As you may have heard, one of our team has tested positive for Covid-19. When they last attended work they had a normal temperature and were not experiencing any symptoms, but they are now required to self-isolate.
The general guidance is that NHS Test & Trace will contact anyone considered to have been in close contact with this person. We are concerned that, as yet, this does not seem to have happened.
It may be that NHS Test & Trace will consider that the period of time, between the last shift attended, and the positive test is sufficient for there to be no cause for concern. We are not health experts, but we are aware that this is a matter of major concern to many, so we have obtained consent from our team member to release some dates which may help you to decide if you wish to take advice from a medical professional.
The person concerned last attended work on the evening of Friday 25th September, and was advised of a positive test result on Wednesday 30th September.
The following is information obtained from the Government website:
• A close ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms (this is when they’re infectious to others). This could be a person who:
1. spends significant time in the same household
2. is a sexual partner
3. has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), including:
• being coughed on
• having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
• contact within one metre for one minute
4. has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes
5. has travelled in a small vehicle, or in a large vehicle or plane.
Where an interaction between 2 people has taken place through a Perspex (or equivalent) screen, this would not be considered sufficient contact, provided that there has been no other contact such as any of those indicated above.
• Close contacts at this stage do not need to self-isolate unless requested to do so by NHS Test and Trace or a public health professional, but they should:
1. avoid contact with people at high increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus, such as people with pre-existing medical conditions
2. take extra care in practising social distancing and good hygiene
3. watch out for symptoms and self-isolate if they also show signs of coronavirus
We would repeat that we are not health professionals, and may not be able to answer questions in any more detail, as we are required to maintain the confidentiality of the team member affected. We would recommend that if you have further concerns that you seek advice from NHS 111 at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.
More guidance is also available at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus and https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
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