From July 19, England is no longer in national lockdown and many legal restrictions have been lifted. All adults have been offered a first dose of the vaccine. This means that social distancing and social contact restrictions can be removed, and all remaining businesses can reopen. People and businesses are encouraged to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others.

Some key protections remain in place:

• symptomatic testing (PCR tests) and targeted asymptomatic testing (LFT tests) in education, high risk workplaces and to help people manage their personal risk
• isolating when positive or when contacted by NHS Test and Trace
• border quarantine: for all arriving from red list countries, and for those people arriving from amber list countries, other than those UK residents fully vaccinated in the UK vaccine programme
• encouraging and supporting businesses and large events to use certification in high risk settings. Government will work with organisations where people are likely to be in close proximity to others outside their household to encourage use of certification

Government recommendations to reduce the spread of COVID-19:

• Whilst Government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, Government expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer
• Government expects and recommends people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as on busy public transport
• Spending time outside or letting fresh air in
• Minimising the number, proximity and duration of social contacts

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Play your part, protect Dudley borough

Anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), should isolate immediately and get a free test.

Coronavirus symptoms, ANY of the following: 

• a high temperature
• a new, continuous cough
• a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste

You should immediately self-isolate for 10 days and book a test online or by calling 119.

Do you have other symptoms?

Some Dudley borough residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 have displayed other symptoms. Though these are not the COVID symptoms, we would like to encourage residents to get tested as a precaution:

• headaches
• aches and pains
• feeling very tired for no good reason
• sore throat
• runny nose
• sneezing
• tummy ache in children.

When booking coronavirus test online, select the below option on the COVID test booking form:

• My local council or health protection team has asked me (or someone I live with) to get a test, even though I do not have symptoms

If you have any of these other symptoms you do not need to isolate unless you have a positive test result.

Results of your test

NHS Test and Trace service will contact you with your results. If your test is positive you must continue to self-isolate for 10 days from when your symptoms started. Anyone in your household must continue to self-isolate for a total of 10 days from when your symptoms started also. If anyone in your household develops symptoms then the 10 days restarts from when they develop symptoms and they should also get a test. More information on self-isolation including if someone in your bubble tests positive.

Please view a helpful illustration of stay at home guidance.

If your test is negative you and everyone in your household no longer needs to self-isolate. However, if you do still feel unwell you should remain at home until you feel better.

If you test positive you will need to tell the NHS Test and Trace service who you have been in close and recent contact with around the time you noticed symptoms.

Doing this can stop the spread of infection and save lives. Rest assured that when the service contacts people to advise them to self-isolate, they do not tell them your identity. Together we can control the spread of the virus and protect people and livelihoods.