Positive tests and self isolation episode 1

I am not the first in the household to have to self isolate, but here is how it is going for me!

Because I am not the first I was doing daily lateral flow tests.  Maybe I should not have done one on the Tuesday morning as I had a bit of a cough but I did, and as well as the C line there was a faint T line. 

Because I was not the first I knew what I could do.   Having an NHS staff member in the household means I can appear at the staff testing station at a local hospital.   I did, and duly collected the testing kit.

There was a long swab, with a fracture point half way up, and a large tube of reagent.   I swabbed my throat and nose (as the home testing kits used to require), broke the swab at the fracture point and put it in the tube, closed the tube, filled in all the details on the form and tube, and then sealed the bag and handed it in.    I did not need to get out of the car to do any of this.

Later the same day I had a text to confirm that a sample provided by Keith N was positive.  It did not tell me which variant it was, but I assume this was tested and someone knows.

Meanwhile I had reported the positive LFT test to the government site and received a six character code to enter into the NHS COVID-19 app.    The app told me I needed to self isolate until 7th January (and gave me a link to book a PCR test, something I of course had done already) - so day 0 is the Tuesday of the positive result, and day 10 the 7th January.  Day 10 ends at 2359 that day, so freedom day is 8th January.

This did not allow for the change in rules (in England), which say that a negative LFT test on Day 6 and another 24 hours later on Day 7 mean the earlier end of quarantine.  Although I have seen a message about that since.

If I open the NHS COVID-19 app I am told I need to self isolate until 7th January.    Trying to get a COVID pass out of the NHS app I am told I have had a positive test and can't have one, which is fair enough.