From 11 January, people who receive positive lateral flow results for COVID-19 will be required to self-isolate immediately and won’t be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.
This is a temporary measure while COVID-19 rates remain high across the UK. Whilst levels of COVID-19 are high, the vast majority of people with positive LFD results can be confident that they have COVID-19.
This reflects similar changes made in January last year when there was also a high prevalence of infection meaning it was highly likely that a positive LFD COVID-19 result was a true positive. Anyone who develops one of the three main COVID-19 symptoms should stay at home and self-isolate and take a PCR test. They must self-isolate if they get a positive test result, even if they have had a recent negative lateral flow test – these rules have not changed.
UKHSA CEO Dr Jenny Harries has thanked the public and critical workers who continue to test regularly and self-isolate when necessary. Read more: https://www.gov.uk/…/confirmatory-pcr-tests-to-be…