Alliance calls for urgent clarity on close contact rules for under-fives
By Rachel Lawler
The Alliance has called for clarity on the latest under five following an update to the rules after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Previous guidance stated that families with children under five were "advised to take a PCR test" if a member of their household tested positive for a non-Omicron variant of Covid-19. Children under five were also included in the rule which stated that all household contacts must isolate if they were confirmed as a close contact of a positive or suspected case of Omicron.
New rules
Guidance which came into effect today enables contacts of Omicron cases, who are fully vaccinated or aged between five and 18 years old, to take daily lateral flow tests for seven days instead of isolating.
However, the rules for children under five now states: "Children under five years are exempt from self-isolation and do not need to take part in daily testing of close contacts".
No need to isolate
There is no longer any mention of a requirement for children under five to take any other measures, such as a PCR test, instead of isolating as they were instructed under previous guidance.
This comes shortly after revealed a dramatic increase in the number of early years providers reporting cases of Covid-19, with 2,707 confirmed cases in the week commencing 22 November.
Safeguards for providers
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, commented: 鈥淓arly years settings are one of the very few places where social distancing is simply impossible, and those working in the sector are constantly in close physical contact with the young children in their care.
鈥淚t beggars belief, therefore, that there could ever be any suggestion of simply removing the requirement for children aged under five who have been confirmed as close contacts of positive Covid cases to self-isolate without putting in place any alternative mitigation measures 鈥 especially given the speed at which we are told the Omicron variant is liable to spread, and the recent sharp increase in Covid reports in early years settings.
"Those working in the sector already feel that their safety, and that of their loved ones, is not valued by the government. Clearly there need to be safeguards put in place to ensure that young children aren't unknowingly carrying and spreading Covid-19 through their early years settings.
鈥淲e hope that this is a case of poorly written guidance, rather than utterly reckless policy-making, and urge the government to provide clarity to the early years sector on this as a matter of priority.鈥