Please note the new government guidance below on the change to confirmatory PCR testing.

From 11 January in England, people who receive positive lateral flow device (LFD) test results for coronavirus (COVID-19) will be required to self-isolate immediately and won’t be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.

Lateral flow tests are taken by people who do not have COVID-19 symptoms.

Anyone who develops 1 of the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms should stay at home and self-isolate and take a PCR test. They must self-isolate if they get a positive test result, even if they have had a recent negative lateral flow test – these rules have not changed.

From Monday 17 January, the government announced that people with COVID-19 in England can end their self-isolation after 5 full days, as long as they test negative with a lateral flow device on day 5 and day 6. Day 0 of the isolation period is when you first show symptoms or, if asymptomatic, the day you took your test.

As per the guidance, it is crucial that people isolating with COVID-19 wait until they have received 2 negative rapid lateral flow tests on 2 consecutive days to reduce the chance of still being infectious. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 5 of the self-isolation period, and the second must be taken the following day. If an individual is positive on day 5, then a negative test is required on day 6 and day 7 to release from isolation and so on until the end of day 10.

The default self-isolation period continues to be 10 days, and you may only leave self-isolation early if you have taken 2 rapid lateral flow tests and do not have a temperature in line with guidance.

The latest guidance can always be found on the government website https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Example: If your child receives a positive test on Friday (Day 0), the earliest they should LFD is Wednesday (Day 5). Assuming that test is negative they test again on Thursday (Day 6). If that is also negative they can end their isolation and return to school. If either of those is positive, they need to keep testing until they receive two negatives up until Day 10 when they can end their isolation.

As always, please do phone the office if you have any COVID-19 related questions.