Javid reinforces calls for ‘sensible’ cuts to isolation
SAJID Javid has strengthened his support for the Government slashing self-isolation periods, saying he is ‘increasingly of the view’ it is sensible, the Daily Mail understands.
Ministers are under pressure to reduce the required isolation after Covid symptoms start from seven days to five to stop the country grinding to a halt.
Slashing the stay-at-home period for those testing negative would lessen crippling staff shortages blighting schools, hospitals and businesses, campaigners believe. The Health Secretary is understood to be ‘increasingly of the view that this looks like a sensible thing to do’, with signs that cases are levelling off nationally.
Tory MPs have been pushing for the Government to change guidance, and last night former minister David Jones said they should ‘urgently reassess’ the self-isolation period.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said of the potential change: ‘If this is judged to be safe in the United States, then let’s apply the same rule here to relieve the great pressure that staff absence is creating for our health and care system.’
And Oxford University’s Professor Carl Heneghan, who has been volunteering in urgent care this winter, said: ‘While it made sense early in the pandemic to have a very simple 10-day rule, it doesn’t make sense almost two years in.
‘A much more nuanced policy would reflect when people are infectious versus when they are not.’
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) this week admitted it had issued misleading claims about the way Britain’s rules compare to other countries.
But Downing Street said yesterday that the Government was still ‘gathering the latest evidence’ on whether to cut existing isolation rules.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister hasn’t received formal advice either way yet. So, we’ll await that and then make a decision.’
The military will respond to non-emergency ambulance calls in the East Midlands after isolation rules left the service critically short of staff.