What is the Daily Contact Testing Study?

At the moment, people who have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 must self-isolate at home for 10 days.

A new option we are evaluating for those who need to self-isolate is to take a lateral flow test at home every day for 7 days and only self-isolate if the daily test is positive.

If their daily test is negative, study participants are allowed to go to work and carry out other essential activities. But if the test is positive, the participant must self-isolate immediately and take a PCR test.

In our first study of daily testing less than 1 in 5 people got a positive test and had to isolate.

If you decide to take part in the study, you will have a 50% chance of being put in this daily testing group. If you are not in this group you will need to self-isolate as normal and will be asked to take a PCR test

Everyone in the study will be asked to complete two very short online surveys. To protect your privacy, the surveys will not be linked in any way to your name or personal details.

In order to send you a test kit we will need to collect your name, address and some other details. Any information that you provide will be securely stored by Public Health England in accordance with data protection regulations.

Daily testing takes about 5-10 mins to do and around 30 minutes to get the result. If you are in the daily testing group and you are unable to work from home, you must tell your employer that you are taking part in this study. As people in the daily testing group are free to attend work or perform essential activities with a negative test they are not eligible for statutory sick pay or the Test and Trace support payment unless they test positive by PCR.

Take part in the study

Click on a link below to find out more about what each group needs to do:

People offered one at-home PCR swab and self-isolation for 10 days  People offered daily at-home contact testing with 24-hour release from self-isolation on negative results

Links for registered participants

If you have already signed-up to take part but need further information please use the links below

Update my details, request new email link or withdraw from the study  Frequently asked questions
Daily Testing Arm Study information letters  Self-isolation Arm information letters  Privacy statement

Telling your employer

Please remember that we will need you to tell your employer that you’re taking part in the study and if you stop taking part for any reason. Additional information for employers can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/daily-contact-testing-study.

Get in touch

If you have any further questions, please contact the study team at: DCTS@phe.gov.uk