Isolating for large families

[Heelsofsteel]

According to the government info, if a family have been isolating for 10 days (because of a positive case in that household) and someone in that household bubble develops symptoms and tests positive on say, day 8 of isolation, then only that person must continue to isolate , but not the other members who’ve been isolating already ? Is that correct? If so, why?

Bumping in case anyone knows more about this?

Yes that’s correct, the premise is that the family will have already caught it from the first family member

This is reassuring to know. We are a large family ( 5 adults, one teen) and currently isolating due to ds1 having tested positive.

I thought the isolation reset?

The official guidance says not @Northernlurker.
But what if say a family have seven children, one gets it. Then everybody else is ok for the ten days except one sibling who tests positive on day eight.
So that sibling isolates for next ten days , but everyone else goes off to school?
Is the assumption that the ones who didn’t catch it must have had some level of immunity?
Can’t get my head round how it works.

Also the guidance relies on ‘if no one has symptoms after the ten days’ but so many cases have very few symptoms, especially amongst kids. Is there no requirement to pcr test to end isolation ?(LF tests seem hit and miss, and never easy to do for small children).

I honestly think track and trace make it up as they go along. I know somebody who tested positive so her partner isolated. Day 6 he tested positive and they told her she had to isolate for another ten days!

I have heard of conflicting advice from track and trace , but this advice is the official uk government advice, which presumably is carefully worded and deliberated?

People can't keep isolating forever. You have the rule correct; if someone catches it within 10 days then they extend their isolation. If one of you then catches it on day 11 after you've left isolation though, then you all need to start isolation again. So if you can get PCR tests at some stage, it might be worthwhile.

This is a useful illustration. I was looking this up earlier this week as we are in isolation.

We had this last October, I ended up being off work for a month, five children
Luckily they sent me a laptop over as I wasn't ill for very long
Have the rules changed then?

Lol at anyone with symptoms should stay 2m away.

@RosieLemonade

Lol at anyone with symptoms should stay 2m away.

It’s not that weird, my teen is the one who has it and spends most of the time in their bedroom anyway

With teens it’s a bit easier if it’s them that has the virus. Little ones you just have to resign yourself to getting it, or spreading it to your children if you have it yourself. Tricky.

I spoke to track and trace this week about exactly this … 3 adults and 3 young kids in house. 4/6 had Covid but the 2/6 had no symptoms and we were told that they could go about normal business from after the 10 days isolation. If, however after those 10 days they get symptoms we all have to isolate again.

@Keepgoing88 was there any requirement to test anyone at the end of the isolation period?

No. Unless they have symptoms. I have been testing them with lateral flow regularly though

its because if you are all isolating together, and say a sibling develops symptoms and tests positive on day 8, then they must have caught it from the initial positive case in the family (cause youve been isolating) which you have all already been exposed to, so either you have all had it (asymptomatically) or you're not going to get it (as you havent already got it from first case)
Once you leave isolation though, if someone else gets symptoms on day 11 it could be form outside the family unit, and so you are all at risk of getting it again so all have to isolate again.

But given that the gov advice is to isolate the positive case from the other members of the family, could it just be that the people who didn’t catch it had neither caught it asymptomatically or have antibodies, rather simply that they were lucky and benefited from the precautionary measures taken by the family? (It’s advised that the positive case should stay in their room, stay 2m, masks, hand sanitiser etc etc).

I'm glad I found this thread as we have exactly this issue. Our isolation should end tomorrow as it's been 11 days since our first positive case (day of test plus 10) which was DS2. He's now negative, as are the rest of us, but DS3 tested positive today. According to the infographic (I aslo found that one ) we can all go about our business tomorrow as long as DS3 stays in isolation but it feels a bit illogical.

We are in this situation now. Family of 6, one child tested positive 7 days ago. Nobody else has symptoms so far. LFTs are negative. If nobody else has symptoms by Monday which is day 11 I presume we are okay to stop isolating.

Yes it’s changed now and it doesn’t reset for everyone. My son and I are on day 9 and day 8 of Covid but my daughter is negative so far. If she gets it tomorrow only she has to restart the 10 days. We are free on day 10 regardless