My colleague tested positive for Covid-19, what should I do?

Covid-19 has changed the way we work and socialise, so what do you do if a colleague tests positive for the virus.

While social distancing and wearing of masks will go some way in reducing the spread of the virus, it is possible to catch Covid-19 from someone you work with.

It is for this reason that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) advises that you self-quarantine if you are exposed to someone who has Covid-19.

“If you work closely in the same environment as a person with Covid-19, you will need to self-quarantine for 10 days because you have had high-risk exposure.

“High-risk exposure means you have had direct, close contact for more than 15 minutes with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, and you did not wear protective cloth face masks, or you had physical contact or took other risks that could have exposed you to the Covid-19 virus.”

If after 10 days you feel fine and are showing no symptoms of the virus, you can return to work, and it is not necessary to get retested.

“At present, retesting people who have experienced mild illness, and have recovered from Covid-19 is not recommended. A person is considered safe to return to the workplace and discontinue self-isolation if they are no longer infectious.

“This means they developed their first symptoms more than 10 days prior and have not experienced any symptoms for at least three days (72 hours). However, returning to work is dependent on the patient’s clinical state of health.”