This week marks the end of coronavirus testing in Wales as we know it. On Monday the Welsh Government announced a timetable of changes as part of efforts to gradually move beyond the emergency response to the pandemic.
It means PCR testing will be scrapped for almost everyone, all testing sites will be shut down and free lateral flow tests will only be offered to people who are displaying symptoms of the virus. Only health and care workers will be able to access regular free asymptomatic testing in their workplaces.
The Welsh Government claims that these changes to its Test Trace Protect programme are focused on "protecting the most vulnerable, limiting their risk of infection and ensuring testing capacity is maintained to monitor outbreaks and detect any new variants".
