Calls to cut isolation period to match US

Calls are growing to cut the number of days a person should isolate with Covid, as health officials clarified the recommended quarantine period is shorter in the US than in the UK.

Boris Johnson has said he would "act according to the science" on potentially reducing the time period to five days, a measure which could help deal with staff absences across the economy and public services.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has previously said the isolation period was effectively the same in both the UK and the US, but it has now updated a blog post on the subject clarifying the discrepancy in relation to the starting point for isolation.

The UK health body acknowledged that while here the advice is to isolate for at least six full days, in the US people are asked to isolate for five full days.

But the agency said it believes people staying in isolation until they get two negative lateral flow results on days six and seven remains "the optimal approach at present".

The Prime Minister has been facing calls from MPS and business chiefs to follow suit in the UK in order to help ease staff absences across the economy and public services.

The isolation period has already been cut from ten days to seven, and on Monday Mr Johnson's official spokesman said "if it is possible to go further then we will do so".

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is among ministers keen on the economic benefits of reducing the period to five days, according to the Daily Telegraph, while Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has suggested the move could help ease staffing problems.