Covid - Information

[waddo]

Having spent a few hours searching the Gov websites and other places for information on Covid, the best information I can offer is "First Hand" experience.

So what do you do if you self test and find yourself to be POSITIVE?

Background: We are both well over 65 and retired, lived here for the past 15 years. Went South on Tuesday as our 90 day sentence had finished and we were free to roam again, quick trip to McDonalds and AlfaMega then back home. Wednesday we felt fine, Thursday I felt I had a cold coming on, Friday definitely felt like summer cold, tired, ached all over so went to sleep for most of the day, Saturday started to feel better but wife started to feel like she had a cold. Come Sunday I was much better but she was much worse, today I feel fine - a little tired but then it is hot and I ain't getting much younger - wife feeling a touch better but still a sicky! So we decided to use our self test kits and see - both POSITIVE - now what do we do???

There is much conflicting information about and not a lot of it is up to date either, it seems like once "lockdown" ceased that the World lost interest in what could happen next - party on, party on seems to be the attitude - you really have to dig around and even then you will never be sure.

In the end we decided that the best thing to do was go and have a proper "Antigen" test - can have it for free as all our jabs (5 each) are up to date - so we booked online to go to Dr Suat Gunsel (Girne) and duly wandered down there this morning, took our used test kits with us as well.

Very quiet today and went straight in - showed the booking information and then showed them the test kits we had used. You both need a PCR test we were told!

PCR Test duly taken and paid for @100TL each and now we await the official results to see if we have to self isolate or something else. I will update this post when I have more information.

[Mowgli597]

Waddo. Sorry to hear that you tested positive. I did the same at Christmas but hopefully you’re both suffering from the new (milder) variant. As regards what happens if anyone has tested positive this is my understanding FWIW:

From https://saglik.gov.ct.tr/TRAVEL-RULES


DECISIONS REGARDING COVID-19 POSITIVE PEOPLE

12. The isolation process of a person starts after the message that their Covid-19 PC test
result is positive (Day 0).

If a second test is performed by going to another test centre, the result of the second
test will not be taken into account.

The isolation period is 7 days without testing. People will be able to continue with
their daily lives at the end of the 7th day.

If positive people experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain and an
increase in symptoms (fever, coughing, fatigue, headache, etc.) at home, they can seek help by calling 0533 842 8358.

For home quarantine to be applied to Covid-19 positive people, there must be a
separate room in a way that there will be no contact with other individuals in the home
(house, dormitory, lodgings, etc). If the same bath and toilet is used in the home then
these places are disinfected after each use. Disinfection is done with bleach diluted to
a rate of 1%. (1 small tea cup of bleach placed into 10 litres of water.)

A Covid-19 positive person placed in home quarantine cannot leave the home during
quarantine (they can only leave in the case of an emergency, with the knowledge of the
quarantine centre) and absolutely no visitors are allowed into the home where they have been placed in quarantine.

Official documents will not be issued by the Ministry of Health to Covid-19 positive people
who do not have any records on the Pandemic Information System.

[alphamike]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to you both.

[waddo]

Mowgli597, Thanks for that, just got both our results back and both are POSITIVE as expected so we are now at day 0 and counting. For the life of me I can not see the point is the pair of us now trying to seperate in the same house we have lived in for the past 12 years - if nothing else it means that one would have to stand outside a window to watch the TV - lol. But then I may just play my joker and have a week on my own - then again I don't think that is going to work either - lol.

What concerns me was the cost of the PCR test - not for us but for the normal working person I must add - having first taken a self test (that will have to have bought) or had a free antigen test and shown as positive, why then would the gov charge a minimum wage earner a further 100TL to prove it again?? I hope I have this wrong and that those on minimum wage don't have to pay for the PCR, otherwise I could easily understand why many people would just not take a PCR!

It has been a painless process on the whole so now we just wait out the time and life will go on. Thanks for your thoughts but we seem to have a mild dose of whatever it is and are rapidly recovering as well - just tired! I guess that the 5 jabs we have had are proving their worth and that a booster shot won't be needed now for 4 - 6 months. Time to get on with the odd jobs and the garden. Take care out there all

[ljarvo]

Get well soon.

