We must cut self-isolation to 5 days for the sake of NHS & our fragile economy

Isolation must be reduced to 5 days

A JANUARY rise in Covid cases is only to be expected after Boris Johnson rightly kept England open over Christmas and New Year.

Worst estimates claim up to a quarter of public sector workers could be self-isolating as Omicron is so easy to catch.

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That’s more than a million frontline staff stuck at home for seven days or more as hospitalisations rise.

But all the evidence is that Omicron is not nearly as dangerous as previous variants and is mostly mild for the triple-jabbed.

And our brilliant Jabs Army booster rollout is doing a fantastic job in shielding the elderly and vulnerable from serious illness.

So when will the PM cut the isolation period further?

The United States is leading the way in cutting isolation to five days.

We agree with UK experts who say we should follow suit.

All the triple-jabbed who test negative after five days should be able to go back to work.

It is not just the NHS that needs all the help it can get.

Our fragile economy deserves a life-saving booster too.

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Borders farce

WE can’t fully control our borders if we can’t kick out foreign criminals or failed asylum seekers.

But some countries have a pitiful record in accepting back nationals.

There are a shocking 6,000 or so failed asylum seekers languishing in this country because their home nation won’t agree to take them.

On top of that there are 12,000 convicted foreign thugs awaiting deportation, 8,000 more than ten years ago.

Yet The Gambia took back just four criminals in 2020 and Sierra Leone and Eritrea are shamefully dragging their feet.

Home Secretary Priti Patel’s visa sanctions against these regimes are a good start. But we should go further.

Like trimming their foreign aid.

Fails in Wales

IF you want to know how Britain would fare under Labour, just take a look at the shambles in Wales.

The only Labour government in power in the UK stands accused of wasting £1.2billion on failed projects.

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Tin-pot tyrant Mark Drakeford, who leads it, loves whingeing on about the failures of Westminster, accusing Boris Johnson of paralysis over Covid.

But his unnecessarily harsh lockdown over the New Year will do massive damage to Welsh businesses.

Droning Drakeford is Sir Keir Starmer’s worst nightmare.