Here is where you’ll find information about what you should do if you have symptoms of the coronavirus, when to self-isolate and how the contract tracing system works.
Coronavirus information leaflet: alternative language versions
If you need to cough or sneeze:
- Catch it with a tissue
- Bin it
- Kill it by washing your hands with soap and water or hand sanitiser
You should wash hands with soap & water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser:
- After breaks & sports activities
- Before cooking & eating
- On arrival at any childcare or educational setting
- After using the toilet
- Before leaving home
- You should stay at home and take a Lateral Flow Test (LFT)
- If you test positive, you are advised to self-isolate for full 5 days. Day 1 is the day after your symptoms started or the day you had the test. Take a Lateral Flow Test on day 5, and you can leave self-isolation if you can return negative results on 2 consecutive days. Read the full guidance by the Welsh Government: Self-isolation
- Plan ahead and ask others for help to ensure that you can successfully stay at home and consider what can be done for vulnerable people in the household.
- Ask your employer, friends and family to help you to get the things you need to stay at home.
- Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water, or use hand sanitiser.
- If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home or your condition gets worse, or your symptoms do not get better after seven days, use the 111 online coronavirus service. If you do not have internet access, call 111. In a medical emergency dial 999.
Changes from 28 March 2022
If you have any of the main symptoms of COVID-19, you should self-isolate and take a lateral flow test (LFT)
You can order LFTs online or call 119 between 7am and 11pm (calls are free)
Continue to self-isolate until you get your LFT test result
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are
- a high temperature
- a continuous cough
- loss or change of taste or smell
If you have a negative LFT test
You can leave self-isolation immediately.
If you test positive on any COVID-19 test (PCR or LFT)
- You should self-isolate for 5 full days. Day 1 is the day after your symptoms started or the day you had the test, if you do not have symptoms (whichever is earlier).
- Take a lateral flow test (LFT) on day 5.
- Report your LFT result.
- You should take another LFT on day 6.
- If your day 6 is also negative and you do not have a high temperature, you can leave self-isolation on day 6 as the risk you are still infectious is much lower and you can safely return to your normal routine.
- If you still have a high temperature or feel unwell, you should continue to self-isolate until it returns to normal, or you feel better.
If the day 5 or 6 LFT test is positive
- Report your LFT result.
- You should continue taking daily LFTs until you get 2 negative tests in a row, taken a day apart, or until day 10 – whichever is sooner.
- You do not need a negative LFT test on day 10 to leave self-isolation.
- If you still have a high temperature or feel unwell, you should continue to self-isolate until it returns to normal, or you feel better.
If you do not have symptoms but you test positive
You may be advised to take a PCR or LFT as part of workplace arrangements.
If you have recently tested positive for COVID-19 (within the last 90 days) you should take a LFT instead of a PCR. This is because there is a risk that a PCR test may detect residual traces of the virus leftover in your body.
If your test result is positive, you should self-isolate and follow the above self-isolation guidance.
| Days | Action |
|---|---|
| 0 | Your symptoms begin or you test positive |
| 1 | Start counting self-isolation days |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Start home testing with lateral flow tests |
| 6 | From day 6 to day 8 you can end self-isolation if you have 2 negative tests on 2 consecutive days |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 |
|
| 10 | Self-isolation ends - no more testing required |
More information can be found on the Welsh Government's website
Contact tracing – what to do if you test positive.
Contact tracing – what to do if you are identified as a close contact.
If you have tested positive for Coronavirus and are self-isolating, you may be entitled to Financial Support.
If your child has tested positive for Coronavirus and been advised to self-isolate by the TTP Service and as a consequence you have to stay at home you may also be entitled to Financial Support.
To check if you are eligible for this payment and to make an application please visit the Self-isolation Support Payment Scheme page.
Please note this is scheme is ending on 30 June 2022. If you have tested positive and had to self-isolate on or before 30 June 2022, and you are eligible for support, you have 21 days to make a claim after your last day of self-isolation.
To book a test, visit the Apply for a coronavirus test page on the Welsh Government website or phone 119.
People with hearing or speech difficulties can call 18001 119.
The test is only effective for those who are experiencing coronavirus symptoms and needs to be taken in the first 5 days of having symptoms. It only checks if you have coronavirus right now and not if you have already had the virus.
Most people get better with enough rest, water to drink and medicine for pain.
Information about testing, including to book a test, is available on the Welsh Government Apply for a coronavirus (COVID-19) test page.
