HealthInfo Canterbury
Self-isolation after COVID-19 testing
We're still testing people with COVID-19 symptoms in the community so we can be sure the virus isn't spreading.
This page is for people who have COVID-19 symptoms and have been tested. See FAQs about asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for information about testing for people who don't have COVID-19 symptoms.
People with a low risk of having COVID-19
Most people being tested for COVID-19 in New Zealand now have a low risk of getting a positive test result. Even if you have symptoms, if you haven't been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you're considered to have a low risk of having it.
If you have a low risk of having COVID-19, you no longer need to self-isolate after having a test. This is still true at alert level 2 but will change if we go into alert level 3.
You do have symptoms of an infectious virus so you should stay off work or school. You should also avoid public places until your main symptoms of the virus have gone. If you have to go out in public, you may want to consider wearing a face mask. You should use good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow.
People with a higher risk of having COVID-19
Some people with symptoms have a higher risk of having COVID-19. This includes people who in the 14 days before their illness started:
- were in contact with someone with COVID-19
- travelled overseas
- worked on an international plane or ship
- were in direct contact with someone who had travelled overseas (this includes border and quarantine hotel workers).
The health professional taking your test will talk to you about your risk.
If you have high risk of having COVID-19, you must go straight home and stay in self-isolation until you get your result. For information on self-isolation, see the link below.
Getting your result
You'll be contacted with your test result as soon as possible. It can take more than 24 hours to get your result.
If you haven’t had your result after 72 hours, please contact the healthcare provider where your testing was done. If you were tested at one of our community-based testing centres (CBTC), contact your GP. If you don't have a GP, contact the healthcare provider who referred you to the CBTC.
Self-isolation for people with a higher risk of having COVID-19
Self-isolate until you've received your test result. If your result is:
Positive, carry on self-isolating. Community & Public Health will be told of your result and will contact you with further advice.
Negative:
- if you work at the border and have contact with people from overseas, you can return to normal activities after your main symptoms of illness have gone, unless you're advised otherwise by Community & Public Health
- if you’re a casual contact of another person confirmed to have COVID-19 or who is a probable case (see below for details of what a casual contact is), you can return to normal activities after your main symptoms of illness have gone
- if you're a close contact of another person confirmed to have COVID-19 or who is a probable case (see below for details of what a close contact is), you must carry on self-isolating for at least:
- 14 days since the last time you had close contact with someone with COVID-19
- 10 days from when your symptoms started
- and until your symptoms have been gone for 72 hours.
Household and close contacts of the person being tested
If the person in your household being tested:
- has a low risk of having COVID-19, you can continue with your normal activities
- is a border worker, you can continue with your normal activities
- is a close contact of a person with COVID-19, you should stay at home until they receive their result.
If their result is:
Positive, you should self-isolate. Community & Public Health will contact you and your whānau/family with more information.
Negative, you can return to your normal activities unless Community & Public Health tells you otherwise. If you develop symptoms, you should stay at home and contact your GP or Healthline on 0800-358-5453 to arrange to be tested.
Close contacts
A close contact is anyone who has had the following exposure (without personal protective equipment) to someone who might have COVID-19 when they had symptoms:
- having direct contact with their bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or urine
- being in the same room as them in a healthcare setting where aerosolising procedures were taking place (procedures that potentially put particles of virus into the air)
- living in shared accommodation with them
- having face-to-face contact with them within two metres for 15 minutes or more (in a plane this means two rows of seats forward, back or across)
- being aircrew exposed to them (a risk assessment conducted by the airline is needed to identify which crew should be managed as close contacts).
Casual contacts
Contacts that don't meet the close contacts criteria above.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Ministry of Health – Self-isolation for close contacts and travellers
Advice about self-isolation for close contacts and travellers and those they live with.
On the next page: FAQs about asymptomatic COVID-19 testing
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Page created April 2020. Last updated August 2020.
Review key: HICOV-710714
