Despite Omicron being less severe in terms of its symptoms, it is more transmissible, meaning that some industries are struggling to cope due to the quarantine requirements - particularly the NHS.
"We're going to have to let people who are positive go about their normal lives as they would do with any other cold.
"I think the whole issue of how long are we going to be able to allow people to self-isolate if they're positive is going to have to be discussed fairly soon, because I think this is a disease that's not going away.
The president of the Confederation of British Industry , Lord Bilimoria, went further, pointing out to the Today programme that South Africa, which discovered Omicron through genetic sequencing, dropped the requirement to isolate altogether for those who are asymptomatic. He added:"We have got to do everything we can to stop the disruption to our lives and to our livelihoods and to the economy in as safe a way as possible.The Department of Health said:"Anyone who takes a negative lateral flow test on days six and seven of their self-isolation period can end their isolation early, following analysis by the UK Health Security Agency that this has a similar protective effect to a ten-day isolation without lateral flow testing.
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