Changes To Self-Isolation Rules Welcomed

It is today, August 16th 2021, that the more relaxed self-isolation rules come into effect, which will be very much welcomed by employers right across Northern Ireland as well as England.

Double Vaccinated Do Not Have To Automatically Self-Isolate

If you are double vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and you come into contact with somebody who has tested positive, you will no longer have to automatically self-isolate. Instead they need to go for a PCR test on day 2 and on day 8 of what would have formerly been their 10 day stay in isolation. If someone does test positive though they will still have to go into self-isolation for 10 days.

There are other changes that have come into effect today, after a meeting by the Northern Ireland Executive last Thursday, in a bid to bring a sense of normality to the country.

Changes Taking Effect On August 16th 2021

Here are the changes being made as copied from an article on the BBC News website:

• ” The limit on numbers of people allowed to meet outdoors in private gardens will be removed.
• Further education and higher education and night classes will be able to return to full in-person learning
• So-called support bubbles will no longer exist
• The rule of six – the number of people allowed to sit at tables together in hospitality venues – will be scrapped (this will also apply to wedding celebrations and receptions)
• The requirement to maintain social distancing at all times on public transport will be lifted, to allow more people on buses and trains
• Conferences and exhibitions will be allowed to resume
• Outdoor raves will now be allowed
• Indoor premises and workplaces in Northern Ireland are still required to comply with a social distancing rule of at least 1m (3ft).

“That rule has been lifted in other parts of the UK and many people in Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector are keen to see it relaxed locally too.

“Nightclubs still do not have a reopening date.”

The changes will be roundly welcomed by businesses, obviously many in the hospitality sector would have liked the changes to have been even more wide ranging, but the momentum is now going in the right direction. People being admitted to hospital with serious coronavirus symptoms have not increased dramatically since the lockdown was first eased, which was widely anticipated to happen, so there has to be more positivity in the air throughout Northern Ireland.