Hundreds of people self-isolating share experiences of Christmas with Covid on social media

People are taking to Twitter to share their experiences of self-isolating over the festive period

Nicola Summerville, who is self-isolating with Covid, sits on her doorstep as her mum Tracey Dunn, who delivered gifts and food (REUTERS)

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to isolate on Christmas Day due to the surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

According to the latest government data, more than 300,000 cases were reported in just the last three days - meaning many have had to cancel Christmas plans and are suddenly spending the festive period indoors and alone.

Health secretary Sajid Javid recently shortened the coronavirus self-isolation period from 10 to seven days in the run-up to Christmas for people who have negative lateral flow test results on days six and seven.

He said the change has been introduced to "reduce the disruption to people's everyday lives" amid rapidly rising cases of the new Omicron variant.

Even with the change, thousands were still forced to isolate during the festive season. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed it would not be updating the Covid cases dashboard until after the Christmas weekend on 27 December.

To combat the feelings of loneliness, people who are self-isolating have come together on Twitter to share their experiences of Christmas with Covid.

British comedian Sarah Millican started the hashtag “JoinIn” for those looking for company on Christmas Day and “isolating Christmas” has also been trending on the app throughout the day, with just under 30,000 people using the JoinIn hashtag.

She encouraged Brits who were isolating alone to use the hashtag to talk to others spending Christmas without their loved ones.

One user wrote: “Certainly not the Christmas I imagined, but sure, isn’t it practice for making the dinner myself and at least I didn’t have to share the gravy. I also got dressed for the first time in days! Merry Christmas to all, but especially to anyone isolating.”

Another added: “Merry Xmas all & cheers to my Dad & Sis from the Covid isolation unit/spare room, which at least has a window view of the kitchen.”

Here are a few examples of how people are spending their Christmas in self-isolation: