PM: WE'RE LOOKING AT CUTTING ISOLATION TO 5 DAYS

BORIS CONFIRMS HE’S CONSIDERING MOVE — BUT STUDIES TO BE CARRIED OUT FIRST

- Nicholas Cecil

BORIS JOHNSON today confirmed that the Government was examining cutting the self-isolation period for people who test positive for Covid from seven days to five.

The Prime Minister said he could see the benefits of such a move to boost the economy and avoid so many people having to be off work. However, ministers want to ensure that such a step would not fuel the spread of the virus and a series of studies are being carried out.

Asked on a visit to a vaccine centre in west London if free lateral flow tests would continue for weeks or months, Mr Johnson said: “We will use them as long as they are very important. There is a similar argument to be had about the quarantine period, whether to come down from seven days to five days. The thing to do is look at the science.”

Asked if he saw the benefits of such a move, he added: “Yes, of course. We are looking at that and we will act according to the science.”

But he also stressed: “Omicron is still out there. It’s incredibly contagious... it can be pretty unpleasant. We have got to make sure that we see off Omicron. We are making great progress. The number of people who have been boosted is 36 million,90 per cent of over fifties have been done, but there are still millions who need to do it.”