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England refuses to follow Wales’ example on self-isolation rules

23 Jul 2021 2 minute read
Picture by Nickolay Romensky (CC BY 2.0).

England is not following Wales’ example when it comes to self-isolation rules, it has been confirmed.

The UK Government has announced there will be exemptions for some key workers, who will be able to avoid Covid-19 isolation rules in England.

However, these laxer regulations, where a list of professions will be exempt from self-isolating for 10 days if they are a contact of a positive Covid case, will not be coming into force in Wales, the Welsh Government has said.

The move by the UK Government comes amid a so called ‘pingdemic’ where a record 618,903 people were sent self-isolation alerts from the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales in the space of a week. Of these alerts 11,417 were sent in Wales.

This has hit a number of businesses and public services, including hospitals, bins collections, supermarkets, care homes, which have lost thousands of staff because of staff self-isolating..

This follows a spike in Covid cases after Boris Johnson’s administration decided to scrap most Covid regulations in England.

The Welsh Government has said that it wants to remove the requirement for people who have been fully vaccinated to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

‘No changes’ 

However, no changes will be made to the regulations until the next review, which is expected to take place on August 5.

A Welsh Government spokesperson told WalesOnline: “We are intending to remove the requirement for people who have been fully-vaccinated to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Coronavirus. These changes will come into effect during the next 21-day coronavirus review cycle, which starts on August 7.

“We are working closely with partners to assess the risks and possible impacts of self-isolation on critical services and any mitigation that might be needed. Until any changes are introduced, it is essential that anyone who is asked to self-isolate does so.

“Everyone who has symptoms of coronavirus or who tests positive for coronavirus will also continue to be required to self-isolate – no matter how old they are or whether they have been vaccinated or not.”


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George
George
3 years ago

Can we point out that: i) UK government also moving towards non-isolation of double jabbed no matter what job in just 3 weeks time so these rules won’t last long ii) It’s on the basis of these workers agreeing to not isolate for their work but isolate for anything outside that time – some question whether that’s realistic to expect iii) As far as the law goes currently, there is no “critical services” exemption so workers in England following this new scheme will technically be breaking the law iv) There are reports of chaos in England’s care sector about how… Read more »

Gareth
Gareth
3 years ago

According to this report in the Times, the Senedd has given more support to small business than the UK Gov have done for England. Also start up funding in Wales has been higher than in England, but dont let facts get in the way of a good rant, ehh.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ft.com/content/a2d479e0-a574-4d92-82bf-b170873bbdc9&ved=2ahUKEwjswI3wn_nxAhVBoVwKHSYCAmwQFjAEegQIEhAC&usg=AOvVaw1xDZpfe4qKc0S2wZoirv2x

Chris
Chris
3 years ago
Reply to  Gareth

Mark Rhydderch-Roberts you should read the link Gareth gives. You might learn something

Mark Rhydderch-Roberts
Mark Rhydderch-Roberts
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Unlikely to learn anything from the borderline racist Welsh public sector Drakeford fan boys on nations cymru. Keep on clapping mate – see where it gets you

Gareth
Gareth
3 years ago

That is the strangest reaction to an article written by the Times I have ever seen. Are you sure all is well with yoursef, the Times, a Drakeford fanboy paper that is borderline racist, really. Oh well.

Chris
Chris
3 years ago

0f course England will not do what Cymru is doing – it would mean actually supporting people in a logical and rational way rather than making dismal political points in the vast echo chamber that is Westminster politics

defaid
defaid
3 years ago

The Westminster government is advocating doing nothing. The Welsh government is insisting that everyone should do something.

Sorry to slap you with a little logic Mark but it’s England that will not do what Wales is doing.

England 1 in 75
Wales 1 in 210…

Who’s really supporting business?

Last edited 3 years ago by defaid

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