LONDON, (Reuters) – The British government announced Wednesday that it would reduce the COVID-19 self isolation period from 10 to 7 days. This is for those who receive a negative result from a lateral flow testing two consecutive days.

Omicron is rapidly spreading in Britain, and there have been record numbers of Omicron cases reported over the last week. Many industries face staff shortages. Hospitals are warning of potential risks to patient safety.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, (UKHSA), a combination of two negative lateral flow tests results and a seven-day isolation time had almost as much protection as a 10-day period that was not tested.

“We want to reduce the disruption from COVID-19 to people’s everyday lives,” health secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.

The rapid lateral flow test, provided by Britain’s National Health Service at no cost, is self-administrable by anyone who lives in the home. It can give you a results within 15 to 30 mins.

According to the government, those who have negative results on their self-isolation period’s day 6 and 7 (with tests performed 24 hours apart) will be able to stay isolated for 10 days.

UKHSA stated that it strongly advised people to leave self-isolation following seven days. They should limit their contact with others living in poorly ventilated, crowded spaces and work from home. This will minimize the risk of COVID-19.

According to the UKHSA, “The new approach is based on the most recent evidence about how long patients transmit the virus. It supports critical public services and supply chain over the winter and still limits the spread of this virus.”