Dear Parent/Carer,
As we move down the levels and gain more freedoms, it is vitally important that we continue to remain vigilant to the threat of COVID-19, do all we can to prevent transmission and keep our whole community safe.
Please see below a reminder of the procedures that remain in place should anyone develop any one of the 3 most commons symptoms i.e. fever, new continuous cough, loss or change in taste or smell.
- It is essential that people do not attend school if symptomatic. Everyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 – a new, continuous cough; fever or loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste – should self- isolate straight away, stay at home and arrange a test via the appropriate method (see below).
- People who live in the same household as a person with symptoms must also self-isolate straight away and stay at home. Other members of the household do not require a test, unless they are also symptomatic. If the test result for the symptomatic person is negative, and they are not already isolating as a ‘close contact’ of a confirmed case, they can end isolation and return to work or school when they are well enough and have not had a fever for 48 hours assuming also that they are not quarantining for foreign travel reasons. The rest of their household can end isolation straight away. Ideally, testing should be undertaken in the first 3 days of symptoms appearing, although testing is effective until day
- If the test is positive, the symptomatic person must remain in isolation until 10 days from symptom onset, or longer if symptoms (e.g. fever or breathlessness) persist (with the exception of cough or loss of/change of sense of taste or smell, as these symptoms can persist for several weeks after the infectious period). They must otherwise be well and remain fever-free for 48 hours without medication. The rest of the household must remain in isolation for 10 days from symptom onset in the symptomatic person, even if they don’t have symptoms themselves, as they may be incubating the
- Everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be put in touch with the local contact tracing team so that other close contacts can be identified. All close contacts who are in the same household as confirmed cases must self-isolate immediately. They will usually be contacted by Test and Protect to reinforce self-isolation for 10 days from symptom onset in the symptomatic person. Contacts from outside the household of the confirmed case will be asked to self-isolate at home for 10 days from the date of last exposure to the case. Sometimes this advice is given locally via the school on the advice of the Health Protection Team.
- Everyone who needs to self-isolate as close contacts of confirmed cases must continue to do so for 10 days, even if they have a negative test
- Unless otherwise advised by Test and Protect or local Incident Management Teams, where children, young people or staff do not have symptoms but are self-isolating as a close contact of person who is a confirmed case, other people in their household will not be asked to self-isolate along with them.
- The Protect Scotland app from NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect is designed to help people and reduce the spread of coronavirus. The app will alert an individual if they have been in close contact with another app user who has tested positive for coronavirus and can help in determining contacts that may have otherwise been missed while keeping people’s information private and anonymous. Advice from Health Protection Teams may override advice from the app to self-isolate.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Mrs McNaught
