If one visitor to a hotel tests positive, will all the other guests on that date have to isolate?

[AnythingLegalConsidered]

Planning a small city-break with children. We’ve been very cautious and law-abiding on Covid exposure, and aren’t intending to do anything against guidelines this time.

However it’s just occurred to me that we’ve got an appointment for ten days after we get back which would be very very problematic to cancel so I want to minimise our chances not only of actually catching anything, but also of doing anything which might result in us being flagged up to self-isolate.

Does anyone know, if we stay in a Premier Inn or similar, what would trigger a Test & Trace call? Would it just be physically bluetoothing someone on the NHS app or would they literally call everyone who’d been staying in the hotel that night, regardless of contact?

If so, then Air B&B here I come.

I’d stay home if I had an important appointment, not worth the risk for a holiday unless really remote and not stopping and taking own food.

According to someone I know who works for Premier Inn - you should be informed through Test & Trace if a guest there at the same time tests positive, but as you shouldn't come into contact with other guests, it'll be very unlikely you'll be asked to isolate.

Thanks bibabbles.

I would hope that the hotel would be taking Covid precautions, the point of which is to prevent close contact between guests.

According to the BMJ "the UK’s definition of a ‘close contact’15 or more minutes within 2 metres of distanceused for its coronavirus track and trace system."

So if there is someone in a space where you are going to need to be for 15 minutes, such as the lobby, you would be well advised to delay going there until they have gone. And if you are using the restaurant you would need to make sure that there really is 2 metres between you and the next person and move or leave if not. And be ready to spend time or money to achieve that, unfortunately.

Although I've been told that there's no arguing with T&T, so if you're sure that you've been ultra careful in this respect and they call you, there doesn't seem to be any defence, although in theory you can try escalating your query to the tracer's supervisor. Which is the worry.

I don't know the answer for sure, but it strikes me as very unlikely that they would treat everyone in the building as a close contact. My work has open plan offices and I know that if one person who has been in the office tests positive, they don't instruct everyone who has been in the office that day to self-isolate. They look at where people have been sitting. But if you have such an important appointment coming up, is it really worth risking a city break? I can't think of any UK city where Covid rates are low at present.

It is tricky, I’ve had this pencilled in for a while and am reluctant to cancel, but the overlap with the appointment has only just occurred to me.