More advice available on the Welsh Government Self-isolation: stay at home guidance for households with possible coronavirus page.
Ceredigion Contact Tracing
Background
Ceredigion was the first local Authority in Wales to provide a contact tracing service and was subsequently chosen as a pilot area by the Welsh Government.
A national scheme has now been set up, funded by Welsh Government to operate Contact Tracing teams in every local authority in Wales.
Ceredigion is one of three counties that operate contact tracing teams in the Hywel Dda region. The other partners are Carmarthenshire County Council and Pembrokeshire County Council. Public Health wales are also a key partner and carry out specialist contact tracing in hospitals and residential care homes as well as providing advice and support to Local Authorities.
Contact Tracing Teams follow data protection rules.
Ceredigion County Council's Contact Tracing Team sits within the authority’s Public Protection team, which has a Public Health remit. The team is managed by qualified Environmental Health Officers, who have specialist knowledge in infection control and contact tracing.
How does it work?
The basic contact details of everyone who receives a positive test for COVID-19 is shared with the Local Authority Contact Tracing where they live. For this reason it is very important that the most recent address is provided. Equally important, the person's name and telephone details must be correct.
An individual with a positive result is contacted as soon as possible by a Contact Tracer, who will ask a number of questions to understand where the person has been and with whom the individual has been in contact with. It is important that as much accurate information is obtained as possible at this stage. The person who has tested positive will also receive the appropriate advice including the need to self- isolate and to ensure all household members also self-isolate.
All the contacts of the person who has tested positive will then be contacted by a Contact Advisor, who may advise the contact to undertake a test for coronavirus and will also advise on self-isolation or other actions, depending on the risk identified.
Those at high risk of having been exposed to the virus, may also receive a call from a Contact Tracer to establish 2nd tier contacts and so on.
The contact team can quickly establish patterns of infection and often identify a place or a particular event where the transmission occurred. This can lead to others who were at the same event being traced, and offered appropriate advice.
This information can lead to the identity of several cases which are linked which is known as a cluster.
When a cluster is large and the risk of infection spread is greater, an Incident Management team is called, which will receive specialist advice from Public Health Wales experts.
An incident management team will pool together all the information held and make recommendations and decisions to minimise further transmission.
Speed is of the essence and the cooperation of the citizens of Ceredigion is crucial to controlling and minimising the spread of the disease.
Further information
- Test, Trace, Protect - what you need to know on Hywel Dda Health Board website.
- Contact tracing: your questions page on the Welsh Government website.
- Ceredigion County Council COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Case Management
Face mask: When and how to wear one
In the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, a face mask is something which safely covers the nose and mouth. Members of the public may use a scarf, bandana, religious garment or hand-made cloth covering but these must securely fit round the side of the face.
Face coverings are legally required only in health and care settings. There will be exemptions for people who cannot wear them.
How to wear a face mask
A face mask should:
- cover your nose and mouth while allowing you to breathe comfortably
- fit comfortably but securely against the side of the face
- be secured to the head with ties or ear loops
- be made of a material that you find to be comfortable and breathable
- it should be able to be washed with at 60⁰C and dried without causing the face covering to be damaged
When wearing a face mask you should:
- check the condition of the face mask before use, ensuring the elastic straps are in good condition, with no holes or wear to the face covering material and seams
- wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face mask on
- avoid wearing on your neck or forehead
- avoid touching the part of the face mask in contact with your mouth and nose, as it could be contaminated with the virus
- change the face mask if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it
- avoid taking it off and putting it back on a lot in quick succession
When removing a face mask:
- wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before removing
- only handle the straps, ties or clips and store in a clean bag or container
- do not give it to someone else to use
- wash it in line with manufacturer’s instructions at the highest temperature appropriate for the fabric
- wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser once removed
How to dispose of a disposable face covering:
- Disposable face masks should be double-bagged and presented as non-recyclable waste
- Bag it – either put the used face mask in a bag or in a bin, lined with a bag
- Tie it – tie the bag
- Bag it and tie it again – put the tied bag into your non-recyclable “black” bag and tie that bag before putting it out for collection
- If you’re out and about, use a litter bin
From 18 February, it is no longer a legal requirement to show a COVID Pass to enter large indoor and outdoor events, nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and concert halls. However, any venues and events can still choose to use COVID passes or require proof of a negative test as part of their reasonable measures to minimise the risk of coronavirus.