Over the past week in Ireland, the Covid positivity rate amongst young adults has increased sharply.
The highly contagious Omicron variant is showing up in many people with symptoms of the common cold.
With Christmas just days away, there are already many people at home isolating with the virus, while thousands of people a day are being tested.
If you or a member of your family is immunocompromised the likelihood is that everyone will be taking antigen and PCR tests to ensure they are Covid free before the annual gatherings.
So, here’s what you need to know in most Covid scenarios as Christmas Day fast approaches.
What if I develop symptoms in the next few days?
It’s recommended that if you develop any telltale symptoms of the virus you should self-isolate immediately and book a test.
Some of the common symptoms associated with Covid-19 are:
- fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above) - including having chills
- dry cough
- fatigue (tiredness)
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- conjunctivitis (also known as red eye or pink eye)
- sore throat
- muscle or joint pain (aches and pains)
- different types of skin rash
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhoea
- chills or dizziness
Health officials have reported milder symptoms in people who have contracted the Omicron strain, so look out for:
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Fatigue (either mild or severe)
- Sneezing
- Dry/ scratchy throat
What if one of my antigen tests comes back positive?
You should only use an antigen test if you do not have symptoms of Covid-19.
If you have just taken one that comes back positive, you should self-isolate straight away and book a PCR test for accuracy.
Antigen tests are not as effective as a PCR, and so health officials have warned that even if your antigen gives you a negative result - you may still have the virus.
So, if you're taking a once-off test and need absolute peace of mind ahead of the festivities, you should opt for the PCR option.
What if my PCR test comes back positive?
If you test positive for Covid-19 after a PCR test, you need to self-isolate in your room immediately because there is a high risk you could spread the virus to other people.
Health officials are recommending that everyone does this even if they are fully vaccinated against the virus or have had a positive PCR test in the past.
Most people with symptoms of Covid-19 can stop self-isolating when both of these apply:
- You have had no fever for 5 days
- It has been 10 days since you first developed symptoms
If you test positive but have no symptoms, you will still need to self-isolate, but you can stop 10 days from the date of your test if you do not develop any symptoms.
What if I am a close contact?
According to the HSE, what you need to do depends on if you are:
- a household or non-household close contact
- fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or not
If you’re a close contact that is fully vaccinated, you need to do 3 antigen tests with 2 days between each test.
If any of your antigen tests are positive, or if you start to develop symptoms, you need to self-isolate and get a PCR test.
You need to restrict your movements for 5 days from when you get the close contact text message from the HSE.
But you do not need to restrict your movements if you had a positive PCR test in the last 9 months. You also do not need to do antigen tests if you had a positive PCR test in the last 9 months.
If you’re unvaccinated and are a close contact of any kind, the advice is the same whether you're a household or non-household close contact - and also applies to partially vaccinated people too.
You need to get a Covid-19 PCR test. You will receive a text message to arrange this, but some people will need to do 2 PCR tests - the HSE will let you know if you do.
You need to restrict your movements at home for 14 days from when you get the close contact text message from the HSE.
You can stop restricting your movements if you get a negative PCR test result on day 10 - meaning you have completed 10 full days of isolation after your last contact with the person who tested positive.
