Coronavirus isolation period for those with symptoms 'to be increased to 10 days' amid second wave fears
30 July 2020, 07:49 | Updated: 30 July 2020, 10:44
People in England who have symptoms of Covid-19 will soon be told to self-isolate for 10 days, according to reports.
The coronavirus isolation period could be increased from seven to 10 days, following reports that Boris Johnson is 'extremely concerned' about a second wave.
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Currently anyone who shows symptoms of Covid-19 - such as a fever, new and continuous cough or loss of taste and smell - has to isolate for a week, but this looks set to be increased.
Read more about current self-isolation periods on the NHS website
The change would follow guidelines from the World Health Organisation, which recommends a 10-day isolation period.
It comes after a surge of infections in some areas in the UK, and claims that the country could be two weeks behind Europe, where there has been a spike in coronavirus cases.
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According to a report by The Times, the government's Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance warned No10 that the UK could be following in the footsteps of countries like Spain, which has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases.
It is thought that Health Secretary Matt Hancock will announce the news later today (Thursday 30 July), but it is not known whether it will apply to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The news comes after concerns about outbreaks in Oldham, Wrexham and Staffordshire, which have also seen a surge in cases.
Oldham recently overtook Leicester as having the highest rate of infections in England, and a decision on extending Leicester's local lockdown is also expected later today.
A Downing Street source recently told the MailOnline: "The PM is extremely concerned by what he's seeing abroad and fears we could be seeing the same thing here in a fortnight.
"People have got to realise we are still in the middle of a pandemic. He wants to go further on opening things up and getting people back to work, but he knows it'll be his head on the block if things go wrong."
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