Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason people who have been tested positive and recovered from covid-19 are not exempt from quarantine requirements and other restrictions upon their personal freedom; and if he will make a statement.

Before considering whether a positive COVID-19 antibody test result/virus test result could ever be used to allow specific individuals certain freedoms or exemptions from social distancing measures, we first need to be confident in our understanding of how the immune system responds to infection with the virus.

Currently, we do not know if the natural immunity developed from infection is long-lasting, and whether those who are potentially immune can spread the virus to others. We are working with academia to answer the outstanding questions on immunity. Together, we are leveraging the United Kingdom’s globally regarded scientific expertise to help understand this virus.