What are your restrictions if your child is isolating?

[notevenat20]

DD’s class was just sent home because a teacher tested positive. We haven’t heard anything official from PHE yet but assuming she has to stay home for 14 days, what are my restrictions? I know I don’t have to isolate but can I just live my normal life, see friends etc? I assume I shouldn’t have anyone round to the house but is that actually the law?

I should say DD has no symptoms at all.

The guidance tells you what your dd can do.

And being sent home by school is the same as being contacted by test and trace. You will get an email or letter from test and trace soon

But basically....

Your child who is isolating is confined to the house

You and others in the household continue as normal unless she develops symptoms in which case you’re all isolating.

This guidance applies to your isolating child:

What should I do if I am a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?

If you have been informed that you are a contact, you must self-isolate at home for 14 days from the date of your last contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Self-isolation means you must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days.

It is very important that you follow this advice even if you feel well, as symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear from your last contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Self-isolating in this way will help protect your family, friends, the wider community and the NHS.

I would warn other parents and let them make the call about their child attending.

Would you warn the event organisers too?

And this is the guidance for you (contact of a contact)

Do the people I live with also need to self-isolate at home with me for 14 days?

If you are a contact of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, but you do not have symptoms, other people living with you do not need to self-isolate and should follow the general guidance.

If you do develop symptoms of COVID-19, you should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – visit NHS.UK to arrange or contact NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access. If you live with other people, they will need to begin self-isolation at home while you wait for your test result. Follow the Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

Self-isolating at home for the 14-day period will help protect your family, friends and the NHS. Self-isolating at home in this way can also protect the most vulnerable in society, by reducing the chance of a second wave of COVID-19 in the wider community.

This guidance applies to your isolating child:

Understood. It’s what I should do with my other children and who I should be warning that I am not clear on.

My DD is isolating. We had a plumber round on Saturday. I warned them that DD was isolating and they said they didn't mind and would come anyway.

She was still in bed, plumber was downstairs.

We are all carrying on as normal with work, shopping etc. She didn't even know the child she was in contact with, but same Yr group and bus bubble so got sent home.

OP I don't think you need to warn anyone. I haven't told anyone else and have no intention of doing so. I'm more likely to catch it from the school I work in than DD.

The second piece of guidance applies to your other DC.

My son's had to SI twice now due to school.

I went to work, his brother went to school, but we did not have any visitors around.

Re the party, I agree with pp perhapls letting guests know so they can make their own risk assessments. I told my boss my son was SI, as a courtesty.

@actiongirl1978

Thank you that is very helpful.

Re the party, I agree with pp perhapls letting guests know so they can make their own risk assessments. I told my boss my son was SI, as a courtesty.

Would you let the event itself know too?

My DD is self isolating at the moment after a girl in her school bubble tested positive.

My other two DC are going to school as normal and I'm going to work (DH is wfh), but I have warned the people who we come into close contact with about DD. This isn't a necessary part of the guidelines - I'm just doing it because I prefer to be upfront about it and let people decide their own risk level. Most have said that they don't mind and we can continue as usual, but a couple have stepped back from our normal interactions, which is fine. I'd rather they have the choice.

You don't need to let the event know - it's up to you. I'd be surprised if they cancelled tbh.

@notevenat20

Re the party, I agree with pp perhapls letting guests know so they can make their own risk assessments. I told my boss my son was SI, as a courtesty.

Would you let the event itself know too?

I probably wouldn't. I'd tell the friends out of courtesty (like my boss)and they'll probably find out anyway (and most likely not care) but not the venue. You are not doing anything 'wrong' and it would be a shame to cancel the party.

But I might be overly cautious here. My boss was completely unbothered - probably because we work at a school too!

Warn DD to be extra careful about distancing.

@PinkPiranha11

I love “Mumsnet guidance”. You just take the normal guidance, make it 300x stricter, add a dash of virtue signalling, a touch of one upmanship and ta da! Welcome to Miserable Town.

That would of been quite witty if only we weren't heading for a nightmare winter where the sick (with any disease) can't get treated because there are no beds ?

I'm presuming your wit and 'humour' is because you have lost no one to this disease and currently have no one close to you in hospital. ?

The government gives 'advice' based on various political mechanisms aimed at trying to balance the wishes of their voters vs the public health /economic issues. So all advice is skewed in one way or another.. therefore it DOES rely on common sense. !

OP,

If your child is required to quarantine, the reason for this is because the chances of having contracted it are high due to close contact .

Therefore the logical thing to do is to treat your child /household member as so they are positive and behave accordingly in the interests of public health. You don't need government to TELL you this. Surely you can work out for yourself that 'if my child has it, and I live with him - then there is a high chance I can get it and pass it on.. so I won't .'
... because the alternative is you saying , 'I know I may have an infected household member and I know that you can be infected and pass it on Without symptoms... but I am prepared to take that gamble with OTHER PEOPLES health.

If your child is required to quarantine, the reason for this is because the chances of having contracted it are high due to close contact

Therefore the logical thing to do is to treat your child /household member as so they are positive and behave accordingly in the interests of public health. You don't need government to TELL you this. Surely you can work out for yourself that 'if my child has it, and I live with him - then there is a high chance I can get it and pass it on.. so I won't

Exactly this! Honestly some of these questions, on multiple threads make me despair. It’s almost like people think the restrictions have nothing whatsoever to do with containing a highly contagious virus.

@Bailey0703
Surely you can work out for yourself that 'if my child has it, and I live with him - then there is a high chance I can get it and pass it on.. so I won't .'

Sorry, from your post, are you saying the rest of the household needs to isolate, even though that isn't the guidance?

Surely no one is saying I should take DS out of school became DD's class got sent home? Apart from anything else, I would probably get fined for that.

You don't have to take siblings out of school @notevenat20.

Your child who has had contact needs to stay home
You shouldn't have visitors to the house at all
If you have shopping delivered, tell them you are self isolating

I just wasn't sure what Bailey meant in her post.

Child self isolating now but single parent so have to isolate too. Don’t know if she had too much contact as 3 school years have been sent home. Luckily no symptoms as yet so can hopefully go out to parks etc over half term!

Bailey Your made up guidance contradicts the guidelines. Your advice is very misleading and scaremongering.

OP, no your house does not need to SI, just your child.

Bailey is scaremongering and there is not a high likelihood your child will contract the virus if they were not a very close contact - the SI is a precaution.

In theory there is no legal basis for DC to isolate if you have not been contacted by test and trace. We know this because we can’t get a refund on a holiday cottage that said they would refund if government restrictions meant we had to cancel and unfortunately when I looked it up they are right. DD’s whole year been told to isolate due to one case and we’ve not heard from test and trace. Hence in theory we could ignore letter from school.

But clearly morally it’s the right thing to do so we are doing it. DD staying at home but not attempting to stay away from us, DS going to school, rest of us carrying on as normal, which for us means WFH, going out to food shop and going out for walks. If we had been doing more risky things we would probably have cut back and if eg meeting friends we would warn them so they could decide for themselves. We have cancelled our holiday (which was just a cottage 1.5 hours away with intention to only do outdoor stuff). But our lives have been pretty low key for the last few months so otherwise not an issue!

@Alakazam8

Child self isolating now but single parent so have to isolate too. Don’t know if she had too much contact as 3 school years have been sent home. Luckily no symptoms as yet so can hopefully go out to parks etc over half term!

When is your child's 14 days finished & when is your half term?

Sorry about your holiday cottage @AliMonkey.