Guidance

Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person

Updated 21 January 2021

If you live in the same household as a person who has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) or who has received a positive test result, follow the Stay at Home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

If you have been in close contact with, but do not live with, a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, follow the guidance below. This may include contact with people in your support bubble.

Who this guidance is for

This guidance is for people who have been notified by NHS Test and Trace^{[footnote 1]} that they are a contact of a person who has had a positive test result for COVID-19 and who is not from their household.

There is separate guidance for health care workers and those working in health and social care settings.

Contacts of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 need to self-isolate at home because they are at risk of developing COVID-19 themselves in the next 10 days. They could spread the virus to others, even before any symptoms begin.

What is meant by a contact

A contact is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. You can be a contact anytime from 2 days before the person who tested positive developed their symptoms, and up to 10 days after, as this is when they can pass the infection on to others.

A contact can be:

• anyone who lives in the same household as someone with COVID-19 symptoms or who has tested positive for COVID-19
• anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 with a PCR test:
  • face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
  • been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
  • sexual contacts
  • been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day)
  • travelled in the same vehicle or a plane

An interaction through a Perspex (or equivalent) screen with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 is not usually considered to be a contact, as long as there has been no other contact such as those in the list above.

If you are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you will be notified by the NHS Test and Trace service via text message, email or phone and should follow this guidance closely.

Support bubbles

A support bubble is a support network which links 2 households. Those in a support bubble can have close contact with others in their bubble as if they were members of their own household. If you are in a support bubble and have had recent close contact with someone in your bubble who has tested positive for COVID-19, you may be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service and asked to follow this guidance. This may also happen if you are in a childcare bubble, where households are linked to provide informal childcare.

Main messages

If you have been informed that you are a contact of a person who has had a positive PCR test result for COVID-19, you must stay at home and complete 10 full days isolation. Your isolation period includes the date of your last contact with them and the next ten full days. This means that if, for example, your last contact with them was at any time on the 15th of the month, your isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th.

Do not go to work, school, or public areas, and do not use public transport or taxis.

If you develop any of the following symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature, or a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), you should arrange to have a PCR test for COVID-19.

If you do not have any of these symptoms, other people in your household do not need to self-isolate with you.

If anyone you live with is clinically extremely vulnerable, stay away from them as much as possible.

How you will be told if you are a contact

The NHS Test and Trace service will get in touch with anyone who is a contact of someone who has tested positive by a PCR test for COVID-19 by text message, email, phone or the NHS COVID-19 app.

What to do if you are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

If you have been informed that you are a contact of a person who has had a positive PCR test result for COVID-19, you must stay at home and complete 10 full days isolation. Your isolation period includes the date of your last contact with them and the next 10 full days. This means that if, for example, your last contact with them was at any time on the 15th of the month your isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th.

Self-isolation means you must stay at home and not leave the house. Do not go to work, school, or public areas, and do not use public transport or taxis.

Do not go outside even to buy food or other essentials, except in certain specific circumstances. Any exercise must be taken within your home, garden or private outdoor space.

Ask friends or relatives to help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog. You can also order your shopping online and medication by phone or online. Delivery drivers should not come into your home, so make sure you ask them to leave items outside for collection. Further guidance on accessing food and essential supplies is available.

If you live with clinically extremely vulnerable, stay away from them as much as possible.

If you do not develop symptoms of COVID-19, you should not arrange a COVID-19 test.

Your household does not need to self-isolate with you if you do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but they should take extra care to follow the guidance on social distancing, handwashing and respiratory hygiene.

It is very important that you follow this advice even if you feel well, as symptoms can take up to 10 days to appear from your last contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19. This will help protect your family, friends and the NHS. Self-isolation protects the most vulnerable in society by reducing the chance of spread of COVID-19 in the wider community.

If you are living with children, keep following this guidance to the best of your ability, however, we are aware that not all these measures will be possible.

Not all these measures will be possible if you, or those you are living with, have conditions such as learning disabilities, autism or serious mental illness. Please keep following this guidance to the best of your ability, while keeping yourself and those close to you safe and well, ideally in line with any existing care plans.

Staying at home for a prolonged period can be difficult, frustrating and lonely for some, but you can do things to help make it easier or access the Every Mind Matters website.

If you are identified as a contact and asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, including by the NHS COVID-19 app, you may be entitled to a payment of £500 from your local authority under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.

You could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate if you are notified by NHS Test and Trace that you need to self-isolate.

I think I have had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, but I have not been notified and advised to self-isolate. What should I do?

