Self-isolation: what are the rules?

You can only leave your flat in emergency situations (e.g., fire alarm or emergency building evacuation) or if you’ve been advised by a medical professional to leave your house to get medical assistance.

In a medical emergency, call 999.

In a non-emergency situation where you need medical help or advice, call 111 or visit the NHS 111 website.

You can call these numbers from the phone in your flat hallway. Please tell the person you speak to that you are self-isolating.

You cannot have visitors to your flat at any time. The accommodation team will only enter your flat if there is urgent maintenance that needs to be carried out, for fire alarm response, or to undertake statutory checks in vacant rooms in your flat. All other maintenance issues reported to our teams will be seen to once all members of the flat have finished self-isolating. 

Urgent maintenance includes:  

• Serious leak   
• No power in flat  
• Insecure front door

Wherever possible, you should ensure that deliveries occur directly to your flat door.

If the delivery company won’t drop at the flat door, then you can go to the building door to collect, however, we recommend that you do the following:

• Wash your hands before leaving the flat
• Wear a facemask and maintain a 2m distance at all times
• Avoid touching anything on the way

We'd also suggest having a wipe in hand in case you do need to touch anything.

You shouldn’t visit your village reception in person. To report a problem or ask for support or advice, please phone or email.

Your reception’s contact details can be found on our key contacts page.   

Unfortunately, you cannot use the on-site launderettes while you’re self-isolating.

If you need clothes laundering during this period, we suggest you consider using White Rose. This is a paid-for, hassle-free laundry service, offering free collection and delivery from/to your doorstep.

An alternative is Laundrapp. Laundrapp will also collect and deliver, and you can pay per item. You can find out more about Laundrapp on their website.

You should still remove rubbish from your flat when you need to, taking as few trips out to do this as possible during the isolation period. 

If someone in the flat has not tested positive and doesn’t have symptoms, this person should leave the flat to take the rubbish to the communal refuse bins. 

Extra care should be taken, including washing your hands thoroughly before and after this task and making the trip out the flat at a quiet time e.g., early morning. Thank you for your co-operation with this. 

We know this is a really challenging set of circumstances. We wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t vitally important to help limit the spread of the virus in our community.

Remember, we’re providing lots of practical and emotional support to try to make this easier for you. If you’re finding things difficult, please let someone know.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms, try and stay as far away from other members of your household as possible. It is especially important to stay away from anyone who is clinically vulnerable with whom you share a household.

You should also observe the following practises:

• Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds using soap and water, or use hand sanitiser, and cover coughs and sneezes.
• Stay in a well-ventilated room with a window to the outside that can be opened, separate from other people in your home if this is possible. Keep the door closed.
• If possible, use a separate bathroom from the rest of the flat. Also ensure that you clean the bathroom (especially if shared) each time you use it, for example, by wiping any surfaces you have touched. You should also not share towels (such as hand towels) with your flatmates.
• Avoid using shared spaces (e.g., kitchens) while others are present. Take your meals back to your room to eat.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, handrails, remote controls and tabletops. When cleaning you should use your usual household products, like detergents and bleach, as these will be very effective at getting rid of the virus on surfaces.

We also encourage you to wear a face covering inside your home when spending time in shared parts of the household, in addition to avoiding contact with other members of the household as much as possible.

This video was filmed on 8 October 2020, following Government guidance regarding self-isolation at the time. Please note that anything said in this video could change at any time, so always refer to the most recent Government Guidance and advice on the NHS website, for up-to-date information.