Confused about isolation rules, please help.

[nanbread]

Child A tested positive for Covid.

Child B is a close contact of child A so was told to self isolate for 10 days.

Child B then developed symptoms possibly of Covid (cough and cold), got PCR tested, test came back negative.

My question is, do the household members of B also need to isolate?

Obviously child B will be isolating regardless due to contact with A.

The guidance is ambiguous. In some places it says if you become symptomatic while isolating as a close contact of someone who's tested positive you and your household need to isolate; in others, it says if you get a negative result your household doesn't need to isolate.

Child B's household members - parents are working from home and will avoid social contact anyway, but they have a pet they need to walk, child B's sibling attends school, and they have no shopping delivery etc booked and cannot get a slot, but could get a click and collect for example.

the negative pcr released everybody from self isolation apart from child b.

Thanks, that's what I thought - but also conscious false negatives are a thing so maybe where there are symptoms PLUS confirmed case thought maybe it was different.

No. Only child B needs to finish their original isolation period.

Great thank you for confirming.

@nanbread

Thanks, that's what I thought - but also conscious false negatives are a thing so maybe where there are symptoms PLUS confirmed case thought maybe it was different.

False positives with PCR is far less common than with LFTs.

I looked in to it when dd1 got a cough during self isolation. Work expected me back after the result and the school expected dd2 back but not dd1.

It was all beside the point, it came back positive anyway.