FREE Covid testing is being scrapped across the UK, with England the first to see the change from tomorrow.
It comes when Covid cases are still high, reaching record levels in some parts of the nation.
The public will instead have to pay around £2 if they want to be sure if they have the bug or not.
It’s part of Boris Johnson’s plan to “live with Covid” and move the nation forward without self isolation and restrictions.
The Government website says: “The Test & Trace programme cost £15.7billion in 2021/22.
“The value for taxpayers’ money is now less clear…. Free testing should rightly be focused on at-risk groups.”
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From tomorrow – April 1 – free Covid testing will no longer be offered by the Government to people in England.
The rest of the UK will follow suit within a few weeks, but with slightly differing timelines.
The change includes the scrapping of the highest standard PCR tests, and the at-home rapid lateral flow test kits.
So where can you still get a free Covid test in a time of need, before the change comes into effect?
Where to get a free test
You may have noticed that quite often when you go on the Government website to order lateral flows, you are told there are no home deliveries available.
As of 9am this morning, they had all run out, with the last few batches snapped up.
The Government has drastically scaled back on free lateral flow test deliveries even before the deadline.
But if you are determined to get a box, you may be in luck.
There are still some delivery slots available in England every day for those who are persistent, so there may be another chance later on.
For brief periods of the day, people can log on to the Government portal and order boxes to their door.
According to the Twitter account @LFT_alert, these windows are around 20 to 45 minutes.
Last night, some tests came back in stock 9PM to 9.40PM.
It appears you have better chances of grabbing a set of swabs in the morning, when bookings are taken for up to an hour or more.
The same Twitter account reveals stock availability for Scotland.
If you are unable to order lateral flow tests to your door, consider picking them up from a pharmacy or shop – where you will also be able to buy them for around £2 from tomorrow..
When it comes to PCR tests, these have not been necessary for the majority of people without symptoms but who have a positive lateral flow since a rule change in January.
But the Government says you should always get a PCR test if you have symptoms of the coronavirus.
This will also change from April 1 in England, but “limited symptomatic testing will be available for a small number of at-risk groups”.
The Government says “most tests are now needed for people at higher risk”.
It comes as the list of Brits who can still get free Covid tests from Friday has been revealed.
Vulnerable people, including those in high-risk jobs and with health conditions, will be eligible to pick up swabs without paying.
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It includes hospital patients, NHS and prison staff, adult social care workers, and people who are extremely vulnerable, such as the immunosuppressed.
But most visitors to adult social care settings, to the NHS, prisons or places of detention will no longer be required to take a test.
