Health info Hampshire
What to do if you have coronavirus (COVID-19) or symptoms of COVID-19?
Posted on: 22/04/2022
Last edited on: 22/04/2022
Find out about staying at home and avoiding contact with others if you have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or have symptoms of COVID-19. While you’re no longer legally required to self-isolate if you have COVID-19, you should try to stay at home and away from others to avoid passing on the virus.
Try to stay at home and away from others
Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you:
- have any symptoms of COVID-19, and have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to go to work or do your normal activities
- have tested positive for COVID-19 – this means it’s very likely you have the virus
- You should avoid being in close contact with people at higher risk from COVID-19.
- This is particularly important if their immune system means they’re at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, even if they’ve had a COVID-19 vaccine.
There’s further advice if you’re eligible for COVID-19 treatments.
Separate guidance for children and young people aged 18 or under.
How long to stay at home and away from others
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 you can pass on the virus to other people for up to 10 days from when your infection starts. Many people will no longer be infectious to others after 5 days.
You should:
- try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days
- avoiding meeting people at higher risk from COVID-19 for 10 days, especially if their immune system means they’re at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, even if they’ve had a COVID-19 vaccine
This starts from the day after you did the test.
If a child or young person aged 18 or under tests positive for COVID-19, they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days. This starts from the day after they did the test.
Children and young people tend to be infectious to others for less time than adults. If they’re well and do not have a temperature after 3 days, there’s a much lower risk that they’ll pass on COVID-19 to others.