With national changes this week to advice on isolation, Julia Weldon, Hull’s Director of Public Health, has explained the new guidance.
- Everyone who has had both doses of the vaccine (as long as their second dose was 14 days ago), and everyone aged 18 and under, no longer needs to isolate if they are a close contact of a positive case (14 days after the second dose for two-dose vaccines
- Instead, those who do not need to isolate will be advised to take a PCR test as soon as possible. However, it is no longer necessary to isolate while waiting for the result of this
- Everyone who tests positive, must self-isolate regardless of vaccination status or age, and follow the stay-at-home guidance to reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus. There are no exceptions to this
- In Hull, everyone aged 16 and over can now get a vaccine at one of the city’s pop-up clinics. This week, this is at Hull Community Church, 310 Newland Avenue, Wednesday August 18, Thursday August 19 and Friday August 20, 9am-6pm.
Despite national guidance continuing to ease, Hull currently has the highest Coronavirus rates in the country – the city has 620 cases per 100,000 people, more than double the national average (306 cases per 100,000). This means 237 people per day are currently testing positive for the virus in Hull.
Julia Weldon said: “It’s critical to understand that isolation is not completely disappearing. If you test positive for the virus, nothing has changed. You must still isolate at home and not leave, including to go to the shops or work.
“Our rates in Hull are currently very high so, while it is no longer mandatory, the best protection for yourself and others is to continue following the precautions we’ve taken throughout this pandemic. Wear a mask in any enclosed space, wash or sanitise hands frequently, keep a distance from others, particularly people you don’t know.
“You should also take regular no-symptom tests – you can pick these up from our pop-up vaccination centres, at Endeavour Learning and Skills Centre on Beverley Road, or from pharmacies. If you have a cough, temperature or can’t taste or smell anything, then you should immediately isolate and book a PCR test.
“The vaccine is incredibly effective and things are certainly much better. People are not getting as ill with the virus as they were. But we still currently have 59 people in hospital with Coronavirus. The virus hasn’t gone away and we should all treat it seriously. It’s very easy to live our lives, enjoy socialising and going back to the places we’ve missed, while also continuing to take precautions to prevent the virus spreading”.
Get full details on isolation rules here, on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/self-isolation-removed-for-double-jabbed-close-contacts-from-16-august
