Double-jabbed people and under eighteens won’t have to self-isolate from Monday, government confirms

Fully vaccinated people and those under the age of eighteen in England will no longer be legally required to self-isolate upon coming into contact with Covid-19, the government has confirmed today.

Ministers have confirmed that the legal requirement to isolate will instead be replaced with advice to take a PCR test.

Last night, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was changing the rules because ‘getting two doses of a vaccine has tipped the odds in our favour and allowed us to safely reclaim our lost freedoms.’

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He said: “Asking the close contacts of people with COVID-19 to self-isolate has played a critical role in helping us get this virus under control, and millions of people across the UK have made enormous sacrifices by doing this.

“Every single one of these sacrifices has helped us protect the NHS and save lives.

“Getting two doses of a vaccine has tipped the odds in our favour and allowed us to safely reclaim our lost freedoms, and from Monday we can take another huge step back towards our normal lives by removing self-isolation requirements for double jabbed people who are contacts of people with Covid-19.”

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The new regime should also end the mass disruption of schooling when pupils return to schools next month because it will allow the ‘bubbles’ system to be abandoned.

A massive three quarters of adults in the UK have now received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, something hailed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a ‘huge national achievement.’

At the time of writing, a total of 86,780,455 doses have been administered in the UK, with 47,091,889 people receiving a first dose and 39,688,566 people receiving both doses.