By Lucy Caulkett-
Free Covid-19 testing will end for the general public in England from 1 April , and people with positive cases will no longer legally have to isolate from this Thursday, prime minister, Boris Johnson, has announced.
Unveiling his “living with Covid” strategy, the prime minister told the House of Commons it was time for the pandemic response to be wound down and for people to “get our confidence back”.
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Johnson emphasized “personal responsibility” for Covid in future, rather than using government restrictions to control it. He said “pharmaceutical interventions”, such as antivirals and vaccines, would be the primary line of defense from now on.
The prime minister said people will no longer get free PCR and lateral flow tests from 1 April onwards. The new plans for the future comes as legal requirements to isolate after testing positive, and for contacts to isolate or test, are set to end on Thursday, making it a matter of personal choice after that. Contact tracing and Covid-19 support payments for the low paid will end from Thursday, at the same time as the legal requirement to isolate.
Guidance on Covid passports will be scrapped from 1 April, with venues no longer recommended to use them, though will still be available for international travel.
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The announcement of the strategy was overshadowed by a row between Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Sajid Javid, the health secretary, over the level of continuing funding for testing and surveillance of Covid. Labour expressed skepticism about the changes and accused the prime minister of weakening sick pay in a way that will “hit the lowest paid and the most insecure workers the hardest”.
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