The NHS Providers Chief Executive has stated that NHS leaders are "not in favour" of reducing Covid self-isolation time to five days.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Chris Hopson described one of the biggest challenges the NHS has faced over the last 18 months is preventing "nosocomial infection".

This relates to preventing NHS staff from getting Covid and then passing that onto vulnerable patients.

There has been a shortage of NHS staff over the last month with many being infected with the Omicron variant.

Hopson recognises that NHS trusts would like to get staff back quicker, but didn't want to take that risk in having staff come back "when they are potentially infectious".

He said: "All the evidence suggests that you cannot guarantee that after five days people won't be infectious.

"Whilst Chief Executives might want people back they also know they've got a very important duty to protect the vulnerable people in their care.

READ MORE: Increasing pressure on the NHS due to last for weeks – Johnson

"So they're pretty clear, unless the science can absolutely reassure everybody that it's totally safe to come down to five days they're not in favour of that".

Currently, people in England who test positive can get out of isolation if they receive a negative lateral flow test on days six and seven - with tests taken 24 hours apart.

If they still test positive, they have to remain in isolation for 10 days.

Covid self-isolation has been reduced to five days in the U.S. which has led for some calls for it to happen in the UK.