Have you developed a new cough? Are you running a temperature? Has your taste or sense of smell changed? Then you could be experiencing Covid-19 symptoms and you need to know what to do next.
It’s vital for your own health – as well as that of those around you – that you know how to secure a fast test and what to do afterwards, so read on to find out.
If you think that you have potential symptoms of Covid-19 and you need peace of mind, your first port of call should be a private testing facility. Faster than NHS services and not reliant on getting flagged by the Track and Trace system, private options allow you to simply test whenever you want to.
Discussing Covid testing by Medicspot, a spokesperson revealed that clients are able to simply reserve a test kit online and collect immediately, eliminating all the red tape. If close to a facility, a test can be received and taken with a matter of minutes.
Private testing also offers faster results. With NHS services under strain, it won’t come as a surprise that results are taking longer than they should and in some cases, getting lost altogether. A private facility negates these issues, but remember you will be liable for the cost. Many consumers have said that getting their test results back within a 24-hour window makes the price worthwhile, especially if events or holidays have been booked.
While you wait for your test results, you should self-isolate. This means not leaving your home at all and only interacting with people in the same household or in your support bubble. This is to prevent virus transmission outside your household, where it could get out of control quickly. To self-isolate, there are some things to take into account. It’s not simply a case of sitting on the sofa at home for 14 days, however appealing that might sound at first.
Firstly, you’ll need to tell your employer. If you are able to work from home or already are, you might not need to adapt your professional practices much. If you are in a role that can’t be carried out from home, however, you will have to find out which policies your employer has put in place for self-isolating staff members. Will you be able to access sick pay or are you still on furlough? These issues will become important to clarify, particularly if you do get ill and need longer than the standard 14 days of isolation to recover.
You’ll also need to warn all friends and family members. Everybody has a well-meaning friend that will want to visit, but when you’re self-isolating, that cannot happen. Don’t even tempt fate with a doorstep hello. It will save a lot of time and confusion if you send out a group message informing everybody that you are self-isolating due to developing potentially Covid-related symptoms. A few hurt feelings are better than more infections.
Don’t be tempted to head to the supermarket. Even if you feel basically normal, you could be infectious, even if you are mostly asymptomatic. All it takes is one infected person going out into a public space, even with a mask on, to put others at risk, so don’t chance it.
Order your shopping online for a contact-free delivery to your home and make sure you tick the box that states you are self-isolating, so the driver can leave your shopping outside the front door for you and retreat to a safe distance. If there isn’t a box on the website, leave a note in the delivery instructions box that makes it clear you are isolating.
It’s important to also consider anyone that lives with you or is in your support bubble. As soon as you think you have identified Covid-19 symptoms, you have a responsibility to tell everyone and to make sure they isolate immediately as well. Even if nobody else in your household presents signs of infection, they will need to self-isolate, while you wait for your test results and get their own tests completed, too.
Holidays will have to be postponed in the wake of Covid symptoms, as everybody now needs to present a fit-to-fly certificate ahead of a plane journey, meaning that a Covid test will need to be carried out and the relevant paperwork supplied. Failure to disclose a potential case in the household could have widespread consequences and there is also a £10,000 fine to contend with as well.
The Government now has an enforceable law in place that states anyone failing to self-isolate, following a positive test, will be at risk of a fine. With the police now given permission to access test results on a case-by-case basis, there is no escape.
The advice is simple. If you notice Covid symptoms, get a test, self-isolate and tell your household to do the same.
