Can someone explain something about self isolation to me

[Harleyflynn]

The NHS website says that you need to self isolate for 14 days if you or someone you live with has symptoms

OK, so say I have covid symptoms, I get tested, and it's negative. Would DH then have to self isolate for 14 days regardless, even though I could then go out and about myself? That is what the NHS website seems to say is the case but that makes no sense to me.

No, once you get a negative test result everyone is free to carry on as normal.

The site says -
"Self-isolate for 14 days
You must self-isolate for 14 days if you live with (or are in a support bubble with) someone who:
has symptoms of coronavirus and tested positive, had an unclear result or did not have a test
tested positive but has not had symptoms".

If you just have symptoms but test negative, with no known contact with someone who tested positive, you are both fine to go out and about after the negative test.

If you had contact with a positive case, you need to SI since that contact, regardless of whether you test positive. You DH would not have to, unless you test positive.

I also have a question, DD15 tested positive 12 days ago so we're all self isolating until Friday, DH tested positive yesterday, DD is out of isolation now, do we all have to isolate for another 14 days now that DH is positive?
T&T said no a few days ago when I asked hypothetically but it doesn't seem right as one of us (7 of us) could catch it from DH even if we didn't get it from DD

That’s the right advice from track and trace, the assumption is if you’ve already caught it from the index case, if anyone else in the family develops symptoms within 14 days , you can all come out of isolation. If it’s after 14 days, you all start the process again.

If you and your household are isolating because you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms, you and your household are able to end self-isolation early if you receive a negative test.

However, if you are isolating because you live with someone who has symptoms, you must continue to isolate for 14 days even if you receive a negative test. You may only end isolation early if the person with symptoms in your household receives a negative test.

If you are isolating because you have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace or because you are required to under public health measures at the border, you must continue to isolate for 14 days even if you receive a negative test.

@mightyducks

Oops pressed too soon
Mightyducks oh I think that's what they were talking about, the index case which sounds encouraging but does that mean none of us can catch it from DH or aren't asymptotic from him rather than the index case?

I'm guessing if it was any other kind of infectious disease you could still catch it from a someone who is positive

@misssmiley the assumption is you’ve already had it, asymptotic or symptomatic from the index case, if you’ve lived with them for 14 days self isolating.

@Mightducks there are seven of us, 2 positive cases, I had symptoms but had a negative test last week and one this week, everyone else symptomless, the only thing I can think is that i maybe had it before, or else it's harder to catch then you'd think, my DD needed hugs when she was ill, no social distancing and I was still negative twice

Most people don't infect anyone else, spread is almost entirely driven by super spreaders. Something like 80% of infections are caused by 10% of cases.

@MissSmiley that's what they are saying now. I will however say that my dh got sick 10 days after me and my ds1 10 days after him, so he dus catch it from my dh (I was shut away in the bedroom from the morning I got sick). So I wouldnt make any plans to go cuddle granny if you do decide to stop isolating.

@Porcupineinwaiting that's my worry, I hope you are all fully recovered now

I guess DH will only be 7 days since the start of his infection when we come out, so difficult to know what to do, I've told work and I suspect they'll want me off for another week, my boss who I work closely with is 72!

@misssmiley , I’ve given you the official advice, if your work want you to do something different that’s up to them. It’s possible your test results were false negatives, especially when you say you had symptoms, they don’t get mentioned much but very much do happen, there’s a good lancet article about it, I’ll try and find it

www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1808