If one of us has to isolate...

[AndThatsNotRight]

The rules are that if one person in a household has to isolate because of an exposure to someone that's tested positive, the others are ok to continue as normal. Unless the person that was exposed develops symptoms, then everyone has to isolate, but unless they do everyone else can keep going to work, school etc as normal.

I've seen a few people recently saying that they will all isolate if one person has to though. But this just isn't possible is it!

The other kids in a house would be unauthorised absence, people would lose their jobs when they're not meant to be isolating etc.

I'm being made to feel bad for the rest of us not isolating while one DC is off school because of someone else in her year testing positive- but that's the rules and the rest of have to continue as normal!

What do other people think? It's so stressful!

I think the rules are wrong & are the reason so many people are getting COVID but I also understand that if you take extra measures you don’t get paid/get in trouble with school so what else can you do?

You are right. Just the exposed person needs to isolate, but if symptoms show in anyone else they must too.

I guess anyone with kids is going to have a child sent home to isolate several times over the next few months. Wouldnt be practical to shut down entire household each time.

In the absence of testing non symptomatic kids shutting down the whole household is the most sensible thing.

You are meant to isolate within your own home - which means keeping away from your cohabitants, cleaning after the isolated person has had to leave their room to go into common parts, keeping windows open etc.

Snag is that not everyone has the space to SI effectively, and then yes from an infection control POV, everyone should isolate. As OP points out, there is no support whatsoever to do that.

So all you can do is take a very cautious approach to what you chose to do (essential/important activities only, extremely diligent distancing/hygiene)

@nancy75

In the absence of testing non symptomatic kids shutting down the whole household is the most sensible thing.

Testing the non-symptomatic during the incubation period produces no useful informations (unless part of properly constructed surveillance project)

It does not release you from either travel quarantine or contact self-isolation.

Can I ask what the position is when children are living with separated parents ie child sent home from school bubble as been in contact with another pupil with a confirmed test - should the SI child stay in the one house or still carry on between the 2? I'm thinking sensible option would be stay at the home they are in for the 14 days - is there any guidance released to cover this scenario?

OP, you understand the rules correctly and, in your situation what you are doing is fine.

However, I think that if a member of the household contracts Covid so has to self-isolate, it is ridiculous for others without symptoms not to have to, and to not qualify for a test unless they have symptoms.

We know people can be asymptomatic and transmit it to others. The line has to be drawn somewhere but surely it is highly likely for a family member with Covid to transmit it to those they live with?

@nancy75

I think the rules are wrong & are the reason so many people are getting COVID but I also understand that if you take extra measures you don’t get paid/get in trouble with school so what else can you do?

I agree with this, as asymptomatic spread is a real issue. Our rules are stupid

@yellowstoneranch. The child should isolate in one house only for the 14 days.

@Mindymomo - that is my understanding, and also surely the sensible choice, I can't find any guidance on this though. Does anyone have a link?

"You are not allowed to change the place where you are self-isolating except in very limited circumstances, including where:

a legal obligation requires you to change address, such as where you are a child whose parents live separately, and you need to move between homes as part of a shared custody agreement"

@Itsabeautifuldayheyhey

OP, you understand the rules correctly and, in your situation what you are doing is fine.

However, I think that if a member of the household contracts Covid so has to self-isolate, it is ridiculous for others without symptoms not to have to, and to not qualify for a test unless they have symptoms.

We know people can be asymptomatic and transmit it to others. The line has to be drawn somewhere but surely it is highly likely for a family member with Covid to transmit it to those they live with?

But they will be isolating, so won’t be spreading it asymptomatically outside the household over those 14 days. The 14 days should in theory cover the period they are most likely to contract it from their household member, plus the time they could pass it on asymptomatically. There will be some outliers that don’t catch it so quickly/are contagious for longer but it’ll cover the majority and is probably the longest amount of time people would follow the rules with no symptoms.

many thanks RoseandRose. Our SS will be pleased he is still coming and will happily SI with us for a week, although I shall insist on social distancing where possible, he can sit at the other end of the table at dinner whihc he won't mind as long as he is being fed lol! Luckily his bedroom is on a separate floor to us too so we should be all good, I'll just not have my parents over and as he is 15 we can carry on as normal in the house! :)

@Itsabeautifuldayheyhey

OP, you understand the rules correctly and, in your situation what you are doing is fine.

However, I think that if a member of the household contracts Covid so has to self-isolate, it is ridiculous for others without symptoms not to have to, and to not qualify for a test unless they have symptoms.

We know people can be asymptomatic and transmit it to others. The line has to be drawn somewhere but surely it is highly likely for a family member with Covid to transmit it to those they live with?

If someone in the household has it, then the whole household- and all their other contacts- have to isolate. But the contacts of contacts don't- the snowball effect of that would be immense.

So my DC is isolating because someone at her school has it. There is no sign at all that my dc does, so the rest of us don't have to.

Not only don't have to, but we have no valid reason to be off work or school- because we're not advised to isolate.

@BexR

You are right. Just the exposed person needs to isolate, but if symptoms show in anyone else they must too.

I guess anyone with kids is going to have a child sent home to isolate several times over the next few months. Wouldnt be practical to shut down entire household each time.

