Isolation reduced to 7 days *MNHQ editing to make clear this is England-only so far*

[Jourdain11]

It's been confirmed.

BBC News - Covid: Self-isolation cut from 10 days to seven with negative test
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59749447

Oh Tbf is now updated. It now says applies to everyone whereas earlier it said unvaccinated adults still had to do 10 days.

@Dontforgetyourbrolly

I feel like they are making it up as they go along . I was under the impression tests could show positive for weeks after a bout of covid. Who's monitoring these lfts anyway?

They know they're stuffed if they don't do something about the huge amounts of people off work. We all know some people will just take it that it's freedom after 7 days and go out and about without a negative test.

With other viruses GPs have always told me that by the time you know you've got it ( showing symptoms) you've already been the most contagious.

Obviously this is very different and we don't know a lot about it
But T&T were asking who I'd been in contact with up to a week before
I don't think you can get a step ahead with covid

Unvaccinated people have to self isolate for ten days if the are a close contact. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated follow the 7 days plus testing negative rules if they actually have had covid. Anything different would make no sense at all, and sound suspiciously like a punishment

Good!

I believe they are also asking people to only stop at 7 days if they get a negative test at that point so for once it sounds like a sensible measure.

Don't quite understand why anyone would have an issue with that....some people just seem to look for the negative in everything.

I find this really interesting as a strategy. I worked on a COVID designated unit in a care home-we accepted people who had COVID from hospitals to clear beds still in their isolation period. We had people there for several weeks after their isolation was meant to have ended because they were still turning up positive PCRs, LFTs were negative though.

I wonder if asymptomatic positives will be the next change to isolation.

Despite the caveats about crowded and poorly ventilated spaces, for those who can't work from home, this will mean increased pressure to attend work unwell or face disciplinary - even though the place where those people are most likely to catch Covid is work.

As always, it mainly benefits those who can protect themselves by working from home.

@Daisydoor12

With cases rocketing don’t think now is the time to bring this in. Supposedly to ease the strain of people being off sick but guidance states to wfh and avoid people. Also didn’t think you should test until 90days after infection because the results aren’t accurate? And finally with our case rates so high other countries bringing in restrictions and Israel advocating a 4th jab for over 60s…what do we do…cut isolation requirements!!

Not white the case.

You can take a PCR within 90 days and you are advised to if you have new symptoms, and you have to in many cases if you want to travel abroad.

The majority of people will not continue to test positive for 90 days. But a few can do, And the longer people wait after their infection the less likely they will test positive, so a bit like a sliding scale. As time goes in, less and less people will test positive with each day.

Most people probably test negative much much sooner.

And LFTs read the information slightly different iirr, so less likely to test positive on them for as long.

And the fact that you aren’t supposed to re test for 90 days as can stay positive ?

Utter farce.

Apart from the fact that , having paid for a lateral flow taken for me in a Spanish private hospital, where the sample taking was wholly inadequate ( touched one nostril - just , and dumped all the tube liquid on the slide )- I would trust very few people who told me it was ok thry had a neg lateral flow

@Thewiseoneincognito

What’s the deal with close contact isolation for the unvaccinated? Is that still 10 days?

Yes. Unvaccinated people still isolate for 10mdays,

All very theoretical. Only people who do a PCR are bound by this anyway.Most people I know who are getting a positive LFT re just using their own judgement and NOT getting a PCR with all the palaver that entails.

@kickupafuss

I don’t think it will help much. Wouldn’t most health workers be classed as working with vulnerable people? And schools are not properly ventilated so children won’t be able to return to school.

I doubt it - they will definitely expect children and teaching staff in on dh 8, if they've had 2 negative tests. I doubt schools can ask for evidence if the two negative tests either so, in my experience, a small number will be returning even if the tests say different regardless. But that's the same ones who are often in with symptoms beforehand or have told T&T slightly conflicting information so in early anyway.

@TheVampiresWife

DH was testing positive on LFT for almost two months after our isolation ended, but he was completely asymptomatic all the way through (me too, but I tested negative about day 6).

Given we've always been told that testing positive on LFT after isolation ends means you're not infectious I'm not sure how this works really.

I guess it's possible that everyone reacts differently to the virus.

@Abraxan

Only if a close contact. If positive they are 7 days too.

Obviously if you are a close contact it can take a couple of days to get poorly.

@Suzi888

Most people aren’t isolating in any case!

I don't think that's true. As always, some people won't be isolating but MOST people do follow the rules, ime anyway. You'll always get a minority who don't do the right thing, that will never change,

Seems like a sensible move to me, 10 days felt too long (I've not had to do it myself but it's a long time to be stuck in the house) but a week becomes more manageable. If you are not ill you are unlikely to pass it on anyway, and if you still have symptoms you still have to stay at home anyway, unless it's obviously just the covid cough which might last for months.

For me, better to have a 7 day period that people stick to, than a longer period that people don't.

Excellent. Will need to see whether the Chief Mammy will do the same for Scotland

Why are people continuing to take lfts after a positive pcr? Not necessary and a complete waste of NHS resources!

@musicalfrog

Why are people continuing to take lfts after a positive pcr? Not necessary and a complete waste of NHS resources!

Because they're being told they have to, in this case.

[quote Frazzled2207]@Abraxan

Only if a close contact. If positive they are 7 days too.

Obviously if you are a close contact it can take a couple of days to get poorly.[/quote]
Ah, that bit changed from the original messages on some,online sources. I've now read the clarified information which shows that covid positive unvaccinated people only isolate for 7 days but unvaccinated close contacts isolate for 10 days (I assume to allow for a couple of days incubation period.)

@JurgensCakeBabyJesus

Oh for crying out loud, DS comes out of isolation on the 27th so this will save our original Christmas plans, except my mum sent to the supermarket for me tonight and has just dropped off the ingredients for a full Christmas dinner.

He has to test negative on day 6 and 7 to end isolation on day 7 and so he may still be positive by then.

If you read the thread on when everyone’s lateral flows went negative many are 10 days or more.

This is very reasonable - I think places in Europe have always said you’re only contagious for 5 days anyway!

@musicalfrog

Why are people continuing to take lfts after a positive pcr? Not necessary and a complete waste of NHS resources!

LFTs are not NHS resources. Neither produced nor paid for by the NHS. Using them to test after a positive test in order to judge how careful to be within your household seems a sensible use of them to me. And now if course they're being told to use them in days 6 and 7 enabling people to get back to work 3 days sooner. That's good value for money from the cost the government pays for them.

@Abraxan

Yes this changed from the earlier articles

Will schools have to follow this too? What if they say to stick to 10 days?
I'm a bit undecided on this... What if it can still spread after day 7 even with a negative lateral flow(we have seen positive pcrs even with negative lateral flows 🤔) and won't that in fact make case numbers go even higher... And then they'll want to put in more restrictions??
I'd be OK with all this... If they showed some scientific results where they tested people properly on day 7 to show how many could still pass it on...