States have been warned to tread carefully amid a push to slash the COVID-19 isolation period, after long-COVID “absolutely smashed” the labour market.

Treasury data showed about 31,000 people called in sick each day in June. The figure was based on an estimated 100,000 long-COVID cases that month alone. Treasury also said long-COVID accounted for 12 per cent of all coronavirus-related absenteeism in June.