Free PCR And Lateral Flow Tests Set To Be Scrapped
16 February 2022, 10:35 | Updated: 16 February 2022, 11:15
Free Covid tests are set to be scrapped as the government pushes its ‘living with Covid’ strategy.
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PCR and lateral flow tests will reportedly be scrapped in the next few weeks.
The government are said to be keen to push its ‘living with Covid’ strategy.
According to LBC, anyone wanting to test for coronavirus will have to pay, including the vulnerable, school children and NHS care workers.
It comes after the Department for Health said "testing continues to play an important role in helping people live their day to day lives, keep businesses running and keep young people in school.”
It’s part of the government’s strategy to ‘lead the world’ in getting back to business as normal.
It’s believed instead the Government will choose to rely on surveillance schemes such as those from the Office of National Statistics to keep an eye on the spread of Covid in the community.
In a statement, the Department of Health said the testing scheme is ‘under review’ but did not deny the claims.
“We've previously set out that we’ll keep the provision of free testing under review as the government’s response to COVID-19 changes," the department said.
"No decisions have been made on the provision of free testing. Everyone can continue to get free tests and we are continuing to encourage people to use rapid tests when they need them."
However, staff at the UK Health Security Agency told LBC they fear the plans will damage the country’s ability to spot new variants.
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