When do i get tested

You should consider getting tested if you are having any of these symptoms: Fever or chills Cough Sore throat Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing New loss of taste or smell Muscle or body aches Fatigue Headache Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea Additional Testing Information If you have had a positive test, you do not need another test for 3 months after the test date or when symptoms began.

Testing children is also important, since current COVID vaccines aren't available for those under the age of Children may not have fever or other signs of illness yet be able to spread the virus. Testing is key to keeping you and your child safe. But just as it was at the beginning of the pandemic, testing efforts have, at times, been hampered by a shortage of materials for testing, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC to publish guidance for local and state health departments as to which populations should be tested for coronavirus.

Effective testing is essential in helping slow the spread of the virus by identifying those who have the virus and enabling treatment or isolation.

Testing is also crucial to learn more about how the virus spreads and how prevalent it remains in a given community. In other words, with ongoing shortages still an issue, the importance of making sure those most in need get tested means not everyone should be getting tested. Besides testing for people who have symptoms of COVID or upon reference by your healthcare provider or state health department, the CDC now suggests testing for asymptomatic patients who have been exposed to someone with a confirmed case.

In many cases, a person with the virus would test positive around three-to-five days after contracting it; the CDC itself says the virus has a median incubation time of four to five days.

In the same city, you could get a wide variety of wait times. The people in your household should restrict their movements. If your GP thinks that you do not need a test, you should stay at home until you have had no symptoms for 48 hours.

But if you are a close contact of someone with COVID you should restrict your movements for 14 days. You do not need a GP referral. If you cannot drive yourself to a test centre, you can ask a family member or friend to drive you. Read about precautions you can take if someone is driving you to a test centre. If you are at a drive-thru test centre, you will be asked to stay in your car. A healthcare worker will come to the vehicle and do the test through the window. A healthcare worker will use a swab similar to a long cotton bud to take a sample from the back of your throat and nose.

You may feel some discomfort during the swabbing, but it is not painful. You should continue to self-isolate while you are waiting for your results. If you were tested because you are a close contact and do not have symptoms, you should continue to restrict your movements. You should also make a list of everyone you had close contact with in the 2 days before you developed symptoms or the day before your test if you have no symptoms. If your results are positive, you will get your result by text message.

This will include a link to a website where you can upload contact details for your close contacts. If you do not use the website, a contact tracer will ask you for their names and contact details. If you are offered regular testing because you work or live in a place where infection is more likely, this is called serial testing. If you are getting tested in this way, you can go to work or school as normal unless you get a positive result or develop symptoms.

Your test results will be sent to you by text message. If you have tested positive, you will get a follow-up phone call. Walk-through testing centres have been designed so people can move around them safely and to prevent the spread of the virus.

There are other ways to access testing — such as home test kits and drive-through sites — that are more suitable if you're unable to wear a face covering.

At the walk-through test centre, you will self-test in a booth. The test involves taking a swab of your nose and the back of your throat. Your test sample will then be collected by staff and sent to a lab for analysis. Symptoms of coronavirus are: a high temperature or fever a new continuous cough a loss of, or change in sense of smell or taste A new, continuous cough means coughing for longer than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.

How to book a test Use this guide to find out how to get tested for coronavirus. Find your local services Search for a service near you by entering your postcode below. Please input your postcode in the following format: A12 1BC. NHS inform has more information on this condition.