If I am unwell and possibly waiting for test results can my dc go to school??

[workit]

Just as the title states. I am full of cold, sore throat but no temp. I have coughed a few times, but it's not persistent.If I have to isolate and go for a test then can my dc go to school?? They have no symptoms.

If you have Covid symptoms you get a test and they isolate until you get a negative (or continue to isolate for the 14 days if it’s positive). If you don’t have Covid symptoms you don’t get a test and they can carry on as normal.

We were sent a letter by the school to say if you have cold symptoms you can still come to school (sore throat, snotty nose).

If you have a new continous cough, temperature above 37.8⁰C or loss of smell/taste then you all isolate for 14 days (10 days for the person with symptoms) and the person with symptoms gets tested. If the person with symptoms gets a negative test isolation can end

Cough is the biggest issue, sneezing sore throat and cough is almost certainly a cold but you can't send to work or school with a cough. Loads of colds have persistent coughs.

We will presumably get to a point where Corona and cold/flu collide. The two are not mutually exclusive and could mask each other in terms of symptoms.

They are absolutely fine, they have no symptoms. It's me who has the symptoms 😭

You dont have coronavirus symptoms, given the current advice you shouldn't even have got tested. Yes kids can go to school. 3 symptoms are temp, new continuous cough and loss of usual taste or smell.

You don’t have any covid symptoms, so you don’t need a test nor does family have to isolate, but I would still stay in till cold goes.

[quote dementedpixie]@Timeforanewname2014 I think you are getting confused. If a child is sent home from school after contact with a positive case then it is just the child that isolates and not the whole family. If the child has symptoms then the whole family isolates for 14 days (the child for 10 days)[/quote]
That's really helpful and clears up my confusion - thanks.

[quote fifteenisthemagicnumber]@Timeforanewname2014 the rules for self isolating are nothing to do with the school, it's been the advice from the gov / NHS from the start of all this![/quote]
I realise that, but would think the school would have more clarity than the general public, ie me. Maybe not!

@[AUTO]d3jqakcn9qlt2 I haven't got tested

[quote workit]@Timeforanewname2014 that's what I thought too. I'm so confused 😫 and also confused about what is or isn't a symptom 😭😭[/quote]
Glad it's not just me who is confused. It just shows how hard to follow all these guidelines are. Hope you feel better soon

@MojoJojo71

Of course not. They have to self isolate for 14 days or until you’ve had a negative test result

This is why Matt Hancock says the testing system is under pressure.

Assuming the description is correct the OP doesn't have symptoms that qualify for a test.

A child doesn't have to stay at home every time a parent gets a cold.

You have a cold. Proceed as normal.

Agree this is why testing is now so hard to get. Not sure why Matt Hancock is getting all the flak because everyone with symptoms of a cold (not covid) are trying to get tested!
I’m not blaming people trying to do the right thing and err on the side of caution but it does EXPLAIN why there aren’t any tests available doesn’t it...

OP you don’t have the symptoms of covid as listed on the NHS. If you and your children remain free of covid symptoms they can attend school.

It really isnt complicated if you just read the NHS website. Other people chiming in their their 2 cents is what makes people confused.

OP you dont have a continuous cough or any of the other testable symptoms. Yes, some people have a sore throat with covid but most dont hence why it is NOT on the list of testable symptoms.

Stay at home while you feel poorly. Send your kids to school if they don't. If you develop one of the main symptoms, get a test and all isolate.

If every single person who gets a cold this winter has to go and get a Covid test and isn't allowed to send their DC to school without one there will be no DC in school soon!

The symptoms of Covid are:

• a new, continuous cough
• a high temp
• loss of taste/smell

If you have a runny nose, sneezing, cough and low temp and it feels like a cold, then that's what it is. A runny nose/congestion is NOT a symptom of Covid.

I think the only real uncertainty is the definition of a 'continuous' or 'persistent' cough. I've heard lots of parents refusing to test or isolate because their children 'always get a cough when they have a cold' or 'are only coughing because they're asthmatic'. Surely if you're coughing more than a few times a day, even if you also have a runny nose, then you should get tested, no?

To clarify what I mean, 'continuous/persistent' might suggest that you're coughing all day long. But that Scottish NHS info that someone posted above sets the bar much lower than that.

This is interesting from the team behind the Zoë app - children most commonly present with fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, sore throat and headache, with 1 in 6 having a skin rash. Most of my fellow medics feel the UK has been really slow in adding symptoms to the list and so I would be inclined to go with the lists here rather than the government's advice, fwiw.
covid.joinzoe.com/post/back-to-school

Persistent cough? No
Anosmia? No
Fever? No

I know no checklist is perfect, but we're not supposed to make up our own "more perfect" rules. That way madness lies. Those are the 3 indicators. OP doesn't have them.

Jeez I despair with some of these posts.

OP you DON'T have any of the three Covid symptoms that require you to test.

Why are you not aware of this? Why are PPs telling you to get a test. Jesus wept we don't stand a chance.

Temperature
Continuous cough
Loss of taste / smell.

Not RTFT. You don’t have Covid symptoms so don’t need to get a test, no one needs to isolate

@ceeveebee

Would be helpful if govt gave some more clarity on the symptoms ie what is a fever (I would not say that a temperature of 37.9 needs a test) and what exactly is a persistent cough otherwise we will have everyone with a slight cold testing and no doubt their whole household too just to being the safe side...

37.8 for the no, coughing a lot over 1hr or 3 episodes of coughing in 24hrs for the cough is the NHS definition wrt to Covid.

So, depending on what the OP means by having coughed a few times, then she may well need a test and household will need to self-isolate for 14days or until she gets a negative result.

@IdblowJonSnow

But sore throat and being snotty can be symptoms. And many people with positive tests havent had a sore throat or temperature. It's no wonder people are confused.🤷‍♀️

They are not the symptoms that require a test though.

If everyone with a runny nose gets testes we will be even more screwed.

Your current symptoms don’t require a Covid test .