Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

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Sam_Brown
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Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Sam_Brown »

My wife was made redundant back in October and has been working supply teacher during the days and at royal mail temping in the evenings.

She's been told one of her students has been tested positive yesterday and my wife has been told by the school her and the rest of the "bubble" (class) need to self isolate.

Obviously as she's supply means she won't get paid when she isn't working and won't get paid when she can't work at royal mail either.

We're hoping if she takes a test and it comes back negative then she can stop self isolating but I'm seeing conflicting info online.

Also does anyone know what the period of time is for self isolation now as well as some places say 10 and some places say 14?
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by gosling »

When my wife had to self isolate, her school said 14 days
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Pompski! »

It's 14 days whether you test positive or negative.
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Sam_Brown »

That was what I thought but then googled this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -infection

“ A positive test result means you must complete a 10-day isolation period.

If your test is negative, you can stop self-isolating as long as you are well.”

But then I look on NHS and see 14 days 🤯
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Mr Dee »

I thought they announced the other day it was changed to 5 days
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Sam_Brown »

Mr Dee wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:20 am I thought they announced the other day it was changed to 5 days

Is that true? If so solves a problem as we usually take the grandparents shopping at the moment on Fridays. Where did you hear that?
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Dinksy »

It's perfectly simple...
...if you test positive and you are a left-handed Capricorn with a sister younger than you or an aunt who lives in Ireland then you have to isolate for 14 days unless you are a vegetarian and have been to Spain any time in the past 18 months. If you went to Spain before that, you can shorten the isolation period to 10 ten days provided you have already done your Christmas shopping and believe in Santa.
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Sam_Brown »

Dinksy wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 5:41 pm It's perfectly simple...
...if you test positive and you are a left-handed Capricorn with a sister younger than you or an aunt who lives in Ireland then you have to isolate for 14 days unless you are a vegetarian and have been to Spain any time in the past 18 months. If you went to Spain before that, you can shorten the isolation period to 10 ten days provided you have already done your Christmas shopping and believe in Santa.
Haha here's a good one for you...

So my wife works in supply. The school has been told one of the kids is infected and my wife has to self isolate for 14 (maybe 10 or maybe 5 days - I really don't know anymore).

So she won't be getting paid while she's not working supply obviously. So we're looking to claim the 500 quid for self isolating but you can't unless you've been provided a Test and Trace 8 digit number which she's not because it's the school that's told her to self isolate and not test and trace. So the impact is she has to self isolate but the system in place means she can't claim the 500 quid. There's also no number she can call to get advise and it's pretty much a "computer says no" issue at the moment. Really don't know what to do as she's not working the last two weeks of december anyway with the schools being on holiday so she won't be making any money for all of December at this rate.

Ugh.
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Dinksy »

On a more serious note, I do sympathise with your situation Sam.
There are clearly a lot of people, not covered any of Rishi Sunak's schemes who are, through no fault of their own, being penalised under the rules.
I too work in a partially-freelance way in education (I am contracted during the school year and freelance in the summer) and found myself out of work in the summer because everywhere was closed.
While the college I work for has been at pains to describe the working conditions and rules we must adhere to, it has been extremely vague in the detail of who pays for the freelancers and supply teachers if they to isolate.
From what I can gather, they expect everyone to pay the bills with a big pat on the back and noble words of encouragement
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Mr Dee »

I had to break this lockdown and kept working throughout as I wasn't eligible for a penny of support.
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Sam_Brown »

Dinksy wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:48 pm On a more serious note, I do sympathise with your situation Sam.
There are clearly a lot of people, not covered any of Rishi Sunak's schemes who are, through no fault of their own, being penalised under the rules.
I too work in a partially-freelance way in education (I am contracted during the school year and freelance in the summer) and found myself out of work in the summer because everywhere was closed.
While the college I work for has been at pains to describe the working conditions and rules we must adhere to, it has been extremely vague in the detail of who pays for the freelancers and supply teachers if they to isolate.
From what I can gather, they expect everyone to pay the bills with a big pat on the back and noble words of encouragement
Thanks. After experiencing it first hand I regret how dismissive I probably was towards your situation in the past. The most frustrating part is that there's no one she can call (that we've found) to discuss it to an actual human. She's on with Citizens Advice Bureau at the moment but been on hold for about 45 minutes now.

Like you say grey areas. Agency is asking if the school we pay her even though she's not going in. I mean I can't see them agreeing to pay someone who isn't a full time member of staff but nice of the agency to make it the schools problem...
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Dinksy »

If this was 30 years ago, I'd say speak to the NUT but the clout along with the membership of unions has diminished to vanishing point. That's why employers can get away with zero-contract hours of working and various other sharp practices.
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Re: Covid Question - If you test negative can you stop self isolating?

Post by Jack_Tinn »

really tricky position.

The advice that you need can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavir ... hat-to-do/

As per this advice you only need to self-isolate if you have been told to by NHS Track & Trace. if I were in your wife's position of course I would not turn up at school to work (when told not to by the School presumably) but I would insist on being told by NHS Track & Trace to self-isolate. This then should aid the eligibility to the £500 payment that the gov. have created I believe to assist in these types of situations.

If you have been told to self-isolate by NHS Track & Trace then you have to isolate for 14 days (regardless of any negative test).

If you have symptoms of COVID19 (high temperature, new and continuous cough or loss or change to your sense of taste or of smell) then you should book a NHS test. You should not make arrangements for a NHS test for covid19 if you don't have these symptoms.

The ability to end quarantine early (after five days) is only where you test negative after five clear days back in the Country after being overseas in a country which is not on the travel corridor list and where you pay yourself for the test. This is referred to as "Track and Release" (not my idea!) and it is completely different to your wife's situation and refers only to quarantining and not self-isolation (which may be similar 14 day periods and same in terms of staying at home away from people) but is different legally because your wife has been told to isolate becomes she has been in contact with someone who has tested positive and is not isolating just in case having returned from a foreign country.

I hope you and your family stay well, and that this helps

In summary: I'd insist on the instruction coming from NHS Track & Trace to self isolate rather than just rely on the school (but of course it is sensible of your wife to follow the school's instruction) and she needs to self isolate for 14 days.

take care of you and yours everyone!
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