Self-isolation time is cut from 14 days to ten
THE self- isolation period for those who have been in contact with coronavirus carriers is being cut from 14 to ten days from Monday, it was announced yesterday.
The decision was taken amid evidence that only 1 to 2 per cent of people remain capable of passing on the virus to others after ten days of quarantine.
It means holidaymakers returning from highrisk countries that are not on the travel corridor list, as well as contacts of Covid-19 cases, will only need to stay at home for as long as those with the virus. It is hoped that mass testing for Covid-19 will allow self-isolation to be scrapped altogether by early next year, except for those who test positive.
The new ten- day quarantine period will apply to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
from Monday. The rule is already in place in Wales. The four chief medical officers for the UK said in a joint statement: ‘Self-isolation is essential to reducing the spread of Covid, as it breaks the chains of transmission.
‘After reviewing the evidence, we are now confident that we can reduce the number of days that contacts self-isolate from 14 days to ten. People who return from countries which are not on the travel corridor list should also self-isolate for ten days instead of 14.’ England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said reducing the selfisolation period to ten days was a ‘reasonable balance between managing the risk to the public but allowing us not to intrude on their lives’.
A study led by King’s College London reported in September that around two-thirds of those who had come into contact with someone with coronavirus said they intended to selfisolate. But less than 11 per cent of around 400 reached by contact tracers actually stayed at home for 14 days.
Common reasons for breaking the rules included needing to go to the shops, or believing it was fine because they had no symptoms. Commenting on the new rule, Paul
‘A reasonable balance’
Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: ‘It is plausible that if a reduction in the time leads to more people complying with the requirement to selfisolate, then this change could lead to fewer people being out in public when they become infectious, though I am not aware of any evidence to support this suggestion.’
Experts say Covid sufferers are most infectious in the first few days before developing symptoms and then for about five days afterwards.
The ten- day quarantine period will apply to all those who are currently self-isolating. However, the NHS app will continue to tell people to self-isolate for 14 days until Thursday, due to a technical delay.
Those who receive a notification to self-isolate before Thursday will be able to end their quarantine when the countdown timer says there are three days left.
Despite the change, those who have been self-isolating are still advised to avoid high-risk activities after ten days because of a residual risk of being infectious.