Covid testing for patients in hospitals and care homes in England will be paused from the end of August, the Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed. Regular asymptomatic testing 'in all remaining settings' will be halted from Wednesday August 31, as coronavirus cases continue to fall.
Free testing for the public ended on April 1 as part of the government’s Living with Covid plan, but asymptomatic testing continued to be used in some settings during periods of high case rates. But testing will remain in place for admissions into care homes and hospices from both hospitals and the community, and for transfers for immunocompromised patients into and within hospital to protect those who are most vulnerable.
Testing will also be available for outbreaks in certain high-risk settings such as care homes. The vaccination programme means Covid cases have now fallen to 40,027 and the risk of transmission has reduced, says the government.
