Downing Street WILL NOT U-turn its decision to shelve free Covid tests this week

Downing Street said ministers would not return to plans to eliminate free Covid-19 testing in the UK this week, despite requests from health chiefs.

The prime minister’s spokesman said the country was “in a very different position” compared to last April, when free tests were first made available thanks to life-saving injections and medicines.

From Friday, side tests will be distributed to the elderly and vulnerable as part of the final phase of the government’s strategy to live with Covid.

After that, people will have to pay privately around £2.50 per test for a test at pharmacies, including Boots.

However, a number of experts, including experts at number 10, have called for the cutoff date to be delayed due to rapidly rising infection rates.

“We have no plans to change our approach,” the spokesperson said.

“You will know the significant cost: the billions of pounds we spend every month on free public testing.

“Because of vaccines, therapies, and other resources, we are in a very different position than when we started offering free tests.”

SAGE has previously warned that ending the £2bn-a-month program would leave the country in the dark about another wave, and said the poor would be most affected.

Users have reported struggling to access the tests for weeks as the government began distributing kits before the deadline for fears people wouldn’t stock them.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that up to March 19, 3.5 million people were infected on any given day of the week.

When the Omicron wave collapsed in February, Boris Johnson announced that free tests would be phased out by April.

The announcement was seen at the time as a way to appease the backseat of conservatives, who threatened to send credentials to the prime minister following the Partygate scandal.

But in recent weeks, the UK has seen a resurgence of Covid infections and hospitalizations triggered by the even more contagious BA.

Professor Matt Keeling, an epidemiologist at the University of Warwick and a member of SAGE, said Friday that removing the plan would prevent the public from reacting to the risk of infection.

Cases have risen to almost the highest rate ever recorded, with an estimated one in 16 people in the UK last week carrying Covid.

Hospital admissions have reached record highs in Scotland and are increasing rapidly in England.

But according to official figures, about half of hospitalizations and one-third of deaths due to the virus are accidental.

Johnson’s spokesperson suggested that vaccines and treatments are changing the threat of the virus.

“So we have no plans to change our approach,” he added.

From Friday, only health and social workers and a small number of high-risk groups will have free access to tests if they show symptoms.

Official figures show that 92% of Britons aged 12 and over have at least one Covid vaccine, with more than two-thirds receiving support.

And the UK has delivered over 5 million courses of antiviral drugs that reduce the risk of being hospitalized or dying from the virus in the most vulnerable by up to 90%.

From Friday the public is expected to pay around £2.50 at the pharmacy for a lateral flow test as part of the government’s plan to live with the virus.

It is the last remaining Covid column in the UK after testing, mandatory masks, social distancing, self-isolation and other laws were repealed on 24 February.

But experts urged the government to halt its plans to eliminate testing amid rising cases.

Friday’s daily government data showed 77,509 Britons tested positive, down 14% on a week-on-week basis.

However, cases are still rising and surveillance data from the Office for National Statistics on Friday suggested that 3.4 million people in the UK were infected in the week to 19 March, the highest level since the January peak.

The ONS figures are considered the most accurate estimate of the actual number of infections, as they cover hundreds of thousands of Brits rather than relying on people standing out for testing.

Professor Keeling said “no estimates have been made” about the policy’s cost-benefit ratio.

“With the right information, public behavior can slow or stop the rise of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

This was evident in the Omicron wave, where increased lateral community flow and PCR testing, coupled with public vigilance, prevented an overwhelming wave of infections.

“With the withdrawal of free testing on April 1, the public’s ability to assess infection risk and respond was taken away.”

“Health budgets are not unlimited, so different checkups and treatments need to be prioritized.

However, lateral flow tests are relatively inexpensive and can be cost-effective if they help prevent adequate hospitalizations.

“The cost of continuing the free lateral flow test until the infection has dropped to a low level has not been calculated compared to the health and societal benefits: it is necessary to bring together economic details, epidemiological models and behavioral insights”.

Professor Stephen Reicher, SAGE member and psychologist at the University of St Andrews, warned that people in poorer areas today may get less testing without free testing.

This means they are “more likely to quit if they become infected, and Covid becomes even more of a disease of inequality.”

And Dr Sarah Hallett, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s Physicians Committee, said the decision to abolish free testing “is a huge problem for NHS staff”.

Currently, health care workers are expected to do the tests at least twice a week, but the government “still has no assurance that unpaid staff will continue to be tested,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said: “As we learn to live with Covid, free testing should rightly target high-risk groups.

“After April 1, there will still be limited testing for a limited number of risk groups. The government will soon determine which groups are eligible.

“Vaccinations continue to be our best wall of defense, so we’re now offering a spring booster dose to those over 75 and the most vulnerable to bolster their protection against this virus.”