Self-isolation for covid-19 contacts cut to 10 days

THE self-isolation period for contacts of a positive coronavirus case will be cut from 14 days to 10 days, the UK’s chief medical officers have announced.

Those required to quarantine after returning from countries which are not on the travel corridor list will also see their isolation period reduced, in an approach agreed by all four nations.

Health chiefs said in a joint statement that following a review of the evidence, they were “confident” that the self-isolation period could be shortened.

It comes as the weekly surveillance survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased in London.

There are early signs that rates may have increased in eastern England, according to the ONS, while rates have decreased in all other regions.

Elsewhere on Friday, the reproduction number, or R value, of coronavirus transmission across the UK is now between 0.9 and 1, the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said. This is a slight increase from last week, when it was estimated to be between 0.8 and 1.

Changes to the self-isolation period already apply in Wales after an announcement by its Government earlier this week, while they will take effect in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from Monday. The new rules will apply to all those who are currently selfisolating, including those who began doing so before Monday.

“Self-isolation is essential to reducing the spread of Covid as it breaks the chains of transmission,” a joint statement by the health chiefs said.

“After reviewing the evidence, we are now confident that we can reduce the number of days that contacts self-isolate from 14 days to 10 days.

“People who return from countries which are not on the travel corridor list should also self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days.” They said those who test positive for Covid-19 should selfisolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms, or from taking a positive test if asymptomatic. “We urge everyone to self-isolate when appropriate, it will save lives,” they added.

People are most infectious in the first two days before developing symptoms, if they are symptomatic, and for a small number of days afterwards.

But by day 10, only one to two people in 100 are likely to still be capable of passing on the virus, say to experts. But people are still advised to avoid highrisk activities when this period ends.