Covid: Professor discusses dropping isolation in the future

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Prof Hunter suggested the coronavirus pandemic is likely to develop into an endemic similar to the common cold, resulting in a concrete relaxation of isolation rules. Dan Walker questioned whether the Government could review rules on how long people with Covid need to isolate in order to avoid putting further pressure on businesses due to staff shortages. Prof Hunter told BBC Breakfast: “That is difficult to deal with.

“The whole issue of how long are we going to be able to allow people to self-isolate if they’re positive will have to be discussed very soon because this is a disease that is not going away.

“The infection is not going to go away although we’re not going to see a severe disease for much longer.”

He continued: “Ultimately, we’re going to have to let people who are positive for Covid go about their daily lives as they would do with any other cold.

“At some point, we’ve got to relax this. If the self-isolation rules are what’s making the pain associated with Covid, perhaps we have to do that sooner rather than later. 

JUST IN: China humiliated as ‘zero Covid’ strategy backfires – Xi’s plans crippled by new outbreak

“Though maybe not just yet.”

Mr Walker also asked whether further mutations of COVID-19 could appear in the future, to which Prof Hunter said that is usually the norm with coronaviruses.

He said: “Covid is only one virus of a family of coronaviruses.

The other coronaviruses throw off new variants typically every year or so and that’s almost certainly what’s going to happen with Covid.

China: Xian enters into strict lockdown after Coronavirus cases surge

“It will, effectively, become just another cause of the common cold.

“We’re not going to do daily reporting on cases of all the different causes of the common cold going forward.

“Personally, I think it would be unlikely we’re going to do anything like that.”

DON’T MISS:
Nostradamus ‘predicted’ asteroid strike and rise of robots in 2022 [ANALYSIS] 
Elon Musk sparks China fury over near miss space station collision [INSIGHT] 
Archaeology breakthrough after human remains found in Aztec pyramid [REVEAL]

Source: Read Full Article