A scientist advising the Government has raised the prospect of spiralling case rates effectively causing lockdowns by stealth due to the numbers of people who would be self-isolating.
Dr Adam Kucharski, who sits on the Spi-M group, stressed the need to consider alternatives to long quarantine periods.
Most Covid rules in England are set to be lifted on July 19 - including potentially the rules on wearing masks and social distancing.
But if quarantine rules remain, meaning you have to stay home for 10 days if you have been in contact with someone with Covid, that could mean 'lockdown by stealth'
Dr Kucharski told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “If we get to a situation over the summer where there’s 30-40,000 cases per day you’ll be potentially looking at maybe even over a million contacts per day who may be eligible for quarantine.
“In situations where you’re quarantining large numbers of people you do end up with similar outcomes to lockdown.
“In the longer term there are alternatives being considered.”
He said colleagues are investigating whether rapid daily testing over five days may be as effective as longer quarantine periods.
“These measures are reducing transmission considerably and I think if we have an alternative that gives a similar reduction in transmission but less disruption, we do need to seriously consider if that’s going to be a better option.”
