- What happens if you test positive for Covid-19?
- I tested positive for Covid-19: no need to isolate myself anymore
- I tested positive for Covid-19: no need to declare contact cases anymore
- I tested positive for Covid-19: should I notify my company?
- I have tested positive for Covid-19: I am monitoring my state of health
After three years of the Covid-19 pandemic and in a “favorable epidemic context“, one of the main measures taken to fight the epidemic disappears: thesystematic isolation in the event of a positive test. Although it is no longer mandatory, it is nevertheless recommended.people who have tested positive for Covid-19 as well as people who have been exposed to a contagious person and are likely to develop the disease, to respect barrier gestures, to be tested and to avoid contact with fragile people“, indicates the press release of the government.
What happens if you test positive for Covid-19?
Until now, in the event of a positive test, you received an SMS from the SI-DEP platform confirming your results, then another from Health Insurance (number 38663) to invite you to isolate yourself, identify your contact persons and then the notify quickly. No longer needed from February 1, 2023: the “Contact Covid” teleservice will be shut down on January 31, ending nearly three years of “contact tracing”. The SI-DEP system is not disappearing for the moment, but is evolving. Until June 30, 2023, it “will be subject to the prior collection of the consent of the persons concerned, to the sharing of their personal data“, continues the press release.
I tested positive for Covid-19: no need to isolate myself anymore
You have been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 following a PCR or antigen test or a self-test ? From February 1, 2023, you will no longer need to self-isolate.
Is the self-test really reliable? The risk of false positives, that is to say the risk of being tested positive when you are not actually a carrier of the virus, is extremely low: this risk occurs in less than 1% of cases, according to the High Authority for Health. On the other hand, since the collection of self-tests is not carried out by a health professional, but by the user himself, the possibility of obtaining a “false negative” (the test is negative when one is contaminated) caused by a sampling error is very real. It is therefore essential to keep in mind that a negative result does not necessarily mean that the user is not a carrier of the virus. This is also the case for all the tests available: no test should lead in the event of a negative result to lifting the barrier gestures. The iterative nature – that is to say repeated several times – of the use of self-tests, however, makes it possible to increase their reliability by regularly repeating the samples.
However, it is still recommended to self-isolate “people who have tested positive for Covid-19 as well as people who have been exposed to a contagious person and are likely to develop the disease, to respect barrier gestures, to be tested and to avoid contact with fragile people“.
Isolation, what does it mean exactly? During your period of isolation, stay at home as much as possible: have your shopping delivered, avoid seeing friends, skip outings and parties, telework if possible… If you live in the same household as people tested negative for Covid-19, try to live in a separate room, with the door closed: eat and sleep away from the rest of the family.
Until then, in the event of a positive test, the duration of isolation depended on the vaccination schedule:
- “Fully vaccinated”you had to isolate yourself for at least five days after the date of the positive test (seven if test still positive on the 5th day after 48 hours without symptoms);
- With an incomplete or non-vaccinated vaccination scheduleyou had to isolate yourself strictly for at least seven days after the date of the positive test (10 if test still positive on the 5th day after 48 hours without symptoms).
More informations :
- Variant Omicron: what are the most common symptoms?
- Covid long: what symptoms? what to do ?
- Covid-19 or flu, how to tell the difference?
I tested positive for Covid-19: no need to declare contact cases anymore
From, no longer need to isolate yourself and no longer need to declare your contact cases : the “Contact Covid” service disappears on January 31, 2023.
Contact cases of positive people are also no longer required to be tested.
I tested positive for Covid-19: should I notify my company?
I tested positive for Covid-19: should I notify my company? The cessation of the “Contact Covid” teleservice on January 31 also implies the cessation of the derogatory system for taking charge of sick leave linked to Covid-19. A “Covid” sick leave will now obey the same rules as a classic sick leave. Nevertheless, the “vulnerable employee” system remains in force: it allows people at risk of a serious form and very exposed to the virus in their workplace but who cannot telecommute not to work while being partly paid.
Depending on your state of health, you can telework during your Covid. Of course, if you’re too sick, you need a sick leave.
I can’t telecommute: what do I do? You need a “classic” work stoppage.
I have tested positive for Covid-19: I am monitoring my state of health
If you have tested positive for Covid-19, carefully monitor the evolution of your state of health. To do this, take your temperature (ideally rectally with an electronic thermometer) twice a day. If you notice the onset of a fever (a temperature above 38°C – 38.5°C) or other symptoms likely to suggest Covid-19, call your doctor.
In case of discomfort (fever, aches, headaches…) you can take paracetamol (Doliprane®) at a rate of 3 grams maximum per day in 3 doses minimum. Avoid ibuprofen.
Attention ! If you have tested positive for Covid-19 and you have difficulty breathing (for example: you feel like you are “out of breath” at the slightest effort or when you speak), call the emergency services (15 or 112 on the phone).
And also…If you are a vulnerable person (you are over 65, you have a cardiovascular history, you suffer from a chronic respiratory disease, you are obese, you are immunocompromised, you are in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy…) – follow you by your doctor as soon as you know you are positive for Covid-19.
Sources:
- Public health France
- Public service
- Health Insurance
- Government
