When should you get a coronavirus test?

When should you get a coronavirus test and what about if you're in a bubble with someone who has developed Covid-19, do you need one then?

As confusion continues over who needs a test and when, GP Dr Sarah Jarvis helps us make sense of it all.

Dr Jarvis explains that only people who are experiencing symptoms - a continuous cough, a fever, or a loss of taste or smell - need to get tested, meaning those they live with or have been in close contact with do not need to have a test done.

However, these people should self-isolate for 14 days in case they go on to develop the respiratory disease, or until the person who has symptoms gets a negative result.

Dr Jarvis notes that it can take up to 48 hours from when someone first develops Covid symptoms to the illness being detected by a test.



If someone has a runny nose or a sore throat - symptoms of a cold - Dr Jarvis says they do not need to get a test, unless they also have coronavirus symptoms.

Children who get sent home because they are in a bubble with a child who has had symptoms do not need to get tested, but they should self-isolate for 14 days if the other child's test comes back positive.

But, if they develop symptoms after self-isolation, the child must then get tested as well.

Dr Jarvis said, parents should call the doctor or NHS 111 out of hours, if their child is very poorly, however, if they are just experiencing a runny nose and some sneezing without other symptoms they don't need to.

She also notes that it's unlikely for children to become very unwell or die from coronavirus, rather the concern is whether they can spread it around their school.