What Should People Do If They Have Covid? - BBC News

Home » When Am I No Longer Contagious With Covid Uk » What Should People Do If They Have Covid? - BBC News

Maybe your like

Skip to content
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Arts
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Live
HomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersWhat to do if you have Covid: Symptoms, tests and can you go to work or school?20 December 2023ShareSaveShareSave
Getty Images A woman looks out her windowGetty Images

The latest Covid booster campaign is under way across the UK and those who qualify are urged to get jabbed as soon as possible.

No Covid restrictions are in place across the UK, but guidance recommends people who catch the virus "should try to stay at home".

What are the Covid symptoms?

Many of the symptoms are similar to those for colds and flu and include:

  • high temperature, fever or chills
  • continuous cough
  • loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
  • shortness of breath
  • feeling tired or exhausted
  • aching body
  • headache
  • sore throat
  • blocked or runny nose
  • loss of appetite
  • diarrhoea
  • feeling sick or being sick

Most people feel better within a few days or weeks - but for some, it can be more serious.

Those concerned their or their child's symptoms are worsening should request an urgent GP appointment or help from NHS 111.

  • WHO charts rapid spread of new JN.1 Covid variant
  • Why Covid is still flooring some people

What about long Covid?

Between 2% and 20% of people catching Covid go on to have longer-term symptoms, "long Covid", research suggests.

In March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated 1.9 million people in the UK (2.9% of the population) still had symptoms more than four weeks after their initial infection.

There is no simple test for long Covid, and people report a variety of symptoms, including:

  • extreme tiredness
  • shortness of breath
  • muscle aches
  • memory and concentration problems ("brain fog")

Some people have developed long Covid after an initial mild infection.

  • What are the symptoms of long Covid?
  • Get NHS help with Covid recovery

Where can you get a Covid test?

Routine Covid testing is not recommended, and most people can't get free tests via the NHS.

You may still be able to get free NHS tests if you:

  • have a health condition that makes you eligible for treatment if you test positive
  • work in healthcare or a hospice

You can buy a test for about £2 from High Street and online chemists, but cannot report these test results to the NHS.

Do you have to isolate after testing positive?

People are largely advised to treat Covid like any other respiratory disease. You no longer have to self-isolate after testing positive.

Getty Images A positive lateral flow testGetty Images

However, the government recommends trying to stay home for five days - or three for under-18s, as younger people tend to be infectious for a shorter period.

People at higher risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid who have been told they are entitled to treatments if they catch it must report their test result so the NHS can contact them about their options.

  • How to look after yourself if you get Covid

How long are you contagious?

Some people are infectious for about five days but others may be contagious for up to 10.

Those who have a high temperature or still feel unwell after five days are advised to stay home if they can until they:

  • feel well enough for your normal activities
  • no longer have a high temperature

Can you go to work with Covid?

You don't have to tell your employer you have Covid.

However, you are asked to avoid contact with others for five days, which means you should work from home if you can, especially if you have a high temperature.

The specific schemes offering financial support to those isolating during the pandemic have ended.

But you may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay - worth £109.40 a week.

Thinkstock File picture - child sneezingThinkstock

Can children go to school with Covid?

Under-18s who test positive for Covid are advised to stay at home for three days.

NHS guidance says if a child has mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or mild cough - and they feel well enough - they can go to school or childcare.

Who can have a Covid jab?

In the UK, you can only have the Covid vaccine via the NHS if you meet certain criteria.

For most people, vaccinations are now available only as part of a seasonal rollout. You cannot currently buy them privately.

The 2023 autumn booster campaign is targeting:

  • residents in care homes for older adults
  • over-65s
  • people aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group
  • front-line health and social-care workers
  • 12-64-year-olds who are household contacts of people with weakened immune systems
  • 16-64-year-olds who are carers or work in care homes for older adults
  • pregnant women

The NHS has been contacting eligible people.

You can no longer book a Covid jab online or by calling NHS 119 - but you may be able to with a local NHS vaccination service or you can find a walk-in site.

This round of seasonal Covid jabs will be available until 31 January.

Moderna told BBC News it hoped its Covid jab would be on sale in the UK from 2024.

Pfizer is also exploring options for private provision.

  • Who can get another Covid jab this autumn?

How long after having Covid can you have a jab?

If you have Covid, or think you might, NHS advice is to delay vaccination until you feel better.

It also recommends waiting if you have a high temperature or feel otherwise unwell with any illness.

But there is no need to wait if you have recently recovered from Covid and feel well.

The vaccines do not infect people with Covid and cannot cause positive test results.

Long CovidCoronavirus vaccinesCoronavirus testingCoronavirus Related

Anger over closure of long Covid service

'Long Covid has ruined my life'

'I have long Covid, but some say it isn't real'

More from the BBC8 Dec 2025A woman with long black hair dressed in graduation robe and hat holding a diploma

First nurse to give Covid jab honoured by university

May Parsons is being featured in a new campaign by the university she received her masters at.

8 Dec 20251 Dec 2025A nurse stands at the bar of a pub with flu vaccination equipment.

Flu jabs offered in pub in vaccination drive

Regular pop-up vaccination clinics are available at The Bevy community pub in Brighton.

1 Dec 202526 Nov 2025Faisal Shoukat pictured walking away from the court wearing a black overcoat and gold tie. He is carrying a briefcase.

Covid testing lab was 'like building site' - court

Two ex-politicians are among five people on trial in Bradford over an allegedly bogus operation.

26 Nov 202521 Nov 2025A woman in blue scrubs stands in a white medical vehicle with NHS logos and branding on it. The woman has blonde hair and smiles at the camera. The vehicle is parked in a car park with the door open and two blue plastic chairs in front of it.

Vaccination bus to visit hospital sites

The walk-in clinics are at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Walsall Manor Hospital.

21 Nov 202520 Nov 2025Woman walking down street past Covid sign

Lockdown could have been avoided - key findings from Covid inquiry

The long-awaited report is published into how well or badly the government handled the Covid pandemic.

20 Nov 2025

Tag » When Am I No Longer Contagious With Covid Uk