What should I do if I think I have COVID-19?
If you have:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature); OR
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual); OR
- a loss of or change in sense of smell or taste.
Everyone you live with must stay at home. You should arrange a test for COVID-19 here.
You can ring NHS 111 for information or advice and they will help you decide if you need to contact your GP. Calling your GP may be necessary if you have:
- an existing health condition;
- problems with your immune system;
- you feel you are not coping with your symptoms.
Do not attend your GP surgery or emergency department in person before calling ahead and speaking with someone.
If you have very serious symptoms or feel it is a medical emergency and you need to call an ambulance, dial 999 and inform the operator of your symptoms.
While waiting for your test or if you receive a positive diagnosis for COVID-19:
- you'll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started;
- after 10 days from when your symptoms started:
- if you have not had a high temperature for 48 hours, you no longer need to self-isolate;
- if you still have a high temperature, you need to self-isolate until your temperature has returned to normal for 48 hours.
- you do not need to self-isolate if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell/taste after 10 days, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.
- if you live with someone who has symptoms, you'll need to stay at home and self-isolate also. If the person with symptoms tests positive for COVID-19, everyone in the household without symptoms will need to self-isolate for 14 days from the day the first person in the home started having symptoms;
- however, if you develop symptoms during this 14-day period, you’ll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from the day your symptoms started (regardless of what day you are on in the original 14-day period). Follow the advice above on when to end self-isolation.
If you receive a negative diagnosis for COVID-19:
You can stop self-isolating if you have a negative test, as long as:
- everyone you live with who has symptoms of COVID-19 has tested negative – you need to keep self-isolating if someone in your household tests positive, or develops symptoms of COVID-19 and has not been tested;
- you feel well enough, and have not had a raised temperature for more than 48 hours.
If you develop new or worsening symptoms, you should self-isolate and can arrange to be re-tested.
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