Update for community volunteers

“Reduce exposure, reduce transmission, protect yourself, protect your team and keep people safe”

What is Test and Protect?

Test and Protect is the Scottish Government’s approach to implementing the UK Test, Trace, Isolate and Support Strategy.

This approach involves identifying people that tested positive for COVID-19 and tracing the people who may have been infected by spending time in close contact with them. Anyone identified as a close contact (including household contacts) will be required to self isolate for 14 days.

What is a close contact?

A close contact is someone who has been physically close enough to the confirmed case for a long enough period of time that they may have had the virus transmitted to them. The risk of the virus being transmitted is higher the closer the contact, the greater the exposure to respiratory droplets and the longer the duration of the contact.

Examples of activities include sitting one meter apart from a colleague while having coffee or giving a colleague a lift to work.

Anyone identified as a close contact will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. If the contact subsequently develops symptoms they will be required to self-isolate for 7 days from the onset of their symptoms.  This may shorten or lengthen the original isolation period.

What can I do?

If you are contacted by NHS contact tracers and identified as a close contact you must self isolate for 14 days. This is because if you have the virus it may take up to 14 days for it to develop into an illness. It is important that you remain in self isolation for the full length of time.

Remember you can reduce the chances of being contacted by taking care not to be a close contact of someone outside your own household – and that means staying at least two metres distant from anyone who is not part of your household and wearing PPE when required.