Household Contacts
Who is a Household Contact
You are a Household Contact if you:
- normally live in a house or flat on a permanent or part-time basis (for example, shared custody) with a person who has tested positive, and
- you spent at least 1 night or day (more than 8 hours) in that residence while the person was infectious.
You are also a Household Contact if you do not normally share a residence with the person who has COVID-19, but spent a night together in the same room.
If you are travelling or holidaying
For people travelling or holidaying around New Zealand, Household Contacts include people who share non-communal holiday accommodation such as a:
- hotel room
- tent
- campervan
- temporary holiday home (such as a bach, Airbnb or similar).
Who is not a Household Contact
The following people may be Close Contacts, but not Household Contacts:
- People who live in the same group accommodation as the person with COVID-19 (for example, in aged residential care facilities, halls of residences, boarding houses, hostels, backpackers, and transitional housing).
What you need to do
Test for 5 days
If someone you live with tests positive for COVID-19, you do not need to isolate.
You should test daily for 5 days with a rapid antigen test (RAT) from the day the person with COVID-19 tested positive.
If any of your tests are positive, you must self-isolate for 7 days.
If you cannot test daily, we recommend you stay home for 5 days.
Report your tests
You should report the results of your RATs, whether they are positive or negative. You can do this online through My Covid Record or call 0800 222 478.
Log into My Covid Record (external link)
Avoid the person with COVID-19
You should avoid or minimise contact with the person who has COVID-19 during their self-isolation period.
Wear a face mask
You should wear a face mask if you leave your home during your 5 days of testing, to help reduce the risk of infecting others. Wearing a face mask is important when:
- visiting vulnerable people, such as older people and those who are immunocompromised
- using public transport
- in a crowded indoor space.
Monitor for symptoms for 10 days
Monitor for symptoms for 10 days from when the first person in your house tests positive.
If you develop COVID-19 symptoms at any time, test and stay home until 24 hours after your symptoms resolve. If you test positive, you need to isolate for 7 days.
For further guidance and advice, visit the COVID-19 Health Hub:
I am a household contact | COVID-19 Health Hub (external link)
If more than 1 person in your household tests positive
You do not need to restart daily testing if another person tests positive within the first person's 7-day isolation period, or within 10 days after the first case is released from isolation.
If you have had COVID-19
28 days or fewer since a previous infection
If you had COVID-19 and it has been 28 days or fewer from your previous infection (either from when you tested positive or you first had symptoms), and someone in your household tests positive, you are not considered a Household Contact and you do not need to test.
29 days or more since previous infection
If it has been 29 days or more since you had COVID-19 and someone in your household tests positive, then you should test daily for 5 days.
If you test positive, you must self-isolate for 7 days.
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