Covid-19
Children and young people aged 18 and under can get coronavirus (covid-19), but it is usually a mild illness and most get better in a few days. You can find the symptoms in children and what to do here.
The symptoms in adults and what to do can be found here.
The Living with Covid guidance can be found here.
Safer behaviours
Throughout the pandemic, Government advice and information has been informed by the best scientific evidence available from health agencies, academics, and experts.[footnote 48]
People will continue to be advised that there are safer behaviours they can adopt to reduce the risk of infection. Precautions remain particularly important to those who are at higher risk if they catch COVID-19, although due to advances in vaccination and therapeutics, this group is now better protected. The majority of people previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable are now advised to follow the same general guidance as everyone else as a result of the protection they have received from vaccination.
Individuals can still reduce the risk of catching and passing on COVID-19 by:
- a. Getting vaccinated;
- b. Letting fresh air in if meeting indoors, or meeting outside;
- c. Wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially where you come into contact with people you do not usually meet, when rates of transmission are high;
- d. Trying to stay at home if you are unwell;
- e. Taking a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms, and staying at home and avoiding contact with other people if you test positive; and
- f. Washing your hands and following advice to ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’.
When an individual develops COVID-19 symptoms or has a positive test
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 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
If you've tested positive for COVID-19
If you have 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.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19, and a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or do your normal activities
You can go back to your normal activities if you:
- feel well enough to do so
- do not have a high temperature
Contact a GP or call NHS 111 if:
- you’re worried about your symptoms
- your symptoms get worse
In an emergency, call 999.