Contacts who need to self-isolate will be notified and advised accordingly by the NHS Test and Trace service, including by the NHS COVID-19 app. If you have not been notified, this means you do not need to self-isolate.

If you are concerned that you may have symptoms of coronavirus, or you live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus, follow the Stay at Home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

What to do if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 during your 10 days of self-isolation

If you develop symptoms, stay at home and arrange to have a PCR test for COVID-19.

As soon as your symptoms start, you and anyone in your household should follow the Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19. If your test result is positive, continue to follow the Stay at Home guidance.

If your test result is negative, then you must still complete the full 10 days of self-isolation, as you could still develop COVID-19. Continue to follow this guidance.

Do the people I live with also need to self-isolate at home with me for 10 days?

If you are a contact of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, but you do not have symptoms, other people living with you do not need to self-isolate.

What to do if you live with someone who develops COVID-19 symptoms

If someone you live with develops symptoms, they will need to self-isolate at home along with all the other people who live with them; this will include you.

In this situation you should all follow Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

I think I have been in close contact with someone who is being tested for COVID-19, but they do not yet have a test result. What should I do?

At this stage, you do not need to self-isolate. You should take extra care in practising social distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene.

Contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 infection who need to self-isolate will be notified accordingly by the NHS Test and Trace service or NHS COVID-19 app. If you have not been notified, this means you do not need to self-isolate.

What to do if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 after your 10 days of self-isolation at home

If after 10 days of self-isolation you develop symptoms of COVID-19, stay at home and arrange to have a test. Follow Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

If your result is positive, you must self-isolate for a further 10 days.

Will I need to self-isolate if I previously tested positive for COVID-19 but have now been notified that I am a contact of a person who has had a positive test result for COVID-19?

If you have previously tested positive for COVID-19, you will probably have developed some short-term immunity to the disease. However, it is not certain that will happen for everyone who has had COVID-19, nor do we know how long any immunity to the disease might last.

If you are notified that you are a contact of someone who has had a positive test result for COVID-19, you must immediately self-isolate and follow this guidance.

Practise good hand and respiratory hygiene and keep your home well ventilated

Everyone should practise good hand and respiratory hygiene.

Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose and before you eat or handle food. Clean your hands frequently and avoid touching your face.

Cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues when you cough or sneeze. If you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not into your hand.

Dispose of tissues into a rubbish bag and immediately wash your hands.

Keep indoor areas well-ventilated with fresh air, especially shared living areas. To increase the flow of air you can:

• open windows as much as possible
• open doors
• make sure that any vents are open and airflow is not blocked
• leave extractor fans (for example in bathrooms) running for longer than usual with the door closed after use

You can find more advice on reducing the risks from COVID-19 in your home at GermDefence.

Financial or other practical support

Self-isolation is one of the most important things we can do to help stop the spread of the virus and protect our friends and family, our community and the NHS. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, have received a positive test result, or have been told you are a contact with someone who has, self-isolation is the only way to guarantee you won’t pass COVID-19 to others. If you are told to isolate, you should do so straight away. Find out what support you can get if you’re affected by coronavirus is available.

Ask your employer, friends and family for help to access the things you will need while staying at home. More information on accessing food and essential supplies is available.

Check if your neighbourhood or local community has a volunteer system that could help bring you supplies or provide other support. Ask friends or family to drop off anything you need or order supplies online or by phone, making sure these are left outside your home for you to collect.

If you are unable to work due to COVID-19, see guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions to find out about support available to you. You may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment scheme if you are required to stay at home and self-isolate. You can apply for the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment online or through the NHS COVID-19 app.

You will be eligible if you live in England and meet all the following criteria:

• you have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, including by the NHS COVID-19 app
• you are employed or self-employed
• you cannot work from home and will lose income as a result
• you are claiming at least one of the following benefits:
  • Universal Credit
  • Working Tax Credits
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Pension Credit or Housing Benefit

Visit your local authority’s website for more information.

Legal requirements for self-isolation

You could be fined if you do not stay at home and self-isolate following a positive test result for COVID-19, or if you are a contact of someone who has tested positive, and you are notified by NHS Test and Trace that you need to self-isolate. It is also an offence to knowingly provide false information about your close contacts to NHS Test and Trace. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a fine of up to £10,000. These regulations will only apply in England.

1. For the purposes of this guidance this includes Test and Trace contact tracers/call handlers, local authority contact tracers working with NHS Test and Trace, Public Health England health protection teams and NHS staff (for healthcare contacts) ↩