Health authorities considering changing household isolation requirements

Australian health authorities are weighing up a huge change to isolation rules which would signal a massive shift in the way Covid is handled.

Australia could soon move one step closer to “Covid-normal”, with health authorities reportedly considering scrapping isolation requirements for household contacts.

According to Nine Newspapers, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee is weighing up recommending people who live with Covid-positive people no longer be required to isolate for seven days.

It’s understood officials in Victoria and NSW are working on a plan that would allow asymptomatic household contacts who have had three doses of a vaccine to bypass isolation and go to work.

According to Nine, the committee is close to recommending changes.

The change would come weeks after the government changed isolation requirements for critical workers including food distribution staff, nurses and teachers.

Essential workers were given the green light to leave isolation to work provided they wear a mask, travel directly to work and take routine rapid antigen tests.

Under changes being considered, household contacts of Covid-19 positive people could leave isolation to work. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

In mid-January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said scrapping isolation requirements for critical workers was crucial to keeping Australia moving amid the Omicron peak of the time.

“We know what we have to … keep our hospitals going, keeping our health system strong, and keeping as many people at work,” Mr Morrison said at the time.

“The less restrictions you put on people to get them to work, the more pressure that could potentially put on your hospital system.”

The potential changes to isolation requirements comes after a suite of Covid-restrictions were eased across the country.

NSW has scrapped QR codes from all retail and hospitality venues, except for nightclubs and large music festivals, with dancing allowed to resume.

Density limits were dumped in NSW and Victoria.

Both states have set quarantine requirements for unvaccinated international travellers at seven days

Queensland is reviewing its restrictions, with some mask mandates expected to be scrapped.

The United Kingdom overnight became the first European country to completely scrap a legal requirement to isolate in the event of testing positive to Covid-19.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a suite of changes to bring the country’s management of Covid-19 in line with other viruses.

Originally published as Health authorities considering changing household isolation requirements