Get tested
When you’ve got coronavirus, you can infect people for two days before you show any symptoms - and that’s if you get symptoms at all. 1 in 3 people don't.
That’s why testing for people with and without symptoms is so important.
If you test positive for coronavirus, you must stay at home and isolate for 10 days. Anyone you have been in close contact will also have to stay at home and isolate for 10 days. After August 16, adults who are close contacts of positive cases will no longer need to isolate if they have been fully vaccinated.
If you leave home before then, you’re spreading the virus to other people and you could face a fine, starting at £1,000.
The full NHS guidance can be found online.
Testing for people with coronavirus symptoms
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
- High temperature
- New, continuous cough
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
If you have any one of these symptoms, book a national test online or by ringing 119. Don’t leave home unless it is to get tested.
Other symptoms
Many people who have coronavirus have also displayed other symptoms. People in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can therefore get a test as a precaution if they have symptoms such as:
- Headaches
- Aches and pains
- Feeling very tired for no good reason
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Sometimes ‘tummy ache’ in children
If you have one or more of these additional symptoms, book your test online and when you are able to, select the option “My local council or health protection team has asked me (or someone I live with) to get a test, even though I do not have symptoms.”
You can carry on going to school or work if you are well enough to do so, and only need to self-isolate at home if the test comes back positive.
Testing for people without coronavirus symptoms
People who are out and about are being urged to get tested twice a week, even if they don’t have symptoms.
We know that 1 in 3 people who have the virus show no symptoms, so it is important for us to identify people who could be spreading the virus and break the chain of infection.
Doing a test is quick, easy and might just save the life of someone you care for.
Many families can now pick up packs of tests and test themselves at home.
Get tested in Staffordshire>
Get tested in Stoke-on-Trent>
Hands. Face. Space.
England has now moved to Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap from lockdown which sees most remaining coronavirus legal restrictions lifted.
It’s still important that people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent remain careful and cautious to help limit the spread of infection. If you are out and about, please remember to wash your hands, cover your face and make space.
Hands
Our hands are incredibly busy throughout the day. From opening doors to picking up shopping, our hands touch a lot of surfaces and pick up many types of germs.
Although the coronavirus is not likely to survive for long on surfaces that are outdoors in the sunlight, it can live on indoor surfaces for up to 24 hours.
This means that we can easily pick it up and spread it from surface to surface.
We then infect ourselves, our family and friends by touching a surface and then touching our faces or eating food with unclean hands.
What you can do to stop the spread:
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and especially:
- Before eating or touching food
- After using the toilet, changing nappies or sanitary products
- After sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose
- Before wearing a mask and after removing it
- Before and after visiting a shop
If soap and water is not available, you can use hand sanitiser instead.
Face
Coronavirus can spread through small droplets in the air which we make when we talk, breathe, laugh, cough or sneeze.
If you’re indoors, these droplets stay in the air for at least five minutes and even longer if there is no ventilation.
Larger droplets can land on surfaces and other people. These can then be touched and spread with our hands.
Face coverings stop the spread of the virus by blocking the droplets so that they can’t be released into the air.
What you can do to stop the spread:
There is no longer a legal requirement to wear a facemask, but people are encouraged to still wear them when in crowded settings such as shops and on public transport.
Please be aware that some healthcare settings, organisations and businesses will still require people to wear a face covering when visiting, so please be respectful of this. Carry one with you just in case.
You can find further guidance on face coverings on the Government’s website.
Space
Putting space between you and other people means that you are less likely to catch or give them the virus by touch or through the droplets in the air when you breathe or talk.
It’s so simple, but by keeping two metres away from people who are not in your household or bubble, you protect yourself and them.
What you can do to stop the spread:
Stay two metres away from people who are not in your household or bubble.