From Friday, most people in England will have to pay if they want to check if they have Covid.
People need to remain vigilant about Covid, experts are warning, as free universal testing for the virus ends in England on Thursday.
The government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance says a drop in precautionary behaviour could drive up infection rates, which are already high.From 1 April, most people will have to pay for a lateral flow test in England.Asked about the move, Sir Patrick said: "Testing in effect does three things. It is very important for surveillance, it enables precautionary behaviour and it's useful to protect those who are most vulnerable.
"I think there's no doubt that if you massively reduce testing across the population, precautionary behaviours are likely to decrease at the same time, and that will then lead to increased transmission.how people might behave once they have to pay to get tested. Pharmacist Temi Fabiyi told the BBC: "If people cannot test, they cannot isolate, and I'm afraid the infection rate might keep rising.
Meanwhile, more than 300,000 people in England have signed a petition, launched by campaigning group Keep Our NHS Public, urging the government to continue to offer free lateral flow tests. The government says ending universal free testing is possible because vaccines and antiviral drugs are protecting people from severe Covid.Image source,
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