How infectious am I??

Paperbackwriter

Please don't assume that after day 5 you are clear and no longer infectious. Stay away from others till you've tested negative for at least a couple of days, which could easily be till 10 days or more. The infection is still rife out there.

That information is incorrect. Some people stay positive for weeks and are not infectious. Of course everyone must do as they see fit for themselves, but spreading information that is contrary to what the health authorities is telling us is not a good idea.

naughtynanny You really are an idiot. I'd love to know what scientific qualifications you have in order for you to declare the vaccines 'ineffective'. I'm guessing a basic O-level at most, if that.

No No NO - please stay away from people.
My 83 year old husband with heart problems caught it, 5 weeks ago.
Although he now tests negative he is still very ill, seriously ill, I am worried I might lose him. He has a hacking cough, diarrhea and sickness, headache, he can hardly walk. The GP has been out to the house twice yes, twice, and has put him on a course of antibiotics because he has fluid (?{ on his lungs.
I caught it but was not ill.
PLEASE PLEASE don't risk killing someone just because you can't bear to stay at home for a week!
You can sit in your garden, my DH can hardly get out of bed to go to the loo. (apologies if you have no garden), but please don't risk infecting someone else.

ExDancer, how awful for you and MrD.
Sending you all my very best wishes for a good recovery

We can only think he picked it up at a funeral we attended. I thought at the time there was too much hugging going on. My parents never hugged anyone on such occasions, did your's?

People, stop talking yourselves into being ill and do some research. On the Worldometer site from two days ago theres been zero new cases, zero deaths, over 25,000 newly recovered and 146 in serious/critical condition. This is in a UK population of over 68 million.

Go out for a walk. As someone else said, take a mask but don't use it if there aren't many people around.

It would be nice to know what everyone is doing to boost their own immune system. Probably nothing.

effalump

People, stop talking yourselves into being ill and do some research. On the Worldometer site from two days ago theres been zero new cases, zero deaths, over 25,000 newly recovered and 146 in serious/critical condition. This is in a UK population of over 68 million.

Go out for a walk. As someone else said, take a mask but don't use it if there aren't many people around.

It would be nice to know what everyone is doing to boost their own immune system. Probably nothing.

Och silly old me. I didn't really feel that I'd been run over by a bus, it was all in my mind. The doctor I was talking to was just over-reacting when he said I might need anti-virals because of an underlying lung condition I have.

There are zero cases or deaths on Worldometer for the last 2 days because we only report every week now, not every day.

Give me strength.

effalump

People, stop talking yourselves into being ill and do some research. On the Worldometer site from two days ago theres been zero new cases, zero deaths, over 25,000 newly recovered and 146 in serious/critical condition. This is in a UK population of over 68 million.

Go out for a walk. As someone else said, take a mask but don't use it if there aren't many people around.

It would be nice to know what everyone is doing to boost their own immune system. Probably nothing.

Don't be daft! You can't build an immunity to a virus.

I suppose GN in its way reflects society- and the extremes of opinion within it.
At one end of the spectrum we have people still quarantining their shopping and avoiding doorstep contact with delivery drivers and at the other we have people like the posters who believe it’s all over bar the shouting ( no new cases - really? I personally know of two within my small community) or who think it’s a bad cold.
Somewhere in the middle there is common sense. A willingness to listen to “the science”, to observe the reality and, unfortunately for those who succumb to the virus, to learn from experience.
I agree individual anecdotal evidence is confusing - so is this virus. How easily some people catch it and others seem to be just about immune will need possibly years of research. But we have been studying the common cold for decades and are still no further forward. But we have got flu vaccines, we have got a Covid vaccine and while the scientists and medics investigate ( how and why it spreads), we can just be grateful we can mitigate the awful consequences in the vast majority of cases.

MawtheMerrier

I suppose GN in its way reflects society- and the extremes of opinion within it.
At one end of the spectrum we have people still quarantining their shopping and avoiding doorstep contact with delivery drivers and at the other we have people like the posters who believe it’s all over bar the shouting ( no new cases - really? I personally know of two within my small community) or who think it’s a bad cold.
Somewhere in the middle there is common sense. A willingness to listen to “the science”, to observe the reality and, unfortunately for those who succumb to the virus, to learn from experience.
I agree individual anecdotal evidence is confusing - so is this virus. How easily some people catch it and others seem to be just about immune will need possibly years of research. But we have been studying the common cold for decades and are still no further forward. But we have got flu vaccines, we have got a Covid vaccine and while the scientists and medics investigate ( how and why it spreads), we can just be grateful we can mitigate the awful consequences in the vast majority of cases.

A thoughtful and balanced post
Covid has caused many more problems than just the initial virus both physical and mental. There are studies from King's College London that the instances of long covid are much lower with the Omicron varient depending on age and time since vacination.
Thankfully a new program of boosters has been planned for those at higher risk.

Having had Covid I can see why people have such different attitudes to it. I was laid up in bed, DH up quite quickly and getting on its things. I'm left with a bad cough, he isn't.

Exactly luluauguat. It’s easy to be complacent if you have only suffered minor illness.
I know people who have been infected with the Omicron virus and are still unwell weeks later.
There is less chance of having long covid from the Omicron variant, but research has only been done as far as Omicron 1 and 2.
It is still estimated that 4% of those infected will develop symptoms lasting longer than 4 weeks and considering the large number of cases just now there will be many in this situation.
This is an ongoing concern medically when NHS resources are already stretched with backlogs waiting for treatment.

My partner has been working on spike proteins similar to the Covid ones for years. Although his work isn't directly connected with how long people are infectious, he does keep in touch with the research.

So ... to answer the op's question about whether she is still infectious, I'm linking to this article. I ran it past my partner, who agreed it seemed sound, and it's written in layman's language, so even a non-scientific person like me can understand.

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02026-x

It confirms very much what most people know. Covid is most infectious in the first few days, but it can be infectious for longer, although it's rare for people to be infectious beyond 10 days.

In that context, the government advice is probably about right. Try to isolate for five days after a positive result but if you want to avoid infecting anybody who is particularly vulnerable, you should stay away for 10 days. I would include any medical setting as a place where there are likely to be vulnerable people.

Personally, I have a particular reason to not want to be infected in the next week, so I'm going to stay at home when possible and wear a mask if I do have to pop out to a shop. I can't rely on other people using their "common sense", I'm afraid. As far as I know, I haven't had Covid so far.

Hurrah, finally got a totally negative test yesterday morning, so started going to m y u3a groups then. This was the tenth day from when I started. Still have a bit of cough, not sure how long that will last, does seem to be improving daily.

Thanks, (I am certain), to the four jabs I have had, I was not at all ill with Covid - presented to me just like a mildish summer cold.

The only person who was reluctant to be close to me yesterday at the meeting was a lady who steadfastly refuses to have any vaccinations (87 years of age), I did reassure her that I was most definitely not infectious and probably had not been for the previous few days.

Quite honestly, an 87 year old who has refused any vaccinations probably needs to be careful wherever she goes. the responsibility is hers.