FREE Covid tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups of people in Teignbridge.

But as part of the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan, which sets out how to live and manage the virus, free universal testing will end today, Friday.

After that, most people will have to purchase COVID-19 tests from pharmacies or other retailers.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups of people after Friday, including those at risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and eligible for treatments.

Free tests for NHS and adult social care staff and those in other high-risk settings will also continue.

Who can get free symptomatic COVID-19 tests after April 1?

The new government guidance states that, after today, April 1, free symptomatic COVID-19 PCR testing will be provided for:

  • Patients in hospital, where a PCR test is required for their care and to provide access to treatments and to support ongoing clinical surveillance for new variants.
  • People who are eligible for community COVID-19 treatments because they are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from coronavirus. People in this group will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow tests to keep at home for use if they have symptoms as well as being told how to reorder tests..
  • People living or working in some high-risk settings. For example, staff in adult social care services such as domiciliary care and care home workers, and residents in care homes and extra care and supported living services. NHS workers and those working and living in hospices, prisons and places of detention (including immigration removal centres) will also remain eligible for free tests.

The government says it has retained the ability to enable a rapid COVID-19 testing response should it be needed, such as the emergence of a new variant of concern.

This includes a stockpile of lateral flow device (LFD) tests and the ability to ramp up testing laboratories and delivery channels.