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Washington Old Hall has been forced to close over the second weekend of the school holidays due to staff and volunteers having to self-isolate.

The ancestral home of George Washington, the USA’s first President, has a number of activities lined up for when they reopen. Usually the venue is open Fridays to Mondays until November.

However, a statement from the National Trust property said: “Washington Old Hall will be closed Friday 23rd July - Monday 26th July due to staff and volunteers self-isolating. We plan to reopen on Friday 30th July.”

It comes as a record number of people were told to isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app when more than 600,000 alerts were sent to users in a week, figures suggested, as retailers warned of disruption.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Government risks “losing social consent” for isolation if it does not immediately bring forward the relaxation of quarantine rules for the fully vaccinated.

Mr Hunt, who chairs the Health and Social Care Committee, urged ministers to bring forward the scheduled end of isolation for all fully vaccinated contacts who test negative from August 16.

Warnings of staffing shortages mounted as NHS figures showed 618,903 alerts were sent to users of the coronavirus app in England and Wales in the week to July 14, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.

However, bosses at Washington Old Hall say that when the venue does manage to reopen there will be an array of activities for youngsters to take part in.

These include a bean bag toss, building a home for a wild thing, den building, a hobby horse ride, exploring birds and insects and working out a tumbling tower.

The National Trust has a programme of activities all round the United Kingdom across the hundreds of properties it owns or runs.

The charity said: “Over 100 National Trust sites offering a playful active programme for summer. Each place offers active experiences outdoors, that stretch lockdown legs and minds and reconnect families with each other and with nature.”

Washington Old Hall reopened in May 2021 having been unable to do so since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.