What to do if a COVID-19 case is confirmed on site

Posted 1 October 2020


MSAFE - COVID-19 Virus

UPDATE - January 2021 >

You can plan what action you will need to take if anyone on your site tests positive for Covid-19. You can consider what “contact” is and how you can organise and manage your sites to ensure that if someone tests positive, the impact is minimised by organising work to minimise “contact” between people.

If someone tests positive those who have been in “contact” in accordance with the rules below will be contacted but you can also be proactive and review in advance as you have done.

What is meant by a ‘contact’

A ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms (this is when they are infectious to others). For example, a contact can be:

  • people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19
  • sexual partners
  • a person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, including:
  • being coughed on
  • having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
  • having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
  • contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
  • a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes
  • a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
  • where an interaction between 2 people has taken place through a Perspex (or equivalent) screen, this would not be considered sufficient contact, provided that there has been no other contact such as any of those indicated above.

Contacts of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 need to self-isolate at home because they are at risk of developing symptoms themselves in the next 14 days and could spread the virus to others before the symptoms begin.

If you are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, then you will be notified by the NHS Test and Trace service via text message, email or phone. If you are notified, please follow the guidance.

If you have not been notified that you are a contact, this means you do not need to self-isolate and should follow the general guidance, for example, social distancing, hand-washing, and covering coughs and sneezes.

This guidance does not include health care workers and others working in health and social care settings, who should follow separate guidance.

If you live with a person who has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) or has had a positive test result, follow the Stay at Home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.

I think I have been in close contact with someone who is being tested for COVID-19, but they do not yet have a test result. What should I do?

At this stage, you do not need to self-isolate. You should take extra care in practising social distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene.

Contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 infection who need to self-isolate will be notified accordingly by the NHS Test and Trace service. If you have not been notified, this means you do not need to self-isolate.

As a business, however, you may wish to take proactive measures to organise the work to minimise “contact” with people in this situation.

UPDATE - January 2021

Build UK has now developed a flow chart to help you decide what to do if a worker has Covid.

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