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Reuters
Reuters
Health

UK seeks to reduce COVID-19 self-isolation time - health minister

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock attends a media briefing, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain November 16, 2020. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS

The British government is looking at reducing the time people have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone with COVID-19 from the current 14 days through the use of a new testing regime, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday.

"We're piloting a process, using these new tests that we have, to allow people to take a test every single day instead of having to isolate for that period so that it picks-up if you're positive even before you have symptoms," he told Sky News.

He said the scheme was being piloted this week and if successful, would be rolled out amongst health and social care staff and then in the new year more broadly.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, writing by James Davey; editing by Michael Holden)

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