What happens if you’re pinged before you’re due to go on holiday?

With the news that double jabbed travellers can visit amber countries from 19 July without the need to quarantine on their return, holidays abroad are becoming a more attractive proposition.

But there are still many moving parts to navigate – the Foreign Office advice, the chance that a country could drop from amber to red at the last minute, destinations’ own ever-changing entry restrictions.

And then, the final and terrifying unknown – the possibility that you might get “pinged” just before you go, and told to self-isolate.

Here’s what happens if you get contacted by NHS Test and Trace before you’re due to head off on holiday.

This is the colloquial term for when someone is contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told they must self-isolate because they may have come into contact with a positive case of Covid-19. It could be that you ate at the same restaurant as someone who has tested positive, or work in the same building; either way, it is your previous proximity to the infectious person that prompts the instruction for you to quarantine.

If you've been in close contact with someone who has Covid and need to self-isolate, you’ll be notified in one of the following ways: by email, text or phone call from NHS Test and Trace (text messages will come from NHStracing and calls will come from 0300 0135 000); or via an alert from the NHS Covid-19 app. Children under 18 will be contacted by phone wherever possible and asked for their parent or guardian's permission to continue the call. However, it is important to note that, while self-isolating is legally obligatory if NHS Test and Trace get in touch with you, it is merely advisory if you are notified by the NHS Covid-19 app.

The government has said it is mulling making the Test and Trace service less sensitive after a 60 per cent rise in “pings” last week. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said on 9 July that the app was under review to ensure it was “calibrated in the right way” to suit the circumstances.

“The medical experts will advise us on what the level of sensitivity should be relative to where we are, for example, to our vaccination programme overall,” he said.

If you're told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, you need to start self-isolating immediately. This means you should not leave your home for any reason – “if you need food or medicine, order it online or by phone, or ask friends and family to drop it off at your home,” reads the NHS guidance.

You should not have visitors in your home, including friends and family, except for essential care, and should try to avoid contact with anyone you live with as much as possible. However, people you live with or who are in your support bubble don’t need to self-isolate unless you have symptoms.

The self-isolation period is 10 full days, including the day you were last in contact with the person who tested positive.

Yes, if it starts within the 10-day self-isolation period after NHS Test and Trace has contacted you.

Whether or not you can claim a refund, however, will be dependent upon the company you booked your holiday with. If you booked a package holiday, the company may well allow you to rebook your break for a later date at no extra charge. For example, Tui, the UK’s largest tour operator has the following Covid policy:

“If your booking is eligible, your Tui booking automatically benefits from Covid Cover, which means you can amend your holiday for FREE if you contract Covid-19 or are officially required to isolate prior to your travel dates, or if your local area goes into a regional lockdown over the dates you are due to depart.”

However, if you booked the elements of your trip separately, for example a flight and an Airbnb or hotel, claiming a refund or rebooking might prove more difficult. Some airlines, such as British Airways, have introduced flexible booking policies as standard, meaning the rebooking fee is waived – although you’ll likely have to pay if there’s a difference in fare for the new dates.

Check the terms and conditions of your bookings for the various elements to see what might be possible. If you’ve booked direct with a hotel, it’s also worth ringing them up and chatting through your options in person – you never know, they may take pity on you and let you push your dates for free.

From 16 August, people will not have to self-isolate if they have received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least two weeks prior to being “pinged” by the NHS app. There will be no legal requirement to isolate even if contacted by NHS Test and Trace. Under-18s are also set to be exempt from self-isolation if identified as a close contact.

This may be another option depending on the wording of your policy and the level of cover you’ve opted for. After an initial spate of insurers rewriting their policies so that Covid wasn’t covered early in the pandemic, many have now introduced varying degrees of coronavirus protection.

For example, Staysure includes cancellation cover that kicks in if: you contract Covid within 14 days of travelling; you’re told to self-isolate by the government’s Test and Trace system; you can’t complete your vaccine course due to other illnesses, or you have an allergic reaction to the vaccine that would stop you travelling; your travelling companion(s), people you live with, or people you’re staying with on holiday being diagnosed with Covid-19 within 14 days of travel; you’re denied boarding with a positive test for Covid-19 or have a confirmed temperature above 38 degrees; or you want to cancel after the hospitalisation or death of a close relative or member of your household from Covid.

If you haven’t already, consider investing in a travel insurance policy that will cover you in the event you get pinged before your holiday.

No. You can order a PCR test if you have Covid symptoms – high temperature, new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – but a negative result does not mean early release from quarantine.

The NHS guidance states that if you receive a negative result you should “keep self-isolating for the rest of the 10 days – you could still get symptoms after being tested”. Moreover, if you have symptoms, anyone living with you should also self-isolate until you get a negative test result, at which point they can stop (unless they also have symptoms).

If you test positive, the 10 days of quarantine restarts from the day after your symptoms started – this will mean you're self-isolating for longer than 10 days overall. Anyone you live with must also self-isolate for 10 days, counting from the day after your symptoms started.

This article was updated on 27 August to reflect the fact that self-isolating is a legal requirement if you’re contacted by NHS Test and Trace, whereas it is merely advisory if you are notified on the NHS Covid-19 app.