A Brighton family who have come down with coronavirus-like symptoms have been told to self-isolate for 14 days – but refused a test.
Parents at BACA were told the family was self-isolating – but today, they told Brighton and Hove News that although they’ve requested one several times, they’ve been refused because they don’t meet the criteria.
This is because they have not returned from an affected area overseas or knowingly come into contact with a confirmed case.
And following yesterday’s announcement the UK will be moving into the delay phase, the criteria are now even tighter, with only people in hospital being tested for the virus.
The mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said her partner had become ill on Monday, and his symptoms included a hacking cough, some difficulty breathing, a fever, a headache and general aches.
She has also become ill with a cough and although her two sons don’t have any symptoms, she’s keeping them home too.
She said: “I phoned my son’s college yesterday and it’s gone out – I wasn’t expecting any of this. There’s no testing being done whatsoever. I’ve tried and tried and I’m still trying but I feel there’s no way forward.”
“We don’t want to be sat inside for two weeks if it’s not coronavirus. My partner is self employed and he’s losing weeks of work. We have got a mortgage to pay.
“If we don’t get the test, we will stick to the advice self isolate for the two weeks. But if we knew it’s just a common cold, he could go back to work.”
The mother said she had called 111 twice since Monday, and the family’s GP twice too, but had been turned down each time.
The family doesn’t know where the father picked up the virus, but believe one possibility is that when he had an accident the Wednesday before he became ill and went to A&E, they were stood close to two masked women who were “whisked away” to another part of the hospital.
She said: “I have been worried about my 93-year-old nan who has numerous problems and I’m quite concerned about her.
“They said that he didn’t meet the criteria. They were concerned that he had been in the hospital five days before his symptoms started though.
“There were two foreign ladies in front of us wearing face masks and they whisked them off to another area. It could have been anything, and it’s pure coincidence that these symptoms started five days later.”
Official advice is now for people to self isolate for seven days if they develop either a new cough or a fever.
At a press conference yesterday, the UK’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty warned that advice may change in the coming weeks so whole families will have to self isolate for 14 days if symptoms present.
Other European countries have strict laws about people who don’t obey 7-14 days isolation (fine or prison sentence)
Owch but yes if you are carrying a deadly virus you should take every precaution and follow procedure
My daughter and her partner became unwell 2 days ago with symptoms that could possibly be Coronavirus, they called 111 and after a call back assessment were advised to self isolate for 7 days and monitor symptoms and if they became serious or experienced difficulty breathing then advised to attend A & E, they were not offered a test. I became ill with similar symptoms yesterday and didn’t bother calling 111, I am just self isolating. If the people that may have the virus self isolate and then recover without being tested then the government figures of how many people are infected must be inaccurate.