Two-thirds who isolated in pandemic ‘think self-isolation should still be law’

Around two-thirds of people who isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic think self-isolation should still be the law for those who test positive, a new survey suggests.

Nearly a third believe that current government advice for keeping the public safe from Covid-19 is insufficient, while seven in 10 are taking their own measures to protect themselves, such as wearing a face mask or avoiding social gatherings.

The findings are based on responses from 815 adults in England and have been compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

All the respondents had self-isolated at some point since the start of the pandemic, either because they tested positive for Covid-19 or were in close contact with someone who tested positive.

A total of 68% of respondents agreed with the statement “It should be the law to self-isolate for those who test positive”, while only 25% disagreed.

The legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive Covid-19 test was scrapped in England on February 24 this year.

It was replaced with guidance which recommended that adults and children who tested positive should stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days, and to follow this advice until they had received two negative test results on consecutive days.

This guidance was changed again on April 1 to say that anyone with Covid-19 symptoms or who tests positive should try to stay at home and avoid contact with others until they no longer have symptoms or feel unwell.

Free testing for most of the public in England also came to an end on this date.

The new survey was carried out by the ONS between April 25 and May 10 and is based on the self-reported behaviour of respondents, which means care needs to be taken when interpreting the results.

The majority of people surveyed (79%) said they thought the Government’s self-isolation strategy during the pandemic was effective at keeping the public safe.

Some 70% reported they have continued taking extra measures to keep themselves safe from Covid-19, the most common response being wearing a face mask (mentioned by 47% of all respondents), followed by washing hands more often than before the pandemic (39%) and avoiding social gatherings (19%).

Around three in five (61%) said the pandemic has had a negative effect on them, with 28% missing out on work as a result of isolating.

In addition, 2% of respondents said they had lost their job because they were isolating, but the ONS said this figure should be treated with caution due to the very small sample size.