close contact with her diagnosed colleague. (Although handing someone a drink, you have to be fairly close to them too?!! And Covid is also transferred through surfaces.)

Covid is more contagious than the flu and more deadlier. We all need to play our part in stopping the spread. This country is not doing the best job of lowering cases so far.

The OP may not need to fully isolate but I think she should be cautious as she could be in the incubation period.

@PurpleDaisies

How could they possibly determine if you were a close contact or not then?

Because looking at your link close contacts include (but aren’t limited to) situations where you are in contact with people at less than 2m for more than 15 minutes. That isn’t the only way covid is spread.

There’s not a great deal of difference between someone being in your home for a period of time and you being in their work place for a period of time.

That definition of close contact only being someone you’ve been closer than 2m to for more than 15mins is from Feb/mar. We’ve learnt quite a bit more about the situations in which the virus has been known to spread since then.

That definition of close contact only being someone you’ve been closer than 2m to for more than 15mins is from Feb/mar.

It is what is currently on the nhs website.

@PurpleDaisies the WHO, the NHS and the government are very slow to update on a constantly changing situation. I think we need to use common sense in conjunction with the guidelines.

Did the OP use a glass or drink out of a can? Did she use the toilet there? Was it a large space with lots of windows or cramped and packed?

This is an airborne virus. I don't think Covid cares if it's 2m or 1.9m, 15 or 14 minutes... I'm not trying to be goady or pedantic at all, I just want people to be aware there can be a risk regardless of potentially being within the safety guidelines.

It’s also common sense that people can’t be expected to self isolate at the drop of a hat for 2 weeks after minimal contact with someone.