@alterego2, the Gov.uk advice would appear to agree with your understanding. I think the 'starting again' applies to
- anyone who becomes ill / tests positive during thev14 days has to continue to self isolate for a full 10 days of their own, even if it starts on the 14th day of the household isolation and
- the whole process starts again for everyone in the household, if the initial episode has ended, but someone then gets I'll/ tests positive (a different household member or the same one again)? (Sorry, haven't copied and paste the last bit, but it's in the document somewhere!).
www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 however mild, self-isolate for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started. You should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – go to testing (hyperlink here in the doc) to arrange. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
(f-all point in going to a GP's surgery for anything at all round here, anyway
)
If you are not experiencing symptoms but have tested positive for COVID-19, you must self-isolate for at least 10 days, starting from the day the test was taken. If you develop symptoms during this isolation period, restart your 10-day isolation from the day you developed symptoms.
You could befinedif you do not stay at home and self-isolate following a positive test result for COVID-19 or if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and instructed to self-isolate.
After 10 days, if you still have a temperature you should continue to self-isolate and seek medical advice. You do not need to self-isolate after 10 days if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell or taste, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone. See the ending isolation section below for more information.
If you live with others, all other household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the household became ill or if they do not have symptoms, from the day their test was taken. If anyone else in the household starts displaying symptoms, they must stay at home for at least 10 days from when their symptoms appear, regardless of what day they are on in their original 14-day isolation period. The ending isolation section below has more information.
Ending household isolation
After 10 days, if the first person to become ill feels better and no longer has symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell/taste they can return to their normal routine.
If you live with others, then everyone else in the household who remains well should end their isolation after 14 days. This 14-day period starts from the day the first person in the household became ill. People in the household who remain well after 14 days are unlikely to be infectious.
*If anyone in the household becomes unwell during the 14-day period, they should arrange to have a test to see if they have COVID-19 – go totestingto arrange. If their test result is positive, they must follow the same advice for people with COVID-19 symptoms – that is, after 10 days of their symptoms starting, if they feel better and no longer have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell or taste – they can also return to their normal routine. However, if their test result is negative, they must continue with isolation as part of the household for the full 14 days^.
Should someone develop COVID-19 symptoms late in the 14-day household isolation period (for example, on day 10 or later) the isolation period for the rest of the household does not need to be extended. Only the person with new COVID-19 symptoms has to stay at home for at least a further 10 days and should arrange to have a test to see if they have COVID-19 - go to testing to arrange.
At the end of the 14-day period, anyone in the household who has not become unwell can return to their normal routine.