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Recovered Covid patients could face looser self-isolation, says Neil Ferguson

Beating disease ‘as good as’ getting vaccine, say scientists
An estimated one in five people have already been infected with the virus
An estimated one in five people have already been infected with the virus
VICTORIA JONES/PA

Recently recovered coronavirus patients could face looser self-isolation requirements, according to one of the architects of the first lockdown.

Professor Neil Ferguson’s comments come after a study suggested those who have had the virus are left with a strong defence against future infection. He said self-isolation rules could be relaxed for as NHS workers, an approach that “could ease pressures on, for instance, the health service”.

He was commenting on the significance of results from a Public Health England (PHE) study, which suggested that coronavirus gives “at least as good” an immune defence against future infections as a vaccine.

“We have a real problem at the moment with a lot of healthcare workers getting infected off work,” he told Today on BBC Radio 4. “Whether