People who test positive for Covid-19 will be able to leave self-isolation after five full days if they have two negative lateral flow tests, Health Minister Eluned Morgan today confirmed.
The two consecutive negative lateral flow tests must be taken on days five and six of the isolation period.
The changes are being made after a thorough examination of the evidence from Public Health Wales and bring Wales into line with changes made elsewhere in the UK.
They will come into effect from January 28 at the same time as Wales is expected to complete the move to alert level zero.
A shorter self-isolation period will support public services and businesses by reducing pressures on the workforce through Covid-related staff absences.
Financial support through the Self-Isolation Support Scheme which will return to the original payment rate of £500 in recognition of the shorter isolation period. People who need support with essentials such as shopping and pharmacy goods will be able to access help through their local authority and voluntary organisations.
Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan said: “Self-isolation is one of the most effective ways of preventing the onward spread of this virus and disrupting its transmission. But self-isolating for long periods can have a negative impact on our mental health and can be damaging for our public services and the wider economy.
“After carefully reviewing all the available evidence, we believe that testing on days five and six together with five full days of isolation will have the same protective effect as a 10-day isolation period.
“But it is really important everyone self-isolates and uses lateral flow tests in the way advised to ensure they protect others from the risk of infection.
“The response from the public has been outstanding in Wales throughout the pandemic and we want to thank everyone for working with us to keep Wales safe.
“The booster jab has lessened the likelihood of severe cases of the virus and hospitalisation so I encourage anyone who is yet to have their vaccine to take up the offer.”
If a person is currently self-isolating as a positive case, or tests positive for Covid-19, they must self-isolate for five full days and should take a lateral flow test on day five and another test 24 hours later on day six.
If both results are negative, it is likely they are not infectious and can stop isolating.
But anyone who tests positive on either day five or day six must continue to self-isolate until they have two negative tests taken 24 hours apart or until day 10, whichever comes first.
This change reflects the latest evidence from Public Health Wales. Guidance on self-isolation for those working in more sensitive areas such as health and care will issue shortly.
In the latest Covid-19 figures from Public Health Wales it was reported that 73 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Powys yesterday - Tuesday, January 25.
This means that Powys Teaching Health Board currently has only 55.1 Coronavirus cases per 100,000 members of the population.
The latest figure also means that the total number of cases in the health board’s area now stands at 22,628.
Of the latest figures, PHW also showed that 205 tests were completed meaning that 35.6 per cent of those who undertook a test yesterday received a positive result.
In Wales, 2,707 new cases were reported yesterday bringing the total number of cases to 765,737.
There were 102,292 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK on the same day - which brings the total number of cases up to 16,149,319.
Covid-19 cases are identified by taking specimens from people and testing them for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If the test is positive - except for rapid lateral flow tests which have negative confirmatory lab-based PCR tests taken within 72 hours - this is referred to as a case.
If a person has more than one positive test, they are only counted as one case for all nations with the exception of Wales.
For more information and the latest figures, visit the Public Health Wales website by clicking here.