The Prime Minister is set to announce whether free PCR tests will come to an end for most people with Covid symptoms in England on Monday.
A government source told The Independent that free lab tests could “potentially” be scrapped except for extremely vulnerable patients and those in hospitals and care homes under new cost-saving plans.
Asked about the plans, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “We haven’t made any final decisions on the future of testing.
“We have said that free testing will come to an end at the right moment. Those decisions need to be made this week, both in terms of exactly when that time is and what is retained.”
Meanwhile, the drive to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 has been delayed as ministers decide whether or not to accept the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommendation to offer this age group the vaccine on a non-urgent basis.
Though the decision was made over a week ago, the government is reportedly in an impasse with the JCVI and Boris Johnson is expected to announce the decision on February 21, when he presents his Living with Covid plan to parliament.