Slightly off topic but if you are not using Larnaca you don’t need to do your 90 day prison sentence ….you can continue to come back and forth.

[marlowe78]

We both have had boosters & caught the new variant omicron virus. No idea how we caught it as we are incredibly careful. I got symptoms first of all which were very mild - runny nose, tired & slight cough. I test every 3 days as I care for my mother. As soon as I got symptoms I tested and it was positive. My wife had no symptoms & tested negative each day for 4 days. On the 5th day she had a sore throat & sore back. Within less than 24 hours she couldn't talk properly. I took no chances & called docs who then called for an ambulance. She had gone into respitory arrest & got pneumonia. She has just got out of hospital after 2 weeks of amazing treatment & is improving each day. Consultant advised that the new variant just went straight for her left lung with no symptoms until a few days later. Nothing in her nose to show up as positive early on. Worrying times. All - be careful out there. This does not spread like previous versions. It is lethal if you come into contact with someone for a few seconds not minutes as previously.

[Mowgli597]

Waddo. I think if you’ve both tested positive then there’s no need to separate - what would be the point?!

So enjoy your splendid isolation together.

At least you don’t have to wear the tracker wristband and have the health board tracker police visiting you!

[waddo]

Mowgli597, Agreed, it would take a lot to separate us anway, people have been trying that for 38 years now and always failed - lol. This was so fast that I was sure it was just a bad summer cold and it did come as a surprise that it was not! One day nothing but a slight cough and the next day everything hurt and back to bed I went, a day later and getting better all the time. This one is nasty people, take great care please.

[benjaminbutton]

What bothers me, is the fact that a mild Summer Cold is no worse than Covid, which is probably going to be around for years to come and almost certainly my life time. By no means am I an anti-masker but am coming to the conclusion that we and subsequent Governments, regardless of country, must learn to live with it. OK, aching joints are not pleasant, I have them all the time, a sore throat is unpleasant, but they go away in time. Flu is unpleasant but it goes away in time with over the counter medicine. But call them "covid" and then people are placed in isolation as if it were Ebola Virus, I just don't understand it.

[waddo]

If you don’t understand the reasons or the requirement for isolation of those tested positive for Covid then may I suggest that you perform your own research on the subject. If you don’t wish to bother yourself then just accept that isolation of the afflicted is not for their benefit - it is for the benefit of others.

I suppose we could do away with it completely and just revert to the old tried and tested method of carrying a hand bell and shouting “Unclean” every few steps - that seemed to work in the past!

[marlowe78]

What bothers me, is the fact that a mild Summer Cold is no worse than Covid, which is probably going to be around for years to come and almost certainly my life time. By no means am I an anti-masker but am coming to the conclusion that we and subsequent Governments, regardless of country, must learn to live with it. OK, aching joints are not pleasant, I have them all the time, a sore throat is unpleasant, but they go away in time. Flu is unpleasant but it goes away in time with over the counter medicine. But call them "covid" and then people are placed in isolation as if it were Ebola Virus, I just don't understand it.

Yes we do have to live with it. However, it does not people from being more cautious. My wife has just got out of intensive care after 2 weeks after all vaccinations & she's only 52. This new variant is a lot more damaging than a summer cold for some

[waddo]

A bit more information for you all. Having taken the PCR test and been declared Positive the next thing you get is a message to tell you the results - don't hold your breath waiting for it because it can take hours - and to tell you what to do next regarding isolation. Now comes the waiting and the effects of Covid, those effects can differ widely between individuals but ours seem to have been mild compared to other folks although my wife did suffer much more than I did and took longer for it to begin to fade.

My mind then turned to the AdaPass and I wondered if it would show anything at all or would I have to keep a print out of the information received telling me I had Covid. Important that you keep a record or you will not be able to prove you have had Covid or find out when you should have your next booster shot.

No worries, when you feel up to it just register for a new AdaPass and you will find that the last entry now shows the date and Covid Positive instead of the details of another inoculation. As there is only room on the AdaPass for four entries all your earlier ones are no longer shown, only the last three and your Covid Positive. Handy information all in one place.