Nursery World - Under-fives advised to get PCR test 'immediately' if they live with someone with Covid-19

In a change to guidance published earlier in the week, new advice from the Government is that children under five who live with someone with Covid should ‘limit their contact’ with vulnerable people and take a PCR test immediately.

Under-fives are now advised to get a PCR test if they are close contacts of a positive case, PHOTO Adobe Stock

The updated advice from the UK Health Security Agency comes after the Government announced new rules on Tuesday that children under the age of five who are close contacts of a positive case no longer need to take ‘a test’ or self-isolate. The rules were put into question by the Early Years Alliance, which said it hoped it was a ‘case of poorly written guidance’,and urged the Government to provide clarity as a matter of urgency.

The Department for Education has now confirmed to Nursery World that the PCR test advice has been reinstated and that it was an 'inadvertent omission' when the guidance was first published and it has now been updated.

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