Will self-isolation rules keep us locked down after 19 July? – Reaction Briefing­­

With under three weeks to go until the so-called “terminus” for lockdown in England, the numbers of people in self-isolation are concerning.

Figures released on Tuesday by the Department of Education, reports The Telegraph, show that over 5 per cent of schoolchildren in England were absent last week due to Covid. That’s nearly 375,000 students forced to self-isolate by law, following confirmed or suspected outbreaks in schools or at school gates.

Meanwhile, hospitality venues are sounding the alarm on Test & Trace, which is forcing them to abruptly shut their doors following Covid outbreaks among staff.

The NHS says Test & Trace would “help return life more to normal”, allowing cases to be constantly monitored to reduce the spread. But do the current rules on self-isolation threaten to keep Britain in a fluid lockdown, with anyone who steps outside susceptible to a stay-at-home notice even when life is back to normal?

What is the current policy on self-isolation?

By law, those who receive a positive test for Covid-19 are ordered to self-isolate on the day, and for ten days after that. Those in a “bubble” with that person must also self-isolate, even if they have no symptoms.

An NHS graphic explains that household members should get themselves tested and extend their self-isolation if they then develop symptoms and contract the virus.

The NHS Covid-19 app uses contact tracing technology to track users’ movements and identify those who have come into contact with someone who has recently tested positive for the virus. The app can send an alert to users ordering them to self-isolate.

What is the problem with the current rules?

The law is controversial because it includes those who are double vaccinated and those who have received a negative test. Fines for breaking self-isolation start at £1,000 and can rise to £10,000.

Because it is so indiscriminate, self-isolation rules are swinging a wrecking ball through plans to re-open society.

UKHospitality has urged the government to “look again” at re-introducing business rate holidays and an extension to the furlough scheme for hospitality venues, since the planned re-opening on 21 June did not materialise.

Adding to the problem for employers, however, is the prospect that newly-hired staff will have to be sent home following a Covid outbreak, with employers forced to put up sick pay while losing much-needed custom due to staff shortages.

Schools and universities are another area of concern. Under current rules whole year groups can form part of a “bubble” for self-isolation, leading to thousands of uninfected students being sent home for ten days.

The BBC reports that some university students have had to break self-isolation to avoid homelessness as summer tenancy agreements end, while others have been forced to extend their lease to cover periods of self-isolation.

Are there plans to change the system?

Schools minister Nick Gibbs is urgently considering an overhaul of the policy for school “bubbles” to prevent mass self-isolation.

The government is also considering replacing self-isolation orders for the wider public with daily testing “as soon as it’s reasonable to do so”, but no date has been announced. The proposed plans would exempt people from self-isolation after a negative test result.

Ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC earlier this month that he hoped the government could “replace these interventions [self-isolating] with the vaccine as the thing that will keep us safe”. But with half the population having had two doses of the vaccine – the maximum protection afforded by public healthcare – it is unclear why such stringent self-isolation orders persist.

After 19 July, social contact is set to increase significantly as nightclubs and large venues re-open. Only 28 cases have been recorded among 58,000 people who attended large-scale events under the government’s trial scheme. While testing capacity was limited at these events, evidence from the United States suggests large-scale open-air events pose little risk of spread.