Self Isolated New Year: Survival Notes



On the 17th December, the family and I visited a friend in Copenhagen.  This was booked before omicron broke and was a non-refundable flight otherwise we'd probably have cancelled.  We did have a nice time, though the city and country were closing up around us.  By the 19th the Christmas markets were closed and restaurants and bars were emptying.  We left on the evening of the 20th and hunkered down at home for the Christmas period.  Turkey.   Pork-pie.  Prosecco.   You know the deal.

On Christmas Eve I woke up with a slight sore throat and reported as much on the Kings College London Zoe app that I have been using pretty much since the beginning.  I also took a lateral flow test at the same time, which came back negative.  The sore throat was gone by lunch and I thought nothing else of it.  On Christmas Day I received an e-mail from KCL that said, although my symptom was not a Covid key symptom, they invited me to take a PCR test for their data.  I ordered one there and then and took it on the 28th.  I got a positive test result on the 30th and went straight into self-isolation.  Because I have travelled, I have quite an extensive timeline of tests:


  • 16th Dec - LFT - negative - (UK pre trip)
  • 18th Dec - LFT - negative
  • 19th Dec - LFT - negative - (Fit to fly)
  • 20th Dec - PCR - negative - (Day 2)
  • 24th Dec - LFT - negative
  • 28th Dec - PCR - positive
  • 30th Dec - LFT - positive (into self-isolation)
  • 31st Dec - LFT - positive
  •   1st Jan - LFT - positive

So I've bundled myself into the guest bedroom at home which, luckily, has an ensuite.  It's also the room that I work from, so nothing much changes in that respect.

So here I find myself, well-serviced but still isolated.  These are my notes for whatever the opposite of a go bag is.  A castra bag?  Anyway, items I have already in my location:
  • Bed
  • Workspace with laptop and all accessories
  • Ensuite with shower, sink and toilet (and toiletries)
And this is my bring-ins:
  • Lateral Flow Tests (enough to test from day 6 for day 7 exit criteria)
  • iPhone, iPad
  • Nintendo Switch (plus Ring Fit, Animal Crossing, Bioshock Series, Mario Kart, Mario Party)
  • Aeropress, rhinowares grinder and Rave coffee (Christmas gift)
  • Travel kettle filament
  • Mug
  • Dark Chocolate (lots)
  • Daim bars
  • Tortillas
Tips and Notes:
  • Wish I had more unwatched Expanse series 6!
  • I did Dopesick in a single day.
  • Maintain a clean and tidy quarantine space.  Make your bed.
  • Ring Fit with the Switch mounted on a flexible iPad arm worked well for exercise.
  • Keep moving!  Keep standing!  Keep looking out of the window.
  • Reading bedtime stories via an Amazon Echo Dot worked really well.

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