Covid-19

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:35 pm on 25 May 2021.

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Photo of Mark Harper Mark Harper Conservative, Forest of Dean 12:35, 25 May 2021

In The Telegraph story this morning about what the rules for self-isolation might be post 21 June, a Government source was quoted as saying, in response to the suggestion that they will not change:

“There is still a risk of getting the virus and spreading it on,”

That is of course true—there is a risk—but of course once people have been vaccinated the risk is much lower and, importantly, the vaccines are very effective at stopping serious disease, hospitalisation and death. So may I say to the Minister that post 21 June it is important not only that legal restrictions and social distancing go, but that all the remaining rules are adjusted to reflect the much lower risk that exists once we have vaccinated the population? Otherwise, we are going to have those rules in place forever.