Covid: Professor discusses dropping isolation in the future

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The NHS and schools are among the essential sectors facing growing staff shortages as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to cause record numbers of Covid cases. In a bid to tackle the crisis, many have called for a reduction in the self-isolation period required after a positive coronavirus test.

Scientists, health professionals and Tory MPs are among those calling on the PM to reduce the Covid self-isolation period to five days.

Late last year the Government reduced the time required to self isolate from ten days to seven if those isolating could produce negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven.

Pressure is now mounting to follow the US by reducing this isolation period further from seven days to five.

But the PM has a delicate balancing act. On one hand, reducing the isolation period would greatly help the NHS, as staff could come out of quarantine sooner to help relieve the dangerous staff shortages.

But as case rates continue to soar, others fear that reducing the isolation period further could lead to more people being infected.

What path will the PM choose?

It is unclear what approach the PM will choose as he has currently resisted calls from within his own party to reduce the self-isolation period to five days.

But this could change soon as senior Conservatives are stepping forward to back the five-day policy.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi is among those in favour of the reduction as he believes such a move would be “helpful”.

Mr Zahawi told The Sunday Times: “The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have said they want to review it, so we will stick to seven days but if they review it and say they will bring it down to five days that is even better for me, it’s even more helpful.”

What is the argument for keeping the seven day isolation period?

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned that cutting the Covid isolation period to five days to relieve staff shortages in the NHS would be “counterproductive.”

In a blog post, the UKHSA explained that reducing the mandatory quarantine period could lead to more people being infected which would put greater pressure on the NHS instead of helping it.

The UKHSA said that in hospital settings reducing the quarantine period “could actually worsen staff shortages if it led to more people being infected”.

But it added: “Our assessment may change as we continue to learn more about the features of the Omicron variant compared to, for example, the Delta variant.”

However, the agency is currently maintaining its advice to isolate until you have received two negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven.

UKHSA said this “is the optimal approach at present” as it will continue “to protect the wider population from infection”.

What is the argument in favour of reducing the Covid isolation period?

The Omicron variant is thought to be a less life-threatening strain of coronavirus, as it seems to cause less hospitalisation and serious illness.

Despite this, the NHS is under unprecedented pressure as record numbers of their workforce are absent as they are currently required to isolate for seven to 10 days if they test positive.

Reducing the quarantine period would see NHS staff return to work faster which would help to curb growing staff absences.

Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, told The Times he would back five-day isolation if those quarantining could produce negative lateral flow tests.

He said the rapid tests were a “better way to measure if we’re allowing people to go back into [the] community” than fixed isolation periods.

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