Newcastle Contact Tracing Text

Newcastle City Council’s Public Health Department and Newcastle Hospitals are using a Text Messaging system to contact people who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

If you have received a text message similar to this it is genuine and you should not ignore it.

All information you provide is confidential.

Newcastle City Council will be contacting you from 0191 277 7850 Contacts of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 need to self-isolate at home because they are at risk of developing COVID-19 themselves in the next 10 days. They could spread the virus to others, even before any symptoms begin.

Local contact tracing is vital to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our community and we are therefore keen to speak with you to provide advice and offer any support that may be helpful to you.

As you have been identified as a contact, you must, by law, self-isolate for 10 full days your isolation period includes the date of your last contact with the positive case.

Self-isolation means you must stay at home and not leave the house. Do not go to work, school, or public areas, and do not use public transport or taxis.

Do not go outside even to buy food or other essentials, except in certain specific circumstances. Any exercise must be taken within your home, garden, or private outdoor space.

What is meant by a contact?

A contact is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. You can be a contact any time from 2 days before the person who tested positive developed their symptoms (or, if they did not have any symptoms, from 2 days before the date their positive test was taken), and up to 10 days after, as this is when they can pass the infection on to others.  A contact can be:

• anyone who lives in the same household as another person who has COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19
• anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19:
• face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
• been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
• been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day)

A person may also be a close contact if they have travelled in the same vehicle or plane as a case.

If you have been identified as a contact, you have been assessed as being at risk of developing COVID-19, even if you don’t currently have symptoms.

Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed Covid-19 infection 

Public Health England are advising all named contacts of positive cases to book a PCR test. Note! Even if your PCR results are negative you must fulfil your isolation period of 10 days.