Exclusive: sources say Treasury driving efforts to reduce costs from estimated £15bn to about £1.3bn
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Ministers are pressing ahead with plans to start winding down Covid testing and payments for isolation from next week to save more than £10bn, despite health chiefs warning this could hamper crucial research into antiviral treatments.
No 10, the Treasury and the health department will decide this week on a “living with Covid strategy” due to be unveiled on Monday, which will involve phasing out free Covid testing and all but ending the tracing system.
21 February Scrap guidance recommending regular asymptomatic testing with lateral flow tests; testing in education settings; test-and-trace support payments; tracing close contacts of positive cases.
Week of 21 February Scrap mandatory isolation for positive Covid cases, though advice to stay home remains.
31 March Scrap free LFTs for asymptomatic people; free PCR testing for all but vulnerable people and those in hospitals and high-risk settings; recommendation of day five and six LFTs for those who have tested positive. Recommend free LFTs for everyone with Covid symptoms, or only older/vulnerable cohorts.
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