Free Covid-19 tests for care staff once universal testing ends 

Free Covid-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups, including eligible patients and NHS and care staff once the universal testing offer ends on 1 April, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid has announced.

Free testing for the general public ends on 1 April as part of the Living with Covid-19 plan which last month set out the government’s strategy to live with and manage the virus.

Although Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations have risen in recent weeks, over 55% of those in hospital that have tested positive are not there with Covid-19 as their primary diagnosis.

“Free universal testing has come at a significant cost to the taxpayer, with the testing, tracing and isolation budget costing over £15.7 billion in 2021-22,” said a government statement. “This was necessary due to the severe risk posed by Covid-19 when the population did not have a high level of protection.

“Thanks to the success of the vaccination programme and access to antivirals, alongside natural immunity and increased scientific and public understanding about how to manage risk, the population now has much stronger protection against Covid-19 than at any other point in the pandemic. This is enabling the country to begin to manage the virus-like other respiratory infections.”

From 1 April, anyone with a positive Covid-19 test result will be advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days, which is when they are most infectious. Advice will be provided for individuals who need to leave their home when they have symptoms or have tested positive, including avoiding close contact with people with a weakened immune system, wearing a face-covering and avoiding crowded places.

“Thanks to our plan to tackle Covid-19, we are leading the way in learning to live with the virus,” Javid said. “We have made enormous progress but will keep the ability to respond to future threats including potential variants.

“Vaccines remain our best defence and we are now offering spring boosters to the elderly, care home residents and the most vulnerable – please come forward to protect yourself, your family, and your community.

The government has retained the ability to enable a rapid testing response should it be needed, such as the emergence of a new variant of concern. This includes a stockpile of lateral flow tests and the ability to ramp up testing laboratories and delivery channels.

The government’s Therapeutics Taskforce and Antiviral Taskforce will also be merged into a single unit which will continue to focus on securing access to the most promising treatments for Covid-19.

“As we learn to live with Covid-19, we are focusing our testing provision on those at higher risk of serious outcomes from the virus, while encouraging people to keep following simple steps to help keep themselves and others safe,” said Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency.

“The pandemic is not over and how the virus will develop over time remains uncertain. Covid-19 still poses a real risk to many of us, particularly with case rates and hospitalisations on the rise. That is why it is sensible to wear a mask in enclosed spaces, keep indoor spaces ventilated and stay away from others if you have any symptoms of a respiratory illness, including Covid-19.”

Vaccination remains the best way to protect us all from severe disease and hospitalisation due to Covid-19 infection. If you have not yet come forward for your primary or booster I would urge you to do so straight away – the NHS vaccine programme is there to help you and the sooner you are vaccinated the sooner you and your family and friends will be protected.

Most visitors to adult social care settings and visitors to the NHS, prisons or places of detention will no longer be required to take a test. More guidance on what people should do when visiting adult social care settings will be published by 1 April.

Several changes and new guidance are also being confirmed for adult social care including:

· From 1 April, those working in adult social care services will also continue to receive free personal protective equipment (PPE). Priority vaccinations and boosters for residents and staff will also continue

· Updated hospital discharge guidance will be published setting out how all involved in health and social care will work together to ensure smooth discharges from the hospital and people receive the right care at the right time in the right place

· Designated settings will be removed. These were initially set up to provide a period of isolation to Covid-19 positive patients before they move into care homes and before the routine point of care testing for Covid-19 was available. Restrictions on staff movement will also be removed

· Streamlined guidance on infection and prevention control measures will be published to set out long-standing principles on good practice, and support consistency across the adult social care sector. This will include details on future measures for Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses to ensure providers have the latest information on best practice which will include information on admissions, visiting and PPE

· Updated guidance for adult social care providers and staff to set out the current testing regime across adult social care

· Outbreak management periods in care homes, which can include visiting restrictions, have been reduced from 14 to 10 days

· People aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for elderly adults and those who are immunosuppressed are now eligible to receive a Spring booster jab to top up their immunity to Covid-19. Around five million people will be eligible for a Spring booster around six months after their previous dose, and the NHS has contacted over 600,000 people inviting them to book an appointment. Anyone who has not yet had a Covid-19 jab continues to be encouraged to take up the ‘evergreen’ offer.

Through the Health and Social Care Levy, funding will rise by a record £36 billion over the next three years. This is on top of the previous historic long-term settlement for the NHS, which will see NHS funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023-24, which has been enshrined in law.

“The success of the government’s Living with Covid-19 plan will enable the country to continue to move out of the pandemic while also protecting those at higher risk of serious outcomes from the virus through our testing regime,” the statement concluded.

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