Covid: England isolation rules to end on Thursday, and no more free tests from April

Mr Johnson also announced that free mass testing will end on 1 April in England, even for people with symptoms of Covid. However, the most elderly and vulnerable will continue to get free tests if they are symptomatic and others will be able to pay for tests if they need them. The PM said the Office for National Statistics would continue to carry out its infection survey, and there will remain a strong domestic surveillance system of the virus. But he said that the nature of the Omicron variant meant testing “on the colossal scale we’ve been doing is much less important and much less valuable in preventing serious illness”. However, he added there would be the ability to ramp testing back up in the NHS if need be. The PM will give a news conference later and you can follow our live coverage here.

Source