Do children and people with two Covid vaccines need to self isolate?
It has been proven that children are less at risk from coronavirus (Picture: Getty)  More than 43 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine  and over 31 million have had a second. Public Health England said it should be possible for everyone over the age of 40 to get their second dose by Englands Freedom Day on July 19. With so many Brits now fully inoculated, many are wondering whether they still have to self-isolate if they come into contact with an infected person. Heres all you need to know. Yes, if your child has been exposed to someone infected with coronavirus or has symptoms themselves then they must self-isolate. Your child must self isolate for a further 10 days from the day they first show symptoms. Children still need to self-isolate (Picture: Getty)  Other members of their household will then have to self-isolate for 10 days and possibly for longer if they then show symptoms themselves. This is because although children are at a lower risk of getting sick with Covid-19, they can still be carriers. The majority of children infected with coronavirus show no symptoms at all. The latest official figures from the Department of Education show, in England alone, 2.7% of primary and 4.2% of secondary schoolchildren are absent because of Covid-19. This includes:  9,000 with a confirmed case  16,000 with a suspected case  172,000 self-isolating because of potential contact with a positive pupil in school  42,000 self-isolating because of potential contact with a case from outside school  A government-led trial is underway to work out whether the daily testing of pupils who are close contacts is a better option than self-isolation  but that will come too late for this school year. Government trials are underway (Picture: Getty)  Data from the trial should answer the question of how many close contacts of infected children actually become infected themselves  and give ministers some idea of how rules could change in the future. Until then, schools with positive cases report them to the Department for Education and contact their local authoritys public health team for advice. Yes, people who are fully vaccinated still need to self-isolate and need to keep doing so for the duration of the 10 day quarantine period. This is because you can still be a carrier, even if you have received both doses of the jab. The government website states: If you are instructed to self-isolate you must do so because there is still a risk that you might spread infection to others, even if you have been vaccinated and feel entirely well yourself.  Failure to self-isolate for 10 days can result in a fine of 1,000, increasing to 10,000 for repeat offences under the current rules. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video  However, this week it was confirmed studies are underway to determine whether the self-isolation requirement for those double-vaccinated could be replaced with a new testing scheme instead. If the policy change is approved, rather than spending 10 days at home, people could be required to take daily lateral flow tests instead if they are identified as a contact of someone who tests positive for Covid-19. On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast the approach is being piloted to check that that will be effective, but it is something that were working on. He added: Were not ready to be able to take that step yet, but its something that I want to see and we will introduce, subject to clinical advice, as soon as its reasonable to do so.  In the meanwhile, you should continue to follow the governments guidance on self-isolation. MORE : More than 90% of people in hospital with Delta variant havent had two vaccines  Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  Share your views in the comments below