DD just tested positive but symptoms started 10 days ago - does she still isolate?

[Blooeyes]

For 6 weeks DD has been getting occasional positive LFTs followed up by negative PCRs. Shes had about 10 positive LFTs and negative PCRs 3 times now and she's missed a lot of school and other things while waiting for test results.

Last Monday 22nd she started feeling sick. She then got a runny nose and sneezing. The rest of us have all just had a cold (PCR confirmed) so I assumed it was that. LFT was negative. Then I did another LFT on Friday which was a faint positive so I ordered a PCR but didn't isolate due to recent experience of her testing positive on LFT and always negative on PCR. The test came on Saturday too late for the post so I did it and posted it on Monday morning. Result came back Tuesday evening as void/failed. I ordered another one and posted that yesterday. Just had the result come in as positive.

Test and trace isn't open until 8am. The email says to isolate 10 days from onset of symptoms or test result if asymptomatic. It's now been 11 days since her symptoms started so does she need to isolate?

I'll be calling test and trace first thing in the morning but wondered if anyone knows what the position is in these circumstances?

I’d say she should isolate from Friday since that’s when she had the postive lft

She'll need to isolate from the positive lft on Friday

But that isn't what the rules say. They say either 10 days from onset of symptoms or if asymptomatic 10 days from positive PCR. I'm so confused. I called 119 and they didn't know the answer and said I have to wait to be called by Test and Trace.

But you don't know that her symptoms were Covid.. Could have been an unrelated cold. There's so much going around at the moment.

When they say symptoms, they mean, cough, temperature or loss of smell/taste.. Something that would warrant an immediate PCR.

Agree this specific situation isn't covered but u strongly suspect that's what they'll say. You can't prove when her symptoms started and the Monday lft was negative if you're lucky they might say Tuesday as first day of symptoms, but apcr had to be done within five days I think so they might not accept the pcr on the following Monday as being party of the same chain. Until you down to them you won't know their position. I hope they says what you want to hear, but i fear they won't!

If you do a late test you get 5 days from thr positive result. I know this because I ended up getting 13 days prison as a result. My first 2 pcrs went to the immensa cockup lab so I did a 3rd postal one which pas positive but i was day 8 by then. And so t+t told me 5 days from the positive.

Think about why you isolate though. To stop the spread. Just isolate for 10 days it’s not hard.

She didn’t have covid symptoms though, she was asymtomatic so I’d say 10 days from that positive lft.

Why do LFTs in the first place though if they arnt accurate for her though? If you are going to do them knowing this you should atleast follow the rules and isolate when getting a positive result from them, otherwise what’s the point in doing them?

@Tinysnickers

If you do a late test you get 5 days from thr positive result. I know this because I ended up getting 13 days prison as a result. My first 2 pcrs went to the immensa cockup lab so I did a 3rd postal one which pas positive but i was day 8 by then. And so t+t told me 5 days from the positive.

Yes this is what T&T said. Because her symptoms started more than 10 days before the positive result the rule is test date + 5 days.

I'm continuing to do LFT because I then follow it up with a PCR. It's the responsible thing to do. But as she had no symptoms and was continually getting false positive LFTs I stopped isolating her every time she got a positive as otherwise she would have been off school for about 6 weeks with no symptoms and negative PCRs.

@Silversun83

When they say symptoms, they mean, cough, temperature or loss of smell/taste.. Something that would warrant an immediate PCR.

That's not true.

When test & trace call they list runny nose, sneezing, vomiting, headache and several others.

They classed my DS's runny nose as day 1 symptomatic which was 7 days before the positive pcr. I isolated him for 5 more days than they told me to as I believe he had a cold

Test and Trace are classing Sunday when DD started coughing as her day 1 rather than the Friday when she was very congested with runny nose. Seems a bit odd to me as our local authority have told us that we are meant to be on the lookout for a wider range of symptoms and some never get one of the 'main 3'.

Having said that, we're now a week in (according to my calculations) and none of the rest of the family have caught it so far.

Track and trace took the very start of my dd's cold like symptoms as day 1 so by the time the result came back she was only told to isolate for 1 day.

We did it from when dd started feeling 'off' enough to miss school. She only tested positive a week later, and was well by end of ten days so went back

@Tinysnickers

If you do a late test you get 5 days from thr positive result. I know this because I ended up getting 13 days prison as a result. My first 2 pcrs went to the immensa cockup lab so I did a 3rd postal one which pas positive but i was day 8 by then. And so t+t told me 5 days from the positive.

You got 13 days in prison because of a test cock up @Tinysnickers?

I had to read @Tinysnickers post several times before concluding that they meant 13 days of isolation, not that they were sent to prison for breaking quarantine!!

This happened to me too. They said positive test + 5 days. Seems sensible.

And I don't know why you're getting snarky comments as it sounds like you've been super responsible in continuing to test so much. Most people wouldn't have done any further testing after the first negative PCR.

@ChateauMargaux that makes more sense, prison seemed harsh!

@mejon

Test and Trace are classing Sunday when DD started coughing as her day 1 rather than the Friday when she was very congested with runny nose. Seems a bit odd to me as our local authority have told us that we are meant to be on the lookout for a wider range of symptoms and some never get one of the 'main 3'.

Having said that, we're now a week in (according to my calculations) and none of the rest of the family have caught it so far.

My DD had one of the three main symptoms and we were told that the 10 day isolation started the day afterwards but that if she were to develop another of the three main symptoms ie a cough, she would have to isolate for another 10 days from then, even if it was 7 days into the original isolation period!

My 13 year old only had isolate for 3 days as test n trace went back to day 1 of symptoms.

@festivefuschias - crikey that's a rather strange interpretation of the 'rules'.

I got 13 days isolation as they explained the system only allows for 5 days between symptoms and a test.

Otherwise you would have loads of people claiming their symptoms started earlier in order to shorten isolation.