The Coronavirus self-isolation period in the UK is reducing from 14 to 10 days, it has been announced.
The change will come into effect in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 00:01 on Monday (14 December), while it came into effect in Wales yesterday (11 December).
The change was recommended by the Chief Medical Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following a review of the latest evidence.
It means that people who travel to the UK which are not on the travel corridor list will only have to isolate for 10 days. People who come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus will also only need to self-isolate for 10 days, while people who test positive should continue to self-isolate for 10 days.
The isolation countdown in the NHS COVID-19 app will be updated to reflect the change from 17 December. Anyone advised to isolate by the app between 14 and 17 December will only need to isolate for 10 days and can leave isolation when the countdown timer says 3 days remaining.
Announcing the change in Wales earlier this week, Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething said;
“We know that self-isolating is hard for people and we believe families, communities and business will welcome the announcement today to safely reduce the days in which people have to isolate.
“Self-isolation and quarantine play a key role in stopping the spread of the coronavirus and I want to thank everyone who continues to follow the rules and play their role in Keeping Wales Safe.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the news on his Twitter profile on Friday afternoon saying, “It’s essential we self-isolate when instructed to break the chain of transmission.”
