COVID-19 hub
Rules and guidance
You are no longer legally required to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19. You do not have to take daily tests or are legally required to self-isolate following contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
You must not visit our hospitals if you have symptoms of COVID-19. Face coverings are no longer mandatory in Dorset HealthCare locations but face masks are available at all main entrances to our sites if you would like to wear one and hand sanitising products are also available. Please see our visiting sites and inpatient wards page for more information. Thank you for your co-operation and continued support of the NHS.
Help stop the spread of COVID-19
Practice good hygiene
- wash your hands more often than usual for 20 seconds each time or use hand sanitiser gel
- avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands.
Symptoms
The primary symptoms of COVID-19 are:
- high temperature (37.8 degrees or more)
- loss or change of taste or smell
- new continuous cough.
Your COVID recovery and long COVID
Evidence shows that a proportion of post COVID-19 patients are likely to have significant on-going health problems, notably breathing difficulties, tiredness and cough, reduced muscle function, reduced ability to undertake physical activity and psychological symptoms such as PTSD and reduced mood status.
Your Covid Recovery is a NHS website designed to help people recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19 and support them to manage their recovery. It includes information from rehabilitation experts about how to manage on-going symptoms and health needs at home, and signposts to sources of support.
It also includes information on returning to work, and a helpful section for family, friends and carers of people who are recovering.
Find out more about our Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) service which provides specialist support for people who have on-going symptoms of COVID-19 for 12 weeks or more, known as 'long-COVID'.