How 1.7m people could be ordered to isolate each week: Analysis shows huge numbers could be forced into quarantine by end of July unless ministers reform Covid rules

Nearly two million people a week could be forced to self- isolate by the end of the month unless ministers reform the rules.

About 400,000 were instructed to quarantine last week by Test and Trace staff – or their NHS Covid app.

Under the current system, they are told to isolate for ten days because they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Analysis of official figures predicts that this figure will soar to 1,734,000 by July 28 if current trends continue, given the steep week-on-week rise in cases and the popularity of the NHS’s smartphone app.

MPs, business chiefs and even health leaders have called for the ten-day rule to be changed, given that many of those forced into quarantine have been vaccinated.

Campaigners want the isolation period to be replaced with daily testing, or even scrapped for those who have been received two Covid jabs.

The hospitality industry has complained of severe staff shortages as a result of the current rules, which threaten to cause wider chaos across the economy and the NHS.

Read more: How 1.7m people could be ordered to isolate each week: Analysis shows huge numbers could be forced into quarantine by end of July unless ministers reform Covid rules