These changes mean that we will:
- maintain the legal duty to self-isolate for 10 days for all positive cases;
- maintain the legal duty to self-isolate for 10 days for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated;
- remove the legal duty to self-isolate for fully vaccinated, close contacts; and
- remove the legal duty to self-isolate for under 18s.
The most immediate impact of the changes to the self-isolation regulations is that the numbers of people who have been asked to self-isolate will significantly decrease as a smaller proportion of the adult population remain unvaccinated. But we also know that the latest Public Health Wales vaccine equity report shows that, although the gap in vaccine uptake between the least and more deprived areas of Wales is narrowing, it is still present. Data also shows that the gap also occurs across ethnic groupings with lower uptake among black, Asian, mixed and other ethnicities at all age groups.
Self isolation can be more challenging for these groups, leading to social and economic hardship and difficulties in adhering to the rules on self-isolation. As a result, we are announcing an updated Protect offer to help people self-isolate once the new regulations are in place:
o Increase the amount of the Self-Isolation Support Scheme from £500 to £750 (to be reviewed after three months.)
o Work with delivery partners and the Third Sector to streamline processes and support harder to reach groups with the application process.
o Ensure local authorities can offer discretionary support with food and essential items to those who need it most to self-isolate
