Covid: Furlough must cover infected workers to stop spread, says report

Resolution Foundation warns vaccination programme could be undermined if people cannot afford to self-isolate

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The government's furlough scheme should cover workers infected with Covid-19 to prevent the spread of the disease by people who cannot afford to self-isolate, according to a leading thinktank.

With Britain's statutory sick pay the lowest of any advanced economy, the Resolution Foundation said a more generous and easier to administer system should be put in place or the multibillion-pound vaccination programme was at risk of being undermined.