HealthInfo Canterbury
Self-isolation after COVID-19 testing
After being tested for COVID-19, you're now a "suspect case" until you receive a negative result. You must go straight home after your test and stay in self-isolation until you get your result. For more information on self-isolation, see the links below.
Other people in your household don't need to self-isolate unless there's a high risk that you have COVID-19. That is, if you've recently returned from overseas or if you've been in close contact with someone with COVID-19.
If you're a healthcare worker, you need to tell your line manager that you've been tested for COVID-19.
If you become more unwell at any time, you should contact your GP or phone Healthline on 0800-358-5453 if you don't have a GP.
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 assessment centres (CBAC), contact your GP. If you don't have a GP, contact the healthcare provider who referred you to the CBAC.
Self-isolation for the person being tested
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, carry on self-isolating until your symptoms have been gone for 48 hours. But:
- 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 48 hours.
- if you returned from overseas recently, you must carry on self-isolating for at least:
- 14 days from when you returned from overseas
- 10 days from when your symptoms started
- and until your symptoms have been gone for 48 hours.
These rules apply to everyone, including healthcare and essential workers unless Community & Public Health tells you otherwise.
Healthcare workers who've been in close contact with a person with confirmed or probable COVID-19 need to have a negative test on day 12 to 13 of their quarantine period before they can return to work.
Household and close contacts of the person being tested
See below for details of what a close contact is.
If you're a close contact of or live in the same house as someone being tested for COVID-19, follow this advice. If their result is:
Positive and:
- you live in the same house as the person being tested, they should separate themselves in the house as much as possible (see the Ministry of Health advice about how to do this). You must self-isolate until 14 days after they've completed their self-isolation period.
- you don't live in the same house, you must self-isolate for 14 days from your last contact with them.
If you develop symptoms, contact your GP or phone Healthline on 0800-358-5453 if you don't have a GP. Tell them you're a contact of a positive case.
Community & Public Health will contact you through the contact tracing process.
Negative and you don't have any symptoms, you can carry on with your normal activities (as far as the current public restrictions allow). If you also develop symptoms, you must self-isolate and contact your GP or phone Healthline on 0800-358-5453 if you don't have a GP.
Casual contacts of the person being tested
See below for details of what a casual contact is.
You can carry on with your normal activities (as far as the current public restrictions allow). If you develop symptoms, you should self-isolate and contact your GP or phone Healthline on 0800-358-5453 if you don't have a GP.
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.
- New Zealand Government COVID-19 website – Self-isolation advice if you're unwell
Information about keeping yourself and your family safe at home while you're unwell.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Page created April 2020. Last updated May 2020.
Review key: HICOV-710714
