09 September 2020
Self-isolation is a key part of the UK strategy to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by people who are symptomatic and have tested positive, and for those who are at risk of developing Covid-19 due to having had close contact with someone with symptoms or a positive test.
Self-isolation means that the person needs to stay at home and not leave except to take a Covid-19 test or in a life-threatening emergency and not to accept visitors to the home.
The NHS test and trace services and local public health teams have been working to identify those at risk and to ask them to self-isolate, but adherence is low.
Our learning from other behaviours (e.g. non-adherence to medication), from relevant psychological theories and from research studies exploring the factors affecting self-isolation in infectious disease pandemics have informed this document.