Yes, it's going to happen a lot!

OP,
Single parent household here. On Monday morning I received a text to go collect my youngest from nursery due to covid case in his bubble. Picked him up to be given a letter that he needs to isolate until 20th October. Nursery reopens 21st.
Due to being a single parent & not able to leave my 3 year old at home alone or take him out of the house for the school run, I've had no choice but to keep DC2 at home.
I don't drive, he's not old enough to walk to school alone and at the time of isolation notification the rules were no mixing anywhere here. They did change to 'rule of 6 outside' that night BUT I could not put someone in the position of taking my DC to school when for all I know, youngest could have Covid but no symptoms & that's if I imposed on people I barely even know to take him there & back daily.

It's gone down as unauthorised. Which is shit but I have no choice.

I think it's harder when it's a child that has to self isolate because, realistically, other people know that it's unlikely they are strictly self isolating within the house. Therefore strong possibility that if they are infected, they will pass the infection on to other household members. I guess it might make more sense that the rules were extended to say "if a person (e.g. young child requiring parental care) is not able to self isolate then anyone they come into contact with should also isolate".

If it's a teen or an adult, much more likely that they are able to fully self-isolate so they won't pass on any infection they could have.

@RedskyAtnight

I think it's harder when it's a child that has to self isolate because, realistically, other people know that it's unlikely they are strictly self isolating within the house. Therefore strong possibility that if they are infected, they will pass the infection on to other household members. I guess it might make more sense that the rules were extended to say "if a person (e.g. young child requiring parental care) is not able to self isolate then anyone they come into contact with should also isolate".

If it's a teen or an adult, much more likely that they are able to fully self-isolate so they won't pass on any infection they could have.

In my case it's a teen dc, and she often cooks etc. She's avoiding direct physical contact, sits at the end of the table if we're all eating together, has a separate bathroom.

If it were my youngest, then we'd have no cuddles, but wouldn't change much else.

We adults had to isolate recently and did the same- no cuddles etc- but we still had to feed everyone.

light humour it might actually stop our teenager helping themselves to the pack up cupboard treats at night if I say they have to wipe down the handle every time they touch it!

@Shitfuckoh

OP, Single parent household here. On Monday morning I received a text to go collect my youngest from nursery due to covid case in his bubble. Picked him up to be given a letter that he needs to isolate until 20th October. Nursery reopens 21st. Due to being a single parent & not able to leave my 3 year old at home alone or take him out of the house for the school run, I've had no choice but to keep DC2 at home. I don't drive, he's not old enough to walk to school alone and at the time of isolation notification the rules were no mixing anywhere here. They did change to 'rule of 6 outside' that night BUT I could not put someone in the position of taking my DC to school when for all I know, youngest could have Covid but no symptoms & that's if I imposed on people I barely even know to take him there & back daily.

It's gone down as unauthorised. Which is shit but I have no choice.

That is shit, I'm sorry.

When my DP and I had to isolate recently, the older kids made their own way to school as usual, and my youngest's school made an arrangement by which I could still drop him off and not leave the car.

Strictly, driving him there was illegal, but that has to balanced against the requirement for him to be at school.

Had I been stopped by police I had the agreement with school in writing that I could show that I had to get him there.

How are you doing @Shitfuckoh ? SI teen working hard on google classroom with the work set, no hint of any symptoms thank goodness although it's hard keeping the distance between us and no hugs

@yellowstoneranch
Thankfully all okay here. Our 'release' date is tomorrow! Thankfully it wasn't the full 14 days from the point of being told to isolate but it's been a long 9 almost 10 days! My eldests (primary) school closed last Friday under PHE advice and are still seeing cases rise daily. Half expecting to be told he needs to isolate but hoping we make it out of the house before.

I didn't even attempt to distance, there's no distancing from a 3 year old and I've basically been isolating with him. Must be so much harder when they're at the age where they don't freely give hugs but still able to get one every now & then to suddenly go to, not being able to hug at all.

It's gone down as unauthorised.

My school isn't marking that kind of absence as unauthorised. It's all counting as Covid, under an X code in the register.

@Aragog

It's gone down as unauthorised.

My school isn't marking that kind of absence as unauthorised. It's all counting as Covid, under an X code in the register.

Yes, end of last week I actually got a reply to my numerous emails/contacts regarding it. The head looked through all the guidance and authorised the absence - she put DS2 down as isolating which isn't a lie. He's 6 so not able to go out on his own etc and I was isolating with the 3 year old.

'Isolate' means just that - keep completely away from anyone else.

But the problem is that a young child can't do that. Nor can people who don't have enough space in their homes. The logical conclusion is that if people are together when one needs to isolate then they should all isolate from the rest of the world.

But, specially with children, and with some jobs, that would mean everyone in the household staying at home for two weeks every time one member is supposed to be isolating. That would ruin many families and probably the country (even more).

So we end up with a compromise. There's not much option really. We could try to find a way to make it work for everyone to really isolate, but the the virus would probably spread again when we stopped, or if anyone made a mistake. Reading MN threads shows how many people test positive several days after having symptoms that they never thought could be Covid.