Self-isolation guidelines for COVID-19 made clear

If you a self-isolating because of mild symptoms and someone in your house develops symptoms themselves during their 14 days self-isolation, you do not need to restart the clock; you finish your 7 days of isolation as before. But the person who gets symptoms then isolated for 7 days from the start of their symptoms.

You may or may not find the table below helpful- it’s confusing at fist glance. But if you remember that

  • Anyone with symptoms has to isolate for 7 days and that

  • Any household members with no symptoms must then isolate for 14 days while they wait to see if they develop symptoms. And

  • If a household member develops symptoms during their 14 days, they then start the 7 Day clock.

Everyone is now staying at home, but isolation means protecting those in your house from you and if possible moving out if you have anyone vulnerable to this infection i.e. elderly parents, anyone with lung or heart disease, diabetes, or if they take medication that affects their immune system.

Stay_at_home_guidance_diagram.jpg

This table was taken from from the UK government website on the 24th March 2020.

COVID-19Siobhan GrahamVitalis Healthstay at home guidelines