Benefits of Covid isolation waning, says UEA virus expert

Paul Hunter, an expert in virology from the University of East Anglia's school of medicine, has said that changes to the amount of testing in the community will limit the benefits of full periods of self-isolation.

He said this was due to the fact that far fewer positive tests were now being detected than earlier in the pandemic.

He said: "In the middle of March, we were probably picking up around one in every seven infections.

"This means that six out of seven people with Covid would have not realised they had it or were infectious and so were out in the community."

Prof Hunter said that for this reason, the overall benefits of those that do pick up on their infection and isolate were now far less significant.

He said: "Isolating a small number of cases is not going to be doing that much. We are at the stage now where the benefits of self-isolation is actually waning.

"In earlier stages we were picking up on one in every two or three infections, so it was far more effective then."

Self-isolation ceased to be a legal requirement at the beginning of March, however, health leaders still recommend people to do so if they do test positive.

But with testing now no longer free for general members of the public, experts expect fewer cases will go detected as people show reluctance to pay for kits.

Prof Hunter added: "No system will ever pick up 100pc of cases, that just does not happen."

He said that the level of protection offered by face coverings was also decreasing, given the prevalence of undetected cases in the community and fewer people opting to wear them.

He added: "I personally have never worn masks outside but do continue to wear them if I am in certain crowded indoor settings.

"I would also definitely recommend people who are vulnerable to continue to wear them.

"But the more people carrying the infection there are around, the lower the level of protection wearing face coverings will provide."