Fully-vaccinated people and children will no longer have to self-isolate after a close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19 after August 16 in England unless they also test positive, Reuters quotes Health Minister Sajid Javid as saying.

"From the 16th of August ... anyone who's a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate if they have been fully vaccinated," Javid told parliament, adding that people who had their second shot around that date would have to wait two weeks.

"In line with the approach for adults, anyone under the age of 18 who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate," he said.