Can some explain self isolation guidance?

[24butfeeling80]

We bubble with my brother as we both have under 1’s (under 1 on 2nd Dec) - their other DD had got a high temp this morning and are waiting for doctors to call back. They’ll likely be asked to go for a test.

She only got the temp this morning and I’ve already taken my DD to nursery. We saw them last night.

I know that if she tests positive (DN) we all have to self isolate; however, if we don’t get symptoms we can’t really go and get tested as I don’t wanna be that person that wastes the resources.. but also we really need to work - or at least DP, we can’t afford either of us to be out of work on sick pay for 2 weeks.

So I guess my question is- if DP got tested and his test is negative - can he stop self isolating and go to work?

Or is there no way around the 2 week isolation without having symptoms to test?

What would you do?

No you must self isolate.

We all "need to go to work" that's why isolation is inconvenient.

But a negative test today doesn't mean you won't have CV in 2 days time. Which is exactly what the isolation is to protect people from.

No, you can’t test your way out of isolating.

You need to go and get your DD now, warn the nursery and isolate for 10 days/until DN tests negative.

Guidance is “you need to self isolate immediately if someone in your support bubble has symptoms and you’ve been in close contact with them since their symptoms started or during the 48 hours before they started“

So if you’ve been in close contact with DN in the past 2 days you do need to self isolate until she gets a negative result. Sorry, that’s the downside of bubbling: better support but a wider group = bigger chance of someone becoming symptomatic.

You realise you all need to isolate as someone in your bubble has symptoms? Not just for a positive test?
Your family should be isolating now.

No you need to get your child from nursery immediately and begin isolating.

No you still have to self isolate. This is the risk with a bubble, you have extra people who you will be a contact with.

No a negative test doesn't end isolation as that period is the incubation period. You could test negative one day but be positive a day or 2 later.

P.s. it's 10 days from last contact that you isolate for, not 2 weeks

From the gov.uk website:
Part 2: if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace because you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus
alert: you will be alerted by NHS Test and Trace if you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. The alert will usually come by text, email or phone call. You should then log on to the NHS Test and Trace website, which is normally the easiest way for you and the service to communicate with each other – but, if not, a trained call handler will talk you through what you must do. Under-18s will get a phone call and a parent or guardian will be asked to give permission for the call to continue
isolate: you will be told to begin self-isolation for 10 days from your last contact with the person who has tested positive. It’s really important to do this even if you don’t feel unwell because you could still be infectious to others. Failure to self-isolate for the full time period can result in a fine, starting from £1,000. Your household doesn’t need to self-isolate with you, if you do not have symptoms, but they must take extra care to follow the guidance on social distancing and handwashing and avoid contact with you at home
test if needed: if you develop symptoms of coronavirus, other members of your household must self-isolate immediately at home for 10 days and you must get a test to check if you have coronavirus or call 119 if you have no internet access. If your test is positive, you must continue to stay at home for at least 10 days and we will get in touch to ask about your contacts since they must self-isolate. If your test is negative, you must still complete your 10-day self-isolation period because the virus may not be detectable yet – this is crucial to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.

As someone with a child in nursery - please follow the rules and go collect your child immediately. Your household is now isolating until DN tests negative.

To be clear if the test they're having today is negative, you can stop isolating. Should your DN test positive today, it's 10 days from last contact.

No you all need to isolate now, you need to take your dd back from nursery now too. That’s the risk you take when you bubble, you act as one household so when someone in the bubble gets symptoms you all isolate.

Your DH can’t get a test now as even if it’s negative that doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow, that’s why you have to do the full isolation and a test won’t get you out of it.

If DN tests negative you can’t stop isolating but if positive everyone isolates for the full time.

If DN tests negative you can stop isolating*

Also from the gov.uk site:
Who this guidance is for
It is important that we all take steps to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the community to save lives and protect the NHS.

This guidance is for:

people with symptoms that may be caused by COVID-19, including those who are waiting for a test
people who have received a positive COVID-19 test result (whether or not they have symptoms)
people who currently live in the same household as someone with COVID-19 symptoms, or with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
In this guidance a household means:

one person living alone
a group of people (who may or may not be related) living at the same address and who share cooking facilities, bathrooms or toilets and/or living areas. This may include students in boarding schools or halls of residence who share such facilities
This guidance also applies to people in your support bubble or childcare bubble.

Follow separate guidance if you have had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 but do not currently live in the same household as them. If you have arrived in the UK from overseas you may also need to self-isolate.

This guidance applies in England.

Symptoms
The most important symptoms of COVID-19 are recent onset of any of the following:

a new continuous cough
a high temperature
a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)
For most people, COVID-19 will be a mild illness. However, if you have any of the symptoms above, stay at home and arrange to have a test.

There are several other symptoms linked with COVID-19. These other symptoms may have another cause and are not on their own a reason to have a COVID-19 test. If you are concerned about your symptoms, seek medical advice.

Tests for COVID-19
There are 2 main types of test currently being used to detect if someone has COVID-19:

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests
Lateral Flow Device antigen (LFD) tests
PCR tests detect the RNA (ribonucleic acid, the genetic material) of a virus. PCR tests are the most reliable COVID-19 tests. It takes some time to get the results because they are usually processed in a laboratory. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should arrange to have a PCR test.

