Today, first minister of Wales Mark Drakeford announced that from 7 August all adults who have been fully vaccinated and are not displaying symptoms will no longer have to self-isolate if they are identified as close contacts of someone with coronavirus.

Retailers in England and Scotland, however, will have to wait until 16 August for fully vaccinated colleagues to return to work.

From Saturday next week in Wales, instead of instructing fully vaccinated adults to isolate, contact tracers will provide guidance on how to protect themselves and stay safe.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Pingdemic’ drives return to local shops

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The decision to bring forward changes to self-isolation rules for fully vaccinated colleagues will be welcome news for local shops in Wales.

“However, retailers in England and Scotland are becoming increasingly frustrated that they have to struggle on for longer with reduced staffing levels as absence rates remain high due to the ‘pingdemic’.

“We continue to press for the UK government to bring forward the 16 August self-isolation date for the double vaccinated.”

The full announcement is available here.

Find out more on our coronavirus information hub for retailers