5 day rule

[Homerenonovice]

My DD’s both tested positive yesterday, are they going to benefit from the 5 day rule or will we have to stick to the old rules?

In my experience you will be lucky to be negative by day 6 anyway.

I don't think many people will be testing negative by day 5 but i guess it will allow a small minority who are not infectious to be free as early as pos. My son tested negative yesterday on day 7 and all 4 in our house were not negative before 7 (me not until day 9) in our house at christmas.

Depends who you talk to - with rules and guidelines changing so rapidly and constantly, nobody can keep up with the shifting sands of the details. Some people are saying the 5-day thing only applies to anyone who first tests positive from Monday onwards, others are saying it applies from Monday regardless of when you tested positive.

Given that test and trace are unlikely to be phoning people back to change their advice, the safest interpretation is that the new rules will only apply to new cases being reported from Monday, but given the number of people who are neither doing pcrs nor even reporting their positive lfts, the likelihood is many people will be picking and choosing all sorts of different feasible interpretations and obvious misinterpretations.

Of the people I know who have Covid and are testing according to the new rules, none were negative by day 5.

The person with the mildest symptoms was negative by day 7.

The person with the worst symptoms is not well enough to leave the house yet and is in the 3rd week of the illness. Their tests will obviously be negative by this stage but they are still very poorly.

I'm day 5 no chance of me being negative any time soon

in my experience very rare for anyone to test negative on day 5 anyway

I can see why they’ve changed isolation days, but it must be more stressful for employees being chased to go to work, at least with the 19 day rule, you knew where you stood, now it’s all about testing day 5 and 6, and so on until you are negative for 2 days or you reach 10 days.

My DH started with covid on Monday, we kept him locked away in a bedroom until he got a negative lateral flow. His first negative came on day 4, and he has been negative ever since. My girls both tested positive yesterday but they haven’t been exposed to it since Monday so I’m hopeful they can go back to nursery on Thursday, but I’m not sure if the nursery will accept them based on the new rules.

I wasn't negative until day 11.

@WorraLiberty

I wasn't negative until day 11.

I’m day 11 today - thought i’d have a look.

Still lighting up like a Christmas tree with test line coming up immediately as the water goes up the test!

I was wondering this too. Ds1 tested positive last Wednesday, spoke to school and they said he could come back next Wednesday if negative following 2 tests. I tested positive yesterday and feeling pretty grim but am assuming I can go back Thursday if I am negative.

@Sloughsabigplace, that's what mine was like on day 10 so I was gobsmacked when it was completely negative the following day

I don't know why, but I was expecting it to fade out slowly test by test

Can you stop isolating after day 10 regardless of the test?

Yes you can stop isolating on day 10 whether positive or not. This 5 day rule i think is a step towards stopping covid isolation full stop and moving towards a 'stay off if unwell' pattern. Everyone counts their 5 day differently, hardly anyone i know is reporting the positive tests never mind checking the day negative tests! There's also a big difference between those who get paid and those who won't - i bet data will show those on ssp go back from day 5/6 whereas in my work, everyone on full pay for every isolation so of course they all take the 10 days!

Its totally open to mis use so they may aswell scrap it now. I think i read something like 1/3 to 1/4 are walking around not knowing they even have it - it'll be loads more now people will have it and moving about whilst still infectious anyway due to early release or not isolating - so easy now to avoid isolation altogether!.

I rang 119 to ask this (positive test on Friday) and they said to use the new rules from Monday and test on day 5.

How old are they? I'm finding it confusing as the new rules are for fully jabbed people and young kids aren't jabbed.

Dd 6 had covid last month, she had no symptoms. She was on day 8 when the new 7 day isolation rule came in. She still still very much had a line on day 8 on the day the new rules came in.

It wont work for everyone.

They are 1 and 4, so no jabs either but based on the test and trace emails saying they can do the day 6 and 7 test then I assume they can also do the day 5 and 6 test, if that can be retrospectively applied.

@Homerenonovice

They are 1 and 4, so no jabs either but based on the test and trace emails saying they can do the day 6 and 7 test then I assume they can also do the day 5 and 6 test, if that can be retrospectively applied.

Yes that’s right. Remember that the day of test is day 0.

To be honest it’s a silly rule anyway.
My best friend was positive with covid just before Christmas ( came out of isolation 5 days before) and over new year got a positive test, then a negative one, then another positive all within 48 hours.
He phoned the covid helpline who told him not to bother testing if he didn’t have symptoms as it would still be in his system anyway just not infectious for at least 90 days!!

So these new rules about negative tests on day whatever really confuse me as there is that conflicting advice!

@WorraLiberty

I wasn't negative until day 11.

Why did you test on day 11? Its no so bad now but there was a real shortage of tests in our area and yet, as these threads show, a lot of people seem to carry on testing even after the 10 days is up? Is there some good reason for doing this other than curiosity?

@Homerenonovice

My DH started with covid on Monday, we kept him locked away in a bedroom until he got a negative lateral flow. His first negative came on day 4, and he has been negative ever since. My girls both tested positive yesterday but they haven’t been exposed to it since Monday so I’m hopeful they can go back to nursery on Thursday, but I’m not sure if the nursery will accept them based on the new rules.

I don’t see how they could possibly be allowed back on Thursday even under the 5-day new rule, as that rule lets you out on day 6, not day 5, if you have a negative lat flow 5 days after the positive test/date of official symptom onset and then again on day 6 at least 24 hours after the day 5 test. That makes Friday the earliest release date, not Thursday, as Saturday is day zero and Thursday day 5, not day 6, so only the first day of the lat flow testing. ie You don’t get to 5 full days isolation until the end of Thursday, not the beginning, if the positive test was on Saturday.