The new rules will come into effect from 16th August, if the government takes a decision on whether the UK will move into step 4 of the COVID-19 roadmap on 12th July on the basis of its four tests, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Fully vaccinated people will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced.
The new rules will come into effect from 16th August, if the government takes a decision on whether the UK will move into step 4 of the COVID-19 roadmap on 12th July on the basis of its four tests.
The health secretary told MPs the same policy would also apply to anyone under the age of 18 from that date, the BBC reported.
The government would give more details this week on self-isolation rules for international travel, he added.
“Asking people with COVID-19 and their close contacts to self-isolate has played a critical role in helping us get this virus under control, and I’m so grateful to the millions of people across the UK who have made sacrifices to keep the virus at bay,” Javid told Parliament.
“Thanks to the UK’s phenomenal vaccine programme and the huge wall of defence, we can safely take steps to reduce self-isolation for people who are fully vaccinated, and those aged under 18, and instead advise people to take a PCR test. Positive cases will still need to self-isolate.”
“Step-by-step, and jab-by-jab, we’re replacing the temporary protection of the restrictions, with the long-term protection of a vaccine,” he added.
Introducing this exemption in August will enable even more people to have received both doses of the vaccine, significantly reducing the risk of severe illness and providing the fullest protection possible for people across the country, the government said.
The NHS COVID-19 app will update in August in line with the new guidance on self-isolation for close contacts, it added.
Meanwhile, young people and double vaccinated individuals identified as close contacts will continue to be advised to take a PCR test, to detect the virus and variants of concern. Anyone who tests positive following the PCR test will still be legally required to self-isolate, irrespective of their vaccination status.
The success of the UK’s vaccine programme – with over 86% of adults receiving their first doses – has allowed the government to continue easing restrictions and to remove self-isolation rules for double jabbed people, and move from a rules-based system to personal responsibility.
According to the government, the latest data shows that 27,000 lives have already been saved by COVID-19 vaccines and over 7 million infections prevented, with vaccines reducing the chance of COVID-19 infection by almost 80% after two doses and only 35% after one.
As of 6 July, over 79 million vaccine doses have now been administered in the UK, and three in five adults have received two doses.
Meanwhile, the children who are aged under 5 years old who are identified as close contacts would only be advised to take a PCR test if the positive case is in their own household.
If someone gets their second dose just before, or after, the 16th of August, they’ll need to wait until two weeks after they get the second jab to benefit from these new freedoms so the vaccine has time to build the maximum possible protection.
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had confirmed that most coronavirus restrictions are set to end on July 19 as part of the final step of England’s roadmap out of the lockdown.
Face masks and distancing rules will no longer be legally required in England from July 19, Johnson told a news conference at Downing Street. The rule of six inside private homes will also be removed and work-from-home guidance will be scrapped.
The British government is only responsible for coronavirus restrictions in England. The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for their own policies in relation to public health matters.
Johnson previously announced a four-week delay to the final step of England’s roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions until July 19, amid a surge in cases of the Delta variant first identified in India.
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