Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced the new rules in the Commons today.
Mr Javid said:
‘I’ve always said to the House that any curbs on our freedoms must be an absolute last resort and that we shouldn’t keep them in place for a day longer than absolutely necessary.
‘With this in mind, we’ve been reviewing the isolation period for positive cases to make sure the measures we have in place maximise activity in the economy and education for example, but also minimise the risk of infectious people leaving isolation.
‘UKHSA data shows that around two thirds of positive cases are no longer infectious by the end of day five and we want to use the testing capacity that we’ve built up to help these people leave isolation safely.
READ MORE: Self-isolation for those with COVID-19 can end after five full days following two negative LFD tests
‘After reviewing all of the evidence, we’ve made the decision to reduce the minimum self-isolation period to five full days in England.
‘From Monday, people can test twice before they go, leaving isolation at the start of day six.’
