Important reminder for close contacts of COVID-19 cases

28 January 2022

Northamptonshire’s Director of Public Health has clarified the COVID-19 protocol on close contacts following a 22% rise in cases in the last week.

A total of 9,869 residents tested positive in Northamptonshire in the last week, and the Omicron variant continues to be virulent. The county's coronavirus infection rate per 100,000 population remains high, at 1232.7.

Advice on close contacts

The county’s Public Health Team is reminding residents of the procedure they should follow if they have been in close contact with individuals who have tested positive.

COVID-19 will be a feature of our lives for the foreseeable future, so we need to learn to live with it and manage the risk to ourselves and others. All of us can play our part by understanding the situations where risks of COVID-19 infection and transmission are likely to be higher and taking action to reduce these risks.

If you develop symptoms, you should alert the people with whom you have had close contact over the last two days. You should tell them that you might have COVID-19 but are waiting for a test result.

At this stage (until the test result is known), those people do not need to self-isolate, but they should follow advice on how to avoid catching and spreading COVID-19. They should also check the list of main symptoms and book a PCR test if they develop any of these. You may even want to write down your recent close contacts so that you have them to hand if you test positive.Lucy Wightman - Joint Director of Public Health, North and West Northamptonshire Councils

Test and trace

• If you get a positive PCR test result or report a positive LFD test result, NHS Test and Trace will contact you and ask you to share information about any close contacts you had just before or after you developed symptoms or, if you did not have symptoms, just before or after the date of your test. This is vital to stop the spread of the virus.
• NHS Test and Trace will contact you by text message, email or phone. If you are under 18 years old, we will speak to your parent or guardian.
• You will be sent a link to the NHS Test and Trace website and asked to create a confidential account where you can record details about your recent close contacts. If you do not have internet access or if you don’t complete the online process, one of our contact tracers will phone you to gather this information from you.
• The information you give will be handled in strict confidence and will only be kept and used in line with data protection laws. It will help us to contact people who are at risk of having been exposed to COVID-19, explain what they should do to help prevent the further spread of the virus and provide advice.

Booking a booster

The Public Health team would also like to remind residents that 16 and 17 year olds can now book a booster dose online. Parents and guardians of people at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 between 12 to 15 years old, or those living with people at higher risk, will also be contacted to book a booster.

New rules for self-isolation

Also, please remember that the rules have now changed and you can stop self-isolating at the start of day 6 if you get 2 negative rapid lateral flow test results on days 5 and 6 and do not have a temperature. Tests must be at least 24 hours apart. If either test is positive, wait 24 hours before testing again.

COVID-19 in the county this week

An analysis of the county’s recent coronavirus cases and rates over the period 17-23 January, shows:

• 9,869 residents tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 31% compared on the previous week.
• Northamptonshire’s infection rate per 100,000 population is 1232.7 and West Northamptonshire’s rate is 1252.4, while North Northamptonshire's is 1209.8. All are significantly higher than the national average (993.5).
• The highest rates locally are Northampton (1469.2) and Corby (1404.1).
• 11 people died in Northamptonshire within 28 days of a positive test.
• More women than men tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 28 days.
• The age group with the most positive cases for both males and females was predominately 30–39-year-olds, followed closely by 20- to 29-year-olds; the 40-49 group also remain high when compared to the previous week.
• Positive cases for both males and females aged 0 to 9 years saw a significant increase when compared to the previous week.
• Over the last 4-week period the number of cases amongst people aged 70+ continue to increase and numbers remain high.
• 159 COVID-19 patients occupied hospital beds in Northamptonshire on 25 January 2022, which is similar to the previous week (158 on 18 January 2022).

View the weekly Covid-19 Surveillance Report