It’s still a requirement for anyone who has any of the symptoms of coronavirus – a high temperature, new and continuous cough, and change to your usual sense of taste or smell – to self-isolate and arrange a PCR test. That rule’s not changed.
But what has changed this week are the requirements for people who are identified as close contacts to others who test positive for COVID-19:
- From today (Tuesday 14 December), people who are double vaccinated or between 5 years and 18 and a half years old, who are identified as a close contact of someone with coronavirus, whether Omicron or not, will need to take a lateral flow device (LFD) test every day for a week.
- People who are unvaccinated and identified as a close contact of someone with the virus will need to self-isolate for 10 days.