No lateral flows left.. 🙈

[Zolla]

Ahh. As predicted, they announce the end of free testing and people have gone wild on ordering the free ones 😂 Shock.

@ShallWeTalkAboutBruno

If the choir demands that you take a test, the choir can pay for them, no? Why should it be for the taxpayer to pay for you to go to choir?

I explained why I would keep doing them. Paying is a separate issue.

I’m happy to pay for them. But I’d like to get them from the Government / NHS, so I know they’re not over priced or low quality, like some of the travel PCR tests.

@ShallWeTalkAboutBruno

There is a big difference between being tested for a disease in a medical setting to being able to order 7 ‘free’ tests every day online.

People have been trained to be relient on them. That training needs to be reversed. It'll settle down.

I understand what everybody is saying but after thursday it will be unreasonable to ask people to test if that's not what the law says. It's like, everywhere is open but doctors surgeries, you are not allowed to book an appointment other than on the day and even then, you are triaged by the receptionist for a telephone call? What's all that about?

@Katya213

Why do people want them as the need to test stops on Thurs? I'm just curious in case I've missed something

I have elderly relatives who are vulnerable, I would like to still see them but will not visit my 94yr old gran in a care home, surrounded by other peoples grans and grandads of a similar age if I haven't checked before hand that I'm unlikely to infect them all with Covid.

@Katya213

Why do people want them as the need to test stops on Thurs? I'm just curious in case I've missed something

Lots of reasons to keep testing. You may, for example, not want to send your Covid positive child to school just because Boris says you don’t have to.

And the rules have only changed for England so far. Maybe we’ll require proof of negative tests before letting you into Wales/Scotland/NI.

The selling of them as an individual should be banned.

I guess workplaces will have to supply them if they want people to test for work. Somewhere I go to work as a freelancer requires a test before I go, and because of the setting I can't see it stopping, so I will have to buy them. Same for DS, although he is not a freelancer so I imagine his company will provide them.
I would prefer to carry on testing when I meet vulnerable people.

I work in a special school and guidance for us is to continue testing twice weekly but no need to isolate from 24th

If your job is visiting ECV people then your employer will pay for the test.
If your church choir requires a test, then they will supply it.
If your mother is vulnerable, buy some tests for mothers day and continue to test
If your church is full of elderly people keep your distance, if you and they want to, it is not good to keep relying on tests

We are going to have to get used to living life normally again. Testing over and over, the volume of plastic and PPE piling up and the costs are ridiculous. Those that absolutely must test can continue, but most of us don't need to be and shouldn't be carrying on.

Test don't stop on Thursday anyway, just the legal bit. Guidance is still the same for now.

I tried to get a box this morning but couldn't get one online got a code to collect and the pharmacy had none In stock. I need to test next week hopefully can get some by then. I knew I should have bolded onto the box of test I give my neighbour so she could test her son to go school.

The guidance continues to be what it was - isolate if you have covid and stop isolation after 2 negative LFTs, 24 hours apart, from day 5 onwards. The only difference is that it's guidance now, not law. So the clear expectation is that people should be continuing to use LFTs.

@Spellfish in that case I’m sure they’ll announce in due course how you are able to purchase them, and you can continue to buy them for choir practise. They said yesterday they’ll be working with retailers to make them available.

I was requiring clients visiting the office to have a negative LFT before coming as I am immunosuppressed not sure what I will do now.
There is supposed to be a mechanism for us to test as individuals but for me I need the people around me to be negative not just me.
The issue compared with other illnesses is that the Covid rate in my local area is still pretty high so the likelihood of coming into contact with someone with it is higher than with say chicken pox (which is also very dangerous to me and my kids are vaccinated against).

I'm quite grateful dc1 came home from school with a box as we use a box each time being a family of 7. Her box will do Sunday before school on Monday. Hopefully it'll have calmed down by then & I'll be able to get some more.

Who actually does this? How weird

How will you continue to test when they will stop providing lfts. Will you pay for them? I won't know if my child has c ovid or a cold so will send them to school of they're okay which they were when they had covid. I only knew then because I could test.

Bloody hell, some of you can't let go of covid can you

I have a very vulnerable mum who still wants to see her Grandchildren. Lateral flows give us some peace of mind, even though not 100%. My mum looks after DD2 once a week & both DDs during school holidays. It’s a risk she choose to take but testing just gave us a little bit of risk mitigation. Cases are still really high despite what Boris says. A lot of people are still dying & it’ll be mostly the vulnerable. It could be my mum & that’s so sad & scary to think about. Would you care if it was your mum?

I’m happy to get on with life & drop isolation but keep testing free for those who feel the need. At least until cases fall a bit more in summer hopefully!

Of course people have reasons why they WANT to keep testing. The government will no longer require it but if you want to keep testing then, for sure, you should buy the tests yourselves. The government, with the best will in the world, cannot keep using taxpayer's money indefinitely so you can test to go to choir/school/visit your 90 yr old gran.

Where there is clinical need for testing the NHS will cover it.

Oh well if you can’t order them you can’t test . There is no chance I’m paying for a test I’ll just get on with my life .

i think its a massive mistake dropping isolation plus free testing-people wont/cant pay so it will be rife come next month

I will test if I know I will be with people who are vulnerable.

BJ is assuming that the public have common sense and consideration for others. Luckily I do. Frankly I think he does not understand human nature - he broke the rules so he should know about this.

@whynotwhatknot

i think its a massive mistake dropping isolation plus free testing-people wont/cant pay so it will be rife come next month

They haven’t dropped isolation. They’ve dropped mandatory isolation. Isolation has never been mandatory in Scotland, just guidance.

Where there is clinical need for testing the NHS will cover it

No they won't, @HavfrueDenizKisi. Testing is to be restricted to asymptomatic testing for the CEV.

Immunosuppressed CEV people who have been advised to test daily/on the day they take their medication will no longer have access to free LFTs.