Why is the isolation period 10 days from contact?

[NameChange37836]

Is the isolation period 10 days because:

1. If you haven’t developed symptoms in that 10 days they you are unlikely to have it, or

1. Because even if you had it, you won’t be contagious after 10 days?

Saw a family member on the day after their isolation ended. Turns out they were awaiting test results and it came back positive. They never got symptoms at all in the 10 days. Think test was done on day 7 or 8.

A lot of the information I’m ready online does seem to suggest the isolation period is 10 days because of reason 2 (in my OP). So that would suggest I don’t even need to isolate (but don’t worry, I will, luckily WFH).

It's far less of an issue than MN would have you believe. IIRC the length of time you shed the virus for is quite strongly linked to severity of symptoms.

But this sort of testing does happen routinely in other places. It's part of the 'test, test, test' strategy that the WHO said was the way out of this. As far as I'm aware there aren't lots of people sitting around for 90 days because they keep getting positive COVID tests and they haven't ground to a halt. I'd imagine quite a few of them are much less ground to a halt than us.

@satnighttakeaway

Guidance is that you stay home whilst waiting for the test results, asymptomatic or not (this isn’t the case if you do a random research, or ZOE test). He shouldn’t have been socialising with anyone

Are you sure about that? People who get tested regularly as part of their jobs don't have to isolate do they?

Not true

Copy and pasted from my local council website

“ It is possible to catch coronavirus and not display any symptoms. Many people who have tested positive also displayed other symptoms. residents are therefore advised to book a coronavirus test as a precaution if they have symptoms such as:

Headaches
Aches and pains
Feeling very tired for no good reason
Sore throat
Runny nose
Sneezing
Sometimes ‘tummy ache’ in children
If you have one or more of these additional symptoms, book your test online and when you are able to, select the option “My local council has asked me to get a test”.

If you have these additional symptoms you can carry on going to school or work if you are well enough to do so, and only need to self-isolate if the test comes back positive.

AND

Please remember:
If you are awaiting a coronavirus test result and you have one of the three main symptoms you should self-isolate
If you are awaiting a coronavirus test result and you have one of the milder symptoms you not need to self-isolate
If you test positive, you need to self-isolate for 10 days and anyone you live or in your support bubble will need to self-isolate for 10 days

There is also a section inviting anyone who has any concerns to book in for a test. We are a Tier 3 area trying not to go into Tier 4

@Comefromaway

There is also a section inviting anyone who has any concerns to book in for a test. We are a Tier 3 area trying not to go into Tier 4

I don't know where you are getting your information from but the gov.uk site is quite clear you don't need to isolate if you ahev no symptoms and are tested as part of your job

"If testing asymptomatic staff, the current advice is clear that a virus test will tell the individual whether they potentially have COVID-19 at that moment in time. If employers wish to offer repeat tests to asymptomatic staff, there is not yet a clinically defined number of times that an individual should be tested within a given timeframe. However, guidelines on how to decide on the frequency of testing are in annex B. A worker does not need to isolate whilst awaiting their result unless they have COVID-19 symptoms."

From www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-guidance-for-employers/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-guidance-for-employers-and-third-party-healthcare-providers

If you want to read the whole guidance.

As I said in my post the quote is from my local authority website (& almost identical wording is on the adjacent local authority website)

Where I live, and in many other areas too, tests are freely available for anyone who wants one for almost any reason.