Conflicting isolation advice?

[lurker2003]

I live in a building with multiple flats, everyone has their own bedroom and bathroom with a proper lock on their front door. There’s a shared kitchen and laundry facilities.

I rang 119 after being told someone had tested positive and got told that unless i’d be in close proximity with the person who’s tested positive (i’ve been in close proximity with no one who lives here because the kitchen is always empty) or id been contacted by track and trace then I didn’t have to isolate. I informed my employer of this.

The landlord has now said he’d called 119 and been told we do all need to isolate?

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do?

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person#:~:text=A%20%27contact%27%20is,positive%20for%20COVID%2D19

What is meant by a ‘contact’
A ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms (this is when they are infectious to others). For example, a contact can be:

people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19
sexual partners
a person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, including:
being coughed on
having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes
a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

I think your landlord is wrong if you've not been in close contact with anyone and not had info from T&T to isolate. What's it got to do with him anyway?

@Didntgetmydiamondring

I leave my flat to use the kitchen for 5 minutes, and then go back up to my flat until my foods cooked. I don’t spend time in any of the communal areas with anyone, and have briefly passed someone coming out of the kitchen for around 15 seconds in the past week. The person I saw is not the one who’s tested positive so I should be okay then?

@dementedpixie
There’s a group chat for everyone who lives here which the landlord is in so he tends to get over involved.
I know another person who lives here is moving back to his parents for 2 weeks so he can continue working.
It’s such a stressful situation which i’ve already been struggling with so now being told 2 different pieces of information is making it worse. I’m suppose to be starting work at midnight and can’t sleep for the life of me.

Sounds like you're not a contact then. If you were T&T should contact you.

Ignore the landlord.

@dementedpixie @lljkk
Thank you both for the reassurance!

Contact would definitely have to be with the person not surfaces they may or may not have touched. Who cleans the kitchen though? I’d be being really careful and giving surfaces a wipe down with anti bac etc before using, same for any other communal hand contact surfaces. But I agree you don’t need to isolate

@Bumble84
There’s a cleaner who comes in twice a week, this is now being increased due to the positive case. I always give the side I use a wipe over with anti bac wipes before I make any food also.

Also going to add that there’s a hand sanitiser station outside of the kitchen door/ just as you enter the building.

I’d just be careful with hand contact surfaces like light switches, fridge handles, cooker knobs etc in general but esp if you’ve had a positive case.

@Bumble84 absolutely! lights are automatic so one less thing to worry about