Covid self-isolation rules to be relaxed on August 16

Health Secretary Sajid Javid updating MPs on the governments coronavirus plans, in the House of Commons, London.Health Secretary Sajid Javid updating MPs on the governments coronavirus plans, in the House of Commons, London.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid updating MPs on the governments coronavirus plans, in the House of Commons, London.
Rules on self-isolation are being eased for the fully vaccinated and under-18s, Sajid Javid has announced.

People in those categories who have come into contact with a coronavirus case will not need to shut themselves away for the 10-day isolation period once the change comes into force on August 16.

The Health Secretary’s announcement follows Boris Johnson’s decision to tear up England’s coronavirus regulations at Step 4 of the road map, expected on July 19.

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Mr Javid told MPs that from August 16, anyone who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate if they have received two doses of a vaccine and have given the second jab a fortnight to take effect.

“As we make this change we will be drawing on the huge capacity we have built for testing and sequencing and advising close contacts who are fully vaccinated to take a PCR test as soon as possible so they can get certainty about their condition,” he said.

Anyone who tests positive will have to self-isolate, regardless of their vaccination status.

“This new approach means that we can manage the virus in a way that is proportionate to the pandemic while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all,” he said.

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As under-18s are not routinely jabbed, a similar exemption from self-isolation rules will be extended to them.

“Anyone under the age of 18 who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate.

“Instead they will be given advice about whether they should get tested, dependent on their age, and will need to self-isolate only if they test positive.”

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