To be totally confused about Covid guidelines

[beachbodhi]

Evening all . I honestly can't get my head around it all so would appreciate someone putting it really simply for me .

It appears that Covid has hit our little town now , which is apparently down to a massive influx of visitors more recently from the top tier places-literally coach loads but anyway 🥺 .
Lo's school has sent 4 different year groups home and we've had a letter to say they've been in close contact so must isolate for 14 days - but siblings can still attend and we can all go about our business as usual while we wait to see if lo develops symptoms. Contact with the confirmed case would have been Monday and lo had a temp and headache yesterday so I took them for a test today , so my question is - if we get a negative result does lo still have to isolate ? Because it's pretty soon after contact and not showing any other symptoms .
The Covid 119 helpline said lo may still have Covid that might not show on test yet but if negative then don't have to isolate unless starts to show more symptoms then have to isolate for 14 days . But if we hadn't had test we would have had to isolate for 14 days - but test might not be valid ? 🥴 This is what I'm finding confusing- was it too early to test ? I thought if you were in contact with a confirmed case then you and your family should isolate for 14 days but we don't , just lo. So husband still going to go to work but I've decided to work from home save grandparents looking after them just in case and keep a close eye on the kids. I don't know if any of that makes sense now I've typed it out . What a bloody mess this whole thing is !

Yes they still need to isolate even if they test negative as they are still within the 14 day incubation period. As your lo has symptoms the family needs to isolate until you get the test result.

Yes its only the contact from school that needs to isolate rather than the whole family but as a child now has symptoms the whole family does need to isolate until the test result comes back

Just adding: if its negative your child continues to isolate for 14 days but everyone else can return to normal

If its positive the child now isolates for 10 days and the rest of the family isolates for 14 days

After the negative result (if that’s what it is) your child still needs to isolate for the rest of the time, due to the school contact.
Until then, as your child has symptoms, your household needs to isolate.
If the test comes back negative, the rest of the house no longer needs to isolate.

You should all be isolating until the test comes back so your DH should not be going to work.

if it's negative your LO will still have to isolate until 14 days are up but the rest of you are back to normal.
If it's positive you all need to isolate for 14 days starting from the day the child first got symptoms.

It's not hard and I honestly think some people (not necessarily saying you OP but I'm seeing this a lot) are just pretending not to understand so they have an excuse when they're called out on it.

Ok thank you - lo absolutely fine today 🙄 I still think while lo isolating and possibly incubating it , it would be safer if we all isolate even with a negative result - we won't be seeing anyone just in case and husbands work is well distanced. No wonder it's spreading like it is

I agree @Doublechins. The rules are straightforward to me, I think people interpret them to suit their circumstances or say they are confusing.

@Doublechins husband not going in until we get negative result but will if it is.
. You said '' if it's negative your LO will still have to isolate until 14 days are up but the rest of you are back to normal' this isn't what the Covid helpline said today - they said he won't have to isolate after if negative result

I've asked about this here because I've been given conflicting advise

I thought I understood and it was clear - I thought if a member of your household has been in contact with a confirmed case then you all isolate for 14 days - but that's not the case

They are wrong then. They will still be within the incubation period so testing negative at this early stage doesn't mean they don't have it

The guy at the test centre said to ask my gp , gp's surgery said call 119 and they said lo doesn't have to isolate if they get negative result

Which means we could all be incubating and spreading it 🤯 the rules are different again for my work place - a confirmed case would go home for 14 days and everyone else in the bubble carry on working , only if we got a 2nd case would we have to contact public health and follow whatever they decide

I think that's just the normal advise for a negative test after symptoms, they are not taking into account your child's close contact with a confirmed case. They will need to isolate for 14 days either way. The rest of you only isolate until a negative test.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/nhs-test-and-trace-if-youve-been-in-contact-with-a-person-who-has-coronavirus/

This page says:

If you test negative (the test did not find coronavirus):

• keep self-isolating for the rest of the 14 days from when you were last in contact with the person who has coronavirus – as you could get symptoms after being tested
• anyone you live with can stop self-isolating if they do not have symptoms
• anyone in your support bubble can stop self-isolating if they do not have symptoms

@spacegirl86 I did explain the situation in detail to them tho 🧐 exactly when and how they've been in contact

I've linked to the rules

@dementedpixie ok thanks - I still find it dangerous for the rest of us to be out there when for all I know we could all have it . Friends of ours got tested for work and tested positive with absolutely no symptoms whatsoever 😟

I'm going to do what I feel is the safest option and stay away from work , friends and family for 14 days

That's because we've got a shit testing system and no capacity to test as much as we should

@dementedpixie the link is for This advice is for people who have been told to stay at home (self-isolate) by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app. Maybe the 119 gave me different advice because we've been notified by the school who have taken advise from public health England

Its the same scenario though. Your child has been in contact with a positive case. They can't end isolation early after a negative test

www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools?priority-taxon=b350e61d-1db9-4cc2-bb44-fab02882ac25#soc

From here then:

If someone with symptoms tests negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), then they need should stay at home until they are recovered as usual from their illness but can safely return thereafter. The only exception to return following a negative test result is where an individual is separately identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, when they will need to self-isolate for 14 days from the date of that contact.

@dementedpixie ok thanks for finding that .