A Kent MP has urged the Prime Minister to cut the quarantine period to five days as he claimed the country was in a "semi-lockdown".

Craig Mackinlay said workers who are "perfectly well" are having to take time off as one million people self-isolate after catching Covid.

The Conservative MP, who represents South Thanet, told MailOnline: "We’re almost facing a semi-lockdown because of people being off work who are perfectly well. You couldn’t make that up.

"The US must have done a lot of work on it... and they have come up with five days as the answer. Perhaps it is."

The Tory member wrote yesterday in his weekly newsletter about his views on introducing further restrictions in the UK.

"The extended holiday period and our increasingly sensible move not to impose the most extreme restrictive measures has proved itself with our coastal towns benefitting from fairly good trading with a large number of visitors coming to Thanet," he writes.

"The limited measures introduced under Plan ‘B’ may not on paper have amounted to much but the fear of Covid unsettled most everybody keeping people away from hospitality over the essential Christmas and New Year period.

"A new ‘Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant’ amounting to £1 billion was launched on December 21 to try to soften the effects.

"Across the country this amounts to a limited amount of money per qualifying business but [is] welcome none the less.

"The more draconian measures introduced by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are looking increasingly daft as the high number of Omicron infections are simply not translating into extreme pressure for the NHS."

He also told how his 87-year-old father had caught Covid - having avoided it across previous waves.

"He is, fortunately, triple vaccinated and is making good progress at home," he added.

"Where and how is something of a mystery, but given reports that a Belgian scientific research station in Antarctica has been hit by it, despite all being triple jabbed, double tested and in isolation before taking up their posts, one wonders realistically what can be done to slow the spread.

'We’re almost facing a semi-lockdown because of people being off work who are perfectly well...'

"In other countries, despite extensive vaccine passports, curfews and lockdowns, infection rates are no different to England and in many instances worse.

"My view is that we simply have to ride through this, hope that infection continues not to translate into serious illness and perhaps look back that infection with Omicron amounts for many to a fourth natural ‘jab’ giving even better levels of protection into the future."

Meanwhile, some public services are resorting to emergency plans to mitigate staff shortages caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

At least six hospital trusts have declared critical incidents – where priority services may be under threat.

Boris Johnson said yesterday that he would “make sure that we look after our NHS any way that we can”.

And the education secretary said schools should be prepared to merge classes into large groups if staff levels dipped too low.

But health leaders warned the health service was “in a state of crisis”, and a headteacher predicted remote learning could return if school staff were struck down with the virus.