LFD tests detect proteins in the coronavirus and work in a similar way to a pregnancy test. They are simple and quick to use. LFD tests are not as accurate as PCR tests in all circumstances, but can detect a similar number of people with high levels of coronavirus as PCR tests. They are mainly used in people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19. LFD tests are being used to regularly test staff working in care homes, the NHS and schools, as well as in community programmes offering rapid tests to people without symptoms, known as ‘asymptomatic testing programmes’.

Main messages
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result should stay at home and self-isolate immediately. This is because you could pass the infection on to others, even if you don’t have symptoms.

You could be fined if you do not self-isolate following a notification by NHS Test and Trace[footnote 1]. You may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment scheme if you are required to stay at home and self-isolate.

It may be difficult for some people to separate themselves from others in their household. Not all these measures will be possible if you are living with children or have caring responsibilities but follow this guidance to the best of your ability in these circumstances.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms or have received a positive COVID-19 test result
Stay at home and self-isolate
If you develop symptoms of COVID-19, stay at home and self-isolate immediately. If you have a positive test result but do not have symptoms, stay at home and self-isolate as soon as you receive the results. Your household needs to isolate too.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, arrange to have a PCR test if you have not already had one. Stay at home while you are waiting for a home self-sampling kit, a test site appointment or a test result. You can leave your home in a few specific circumstances, but do not go to work, school, or public areas and do not use public transport or taxis. See circumstances in which you can leave home.

If you need to leave your home to get to a test site, observe strict social distancing advice and return immediately afterwards.

If you are notified by NHS Test and Trace of a positive test result you must complete your full isolation period. Your isolation period starts immediately from when your symptoms started, or, if you do not have any symptoms, from when your test was taken. Your isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if you do not have symptoms), and the next 10 full days. This means that if, for example, your symptoms started at any time on the 15th of the month (or if you did not have symptoms but your first positive COVID-19 test was taken on the 15th), your isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th.

You can return to your normal routine and stop self-isolating after 10 full days if your symptoms have gone, or if the only symptoms you have are a cough or anosmia, which can last for several weeks. If you still have a high temperature after 10 days or are otherwise unwell, stay at home and seek medical advice.

If you are isolating because of a positive test result but did not have any symptoms, and you develop COVID-19 symptoms within your isolation period, start a new 10 day isolation period by counting 10 full days from the day following your symptom onset.

If you develop COVID-19 symptoms at any point after ending your first period of isolation you and your household should follow the steps in this guidance again.

Most people with COVID-19 will experience a mild illness. Seek prompt medical attention if your illness or the illness of someone in your household is worsening.

Stay as far away from other members of your household as possible, especially if they are clinically extremely vulnerable. Wherever possible, avoid using shared spaces such as kitchens and other living areas while others are present and take your meals back to your room to eat. Wear a face covering or a surgical mask when spending time in shared areas inside your home.

Take exercise within your home, garden or private outdoor space. Follow the general advice to reduce the spread of the infection within your household.

Why hasn't your DB booked the test yet? The sooner the result comes back, the sooner you can stop isolating (providing it's negative). What is he expecting the GP to say?

It’s only ten days isolation now, of that helps at all.

Your bubble is as if it’s your household so you should all be isolating now, as mentioned above.

*if that helps.

If you've seen them in the past 10 days you must collect your daughter immediately and isolate as though you were one household. Please go and get her rather than put her teachers and the other children at risk. That's how it works being in a support bubble unfortunately, you all isolate. It's only for 10 days, so you'll all be back at work and nursery by 15th.

Your DP needs to return from work until there is a negative result or 10 days are up as well. You might be eligible for the £500 payment, it's worth looking it up.

Test results are coming back very quickly at the moment so hopefully if your Niece gets a test this morning you'll know tonight. You should test for a temperature as it's a key symptom - you don't need a gp to tell you that

Oh shitting hell I’ve only just gone back to read the updates! I was told we only need to self isolate if she gets a positive result and until she gets a positive we don’t need to? (Which does seem absolutely bonkers!) I did actually do it last time we had a covid scare from a contact and nursery said unless said friend had had a positive result I didn’t need to pick her up.

I’ll give the nursery a call for advice as I obviously don’t want to contribute to spreading it

Balls to the ‘testing our way out of isolation’ I didn’t think about the fact it may present days after testing. I’m lucky enough to work from home so if we’re strict we should just about manage but it’s always a worry.

Thanks all for the advice.

@smeerf they have, they’re getting her tested today. They were just waiting on a call back from the doctor.

The doctor said the infection rate in our area is actually very low so he wasn’t too concerned.. but you can never be too safe!

Who told you you only need to isolate when a positive test comes back?? They are wrong. You need to isolate immediately once someone in your bubble has symptoms. Your dp needs to come home now and you need to get your child from nursery now.

@Ffsnosexallowed a friend who was in the same situation a few weeks ago; she said track and trace told them they didn’t need to isolate unless their bubble members test came back positive! Does seem very backwards and I’ve read now on NHS to isolate immediately.

DD is now home with me and DP on his way home- going to try and book a good shop to come so I have many snacks to keep DD entertained what’s the chances of getting a slot in the next 10 days though

UPDATE:

DP boss had rang this evening to say he’s asked his boss and they want him back in work?!
How is that? We’ve sceptical we don’t want to break the rules or get fined.. I’m wondering if they haven’t read the gov guidance properly.. or think because they’re a bubble and not household it’s not the same rules- but it is?

They want him back and sound pretty set on it so what do we do?