On Monday 14 December, the change to the isolation period for contacts will apply to all those who are currently self-isolating including those who commenced self-isolation before Monday.
Self-isolation periods will begin on the day after exposure, a test or the start of symptoms.
The NHS Test and Trace service will tell people to self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days from Monday.
The passenger locator form will be updated from Monday.
Due to the time taken to test technical changes and release updates through the app store, the NHS COVID-19 app will tell close contacts to isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days from Thursday 17 December.
In England, if you receive a notification from the NHS COVID-19 app before 17 December to isolate because you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive:
- if you have also been contacted by NHS Test and Trace you must follow isolation guidance provided by contact tracers
- if you have been advised to isolate by the app (and not by NHS Test and Trace) then you can leave isolation when your isolation countdown timer says 3 days
