Dd had negative covid test yesterday, now has a cough.

[TeddyIsaHe]

Ffs this is getting ridiculous!!

Dd had a temp on Friday morning, wouldn’t come down with calpol, so I booked a covid test. Got the results on Monday morning at 3am and it was negative.

She’s not got a snotty nose and a bit of a chesty cough (new and continuous) do I need to retest?! And keep her off nursery?

*shes now

Yes and yes

I wouldn't - she's already tested negative!

Bloody hellfire.

Surely she cannot have contracted covid since Friday as we’ve been isolating until the result!

I wouldn't either

If she has been isolating since getting her test and the temperature came from nowhere, rather than exposure to a confirmed positive case, I wouldn’t get her tested again. You could always send an email to nursery with a screenshot of her negative result and explain it to them too

A colleague had a negative test followed by a positive test within about 3 days of each other. You might want to get another test to be on the safe side if she's still poorly and has developed new symptoms.

Not every cough is covid. She tested negative.

She was negative at that snapshot in time. There was not a sufficient amount of virus present at that point in time in her nasal cavity to trigger the test to be positive. It doesn't mean she wasn't incubating the virus, and the fact that you isolated for a few days before you got the first result back still doesn't mean she wasn't incubating it from picking it up previously - the incubation period can be up to 14 days.

Given the presence of a new symptom I would probably test again, or at least you would have to isolate again as you don't know for sure that it's not covid.

I wouldn't get her retested that close.

I personally wouldn’t but the nursery might ask you to anyway, especially because she didn’t have the cough at the time of the test.

@SkittyKat

She was negative at that snapshot in time. There was not a sufficient amount of virus present at that point in time in her nasal cavity to trigger the test to be positive. It doesn't mean she wasn't incubating the virus, and the fact that you isolated for a few days before you got the first result back still doesn't mean she wasn't incubating it from picking it up previously - the incubation period can be up to 14 days.

Given the presence of a new symptom I would probably test again, or at least you would have to isolate again as you don't know for sure that it's not covid.

Skittycat is right. A Covid test is not a definitive answer as you whether you have picked up the virus or not; it just means that you didn't have an active case at the time. But you might be incubating one. A bit like a pregnancy test I suppose; you could be a few days pregnant and still get a negative result from a test if you weren't far enough along to have the hormones in your urine.

We’ve had this too. Temperature (and negative test) and then a couple of days later a cough. Both the childminder and I have assumed this is part of the same viral infection that is not covid. Which 2 year olds get all the time! Checked with my friendly microbiologist and he agreed so we have not re-swabbed and the family aren’t isolating.

If she’s not been anywhere, it sounds like she just has a generic winter virus that has now developed into a cough. I wouldn’t re-test.

If it were an adult I might get another test to be on the safe side. If she found the test as upsetting as my toddler did then I wouldn't be doing it twice in a week unless I really had to.

No I wouldn't. I'd just assume it's part of this virus she has.

Just a point but if you have isolated since Friday there is still time for her to have got it as the gestation period is much longer than 4 days. It's fucking annoying though DH tested negative last week. How to do a retest as his partner at work tested positive he is now positive with a bit of sore throat and snotty nose (not a symptom associated).

Jesus how hard is it to understand the guidelines. Shocking.

Of course get her tested!!!

And yes pregnancy test is a good comparison. I shall use that with other people who try to make excuses why they shouldnt test again with the onset of a symptom.

Good grief

@30not13

I’m sorry, would you like to show me the exact guidelines about getting a test 24 hours after a negative result?

Why don’t you try not to be so fucking patronising for a day?

I tested negative on Saturday, positive on Wednesday. Smell was down at first test, cough started on the Monday. (My husband had tested positive at the time) I would do another test to be safe.

The thing is, OP, it's not 24 hours since her last test. Ok so it's 24 hours since her result, but that result could have been based on testing they did on Friday. They don't necessarily test the sample the same day as the result is sent to you.

On Friday (4 days ago) she was negative. It can take up to 10 days for symptoms to develop.

She may now be positive.

I’m sorry, would you like to show me the exact guidelines about getting a test 24 hours after a negative result?

We were in a similar situation too OP and I found it difficult to understand the retest guidelines.

Yes totally get symptoms take time to develop, but she HAD symptoms at the time of the test.

But those symptoms were obviously a symptom of something else.

This symptom could be a symptom of covid. Or something else.

The only way to know is to test. Unless you all want to stay indoors for 14days?

Considering the symptoms she’s had and still got it sounds more like the test result was likely to be a false negative i.e. she was positive but the test result may have been incorrect.

Please note my best friend is still testing positive for covid at the moment. This is just over three weeks since her symptoms first started.