Dear all,
Although the UK and Scottish Governments relaxed restrictions further on the 19th July, self-isolation of close contacts rules remained unchanged.
If you have been identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you are still required to isolate for 10 days from their positive result.
It is extremely important that when people are identified as close contacts, they remain in self-isolation for the full length of time they are requested to. A ‘close contact’ is someone who has been physically close enough to the confirmed case for a long enough period of time, that they may have had the virus transmitted to them.
If you are currently self-isolating as a 'close contact' of someone who is confirmed positive for COVID-19 but do not have any symptoms, other members of your household only have to self-isolate if they too are 'close contacts'.
Both the Scottish and UK Governments plan to relax the blanket requirement for close contacts to self-isolate, as long as they are double vaccinated - with at least two weeks having passed since the second dose - and take a PCR test that comes back negative. Currently, Scotland plans to remove this on 9th August and England on 16th August, both will be confirmed in due course.
Self-isolation exemptions are available to businesses who provide services which are recognised as Critical National Infrastructure, some of the services ASCO provides to the Energy and Waste sectors fall into this category. Self-Isolation exemptions need to be requested on a case by case basis and should be requested by exception only.
The self-isolation exemption option will be included within our business continuity plans.
We will keep you informed of any further developments on self-isolation rules.
If you have any queries or concerns, please email zzRM-COVID-19@ascoworld.com
Stay Safe,
The Task Force