The campus is set to become the largest dedicated hub for AI and technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa
uae10 hours ago
Reducing the self-isolation period for people who test positive for Covid-19 from seven days to five would help British workforces that have been hard hit by absences, education minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday.
The Omicron variant is still spreading in Britain and many businesses, schools and hospitals are struggling with staff shortages, fuelling calls for the rules on isolation after a positive test to be reduced further.
Last month, health authorities in the United States shortened the recommended isolation time with asymptomatic cases of Covid-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days.
“I would obviously always defer to the scientific advice on this. It would certainly help mitigate some of the pressures on schools, on critical workforce and others,” Zahawi told Sky News after being asked whether he backed a move to five days.
He said the UK Health Security Agency was reviewing the length of the isolation period and that the government was doing all it could to make sure the stretched health service could operate during what he called “a rocky few weeks”.
On Saturday, Britain’s official death toll in the pandemic rose above 150,000, following a record wave of cases caused by the Omicron variant - a stark number that prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to renew his call for people to get vaccinated.
Looking forward, Zahawi said he hoped Britain would become one of the first countries to learn to “live with” Covid, seeing the pandemic become endemic.
ALSO READ:
“I hope we will be one of the first major economies to demonstrate to the world how you transition from pandemic to endemic,” he said.
Zahawi, who was Britain’s vaccine minister before being appointed education secretary, said he did not recognise a report in the Sunday Times that the government was planning to end the free mass supply of lateral flow tests.
Reuters reported in October that the government was aiming to be ready to start charging for some previously free Covid tests to try to rein in spending.
The campus is set to become the largest dedicated hub for AI and technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa
uae10 hours ago
Dravid's tenure comes to an end after the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies
sports10 hours ago
Stand-in skipper Jitesh believes the absence of key England players will not affect his side's morale on Sunday
sports10 hours ago
Netanyahu came under personal attack from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for failing to rule out an Israeli government in Gaza after the war
world11 hours ago
The fund is designed to finance the production of artistic and creative works in film, music, performances, and video games
uae11 hours ago
Fico has been in hospital since Wednesday when a lone gunman shot him four times, including in the abdomen
world11 hours ago
The country was one of the donor states to freeze around $450 million in funds after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas-led attack
world12 hours ago
This inclusive community service is available daily on Al Hamriya Beach from 6.00am to sunset
uae13 hours ago