COVID quarantine could be slashed from ten days to just five if daily lateral flow tests are used, Sage has said.
Under a new scheme suggested by government scientists, the tests could help people who have come in close contact to Covid sufferers to limit the amount of time they quarantine.
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Sage plans for early release could be “as effective” as the current system
If the schemes go ahead, they would need to get a negative result consecutively to be released early, with the papers noting this could be “as effective” as the current system.
At the moment, government guidelines require anyone who has been in close contact with a Covid case – within two metres up to two days before they test positive – to isolate at home for 10 days.
They cannot quit isolation if they test negative for Covid before the 10 days end and must get a swab that doesn’t have the virus on it to be released back into society.
According to a senior Sage source the testing regime was “plausible” but claimed it was not something the government was currently looking at.
They added the study made big assumptions, namely that people would be less likely to break isolation rules if they were given the five-day testing option.
And they warned people actually might be less inclined to receive a swab, which are often uncomfortable, every day.
Sage spin-off group SPI-M-O modelled whether testing every day for five days could be a viable alternative to the current quarantine regime.
They said the scheme could be “more effective” in reducing the spread of the virus because it could detect cases earlier and get them to self-isolate.
It would also pick up asymptomatic infections – which trigger no symptoms – that make up at least a third of cases according to official estimates.
Their paper said: “Assuming a three-day delay for contact notification and sending of test kits, five days of sequential testing may match the effectiveness of 10-day quarantine for the same level of adherence to each.
“If adherence was better using daily contact testing than quarantine, then more transmission can be averted.”
It added: “There is little benefit to additional days of sequential testing beyond a certain point.”
The papers made no mention of whether this system could also be used for those returning from foreign countries.
Ministers cut the self-isolation period from two weeks to 10 days in December, amid warnings the period was too long and many people were not following the order.
