When will lockdown end and can I still get the virus at home?

Q Why won’t the Government tell us when the lockdown will end?

A WE simply don’t know yet when it will be safe to lift the lockdown.

The order to stay at home started almost three weeks ago.

It takes up to roughly two weeks for someone who is infected by the coronavirus to start suffering symptoms, and then become unwell enough to need medical help.

Those who are getting ill right now, and ending up in hospital, could well have picked up the virus before the lockdown began. So we will only start to see how effective these measures have been from here on in.

We hope the levelling of the number of new cases that we have seen this past week is a reflection of the success of the steps taken. Had we not stayed home, the cases would have shot up, possibly doubling every other day, as it has in other countries. So right now, we have to keep going despite the uncertainty that it brings.

Q I’ve barely left the house for two weeks – surely, I won’t get Covid-19 now?

A IT IS unlikely, if you have had no social contact for two weeks, that you will develop Covid-19. Coming into close contact with others or touching contaminated surfaces, then touching our mouth, nose or eyes, are the ways this virus infects us. That’s why handwashing is key, especially when exposed to surfaces such as lift buttons and light switches, doorknobs and handles, and shopping trolleys, and baskets.

When we are in isolation or distancing, the chances of being exposed to either of these routes of transmission are far lower.

Q I have had coronavirus symptoms, and stayed at home for seven days, but I’m on the mend now. Is it safe for me to go back to work, and do my family still need to be in quarantine?

A Self-isolation is about preventing spread. When someone has symptoms, they can easily pass the virus on to others through coughing, sneezing and touch. Isolating them stops this in its tracks.

Seven days is the recommended time, but the household must stay in quarantine for 14 days, which gives time for an infection, caught from the original person, to develop.

Most people start getting symptoms about five days from infection, but it could be sooner, or take longer. Even if no symptoms develop, those who have been in contact with someone who is symptomatic should stay in for 14 days.

If anyone in the house does develop symptoms, the clock gets reset. They must selfisolate for seven days from when their own symptoms first appeared, and everyone else must also stay in for 14 days.

However, if this happens, the original person who was ill doesn’t need to strictly quarantine. They can simply stick to social distancing measures.

Q I am in an at-risk group and have been told to shield for 12 weeks. Can I go outside at all?

A There are more than a million people in Britain who are at much higher risk of being severely affected by Covid-19.

This includes people who’ve had organ transplants, or cancer treatment, and those with respiratory illnesses like cystic fibrosis and severe asthma.

Over the past weeks most of those concerned should have been contacted by their GP or hospital to advise them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks and practise stringent social distancing – this has been called ‘shielding’.

If you are on this list, but haven’t heard from your doctor, then call or email them. Of course some contact or risk may be unavoidable: those who have carers for example or live with others, or have shopping delivered.

But all these risks can be lessened with good hand hygiene, distancing in the home where practical, with regular – daily if possible – surface cleaning in bathrooms, and properly cleaning used cutlery and plates. Going outside per se is not the issue, as fresh air does not carry the virus: the issue is contact with surfaces or contact with other people.