Lateral flow advice changes online as people told 'most tests needed for higher risk'

As the government scales back on providing free Covid-19 tests in England, new advice is now being provided on who should and shouldn't order a test.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be ending free coronavirus testing from April 1 as part of his "Living With Covid Plan". Despite this, some vulnerable people and those who work in health and care settings will still have access to free testing, with rules only being enforced on the general public.

Ahead of the rule change, however, people have reported having difficulty ordering free tests online - despite the fact they should still be accessible. A UK Health Security Agency spokesperson said: "To ensure an even distribution of lateral flow tests across the county, people can order one pack of seven within a 72 hours period from gov.uk.

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"This reflects the recent changes to testing as outlined in the Living with Covid plan. We would encourage people to only order test kits if they need them and only after they have used up any kits they already have at home."

But now a new message appears on the government website when they try to order a free lateral flow test, warning the user that "most people without Covid-19 symptoms no longer need to take rapid lateral flow tests."

While the message doesn't outright prevent the user from ordering their test kit, it does seem to discourage them from doing so. More of the message reads: "Some people still need tests to stay safe, like:

• NHS staff
• People who are at higher risk
• People who are visiting high-risk places."

It comes as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, with many people expressing concern over the lack of free testing. Caroline Derbyshire, chair of the Headteachers' Roundtable group and trust leader for Saffron Academy Trust in Essex, told the PA news agency she had "too many staff off with Covid".

She added: “The Government seems to have largely drawn a line under the pandemic and moved on but the evidence coming from our schools and colleges is that business is still very far from being back to normal.

“Staff and pupils will continue to have access to Covid tests until the end of March and are therefore able to check whether any potential Covid symptoms are actually Covid, and isolate if so.

“The worry is that, once free testing stops as the Government is currently planning, the number of students and staff coming into classrooms with Covid could increase even further, and lead to even more disruption to education. There is still a real problem with coronavirus in our schools and colleges that the Government must not ignore.

“Testing is one of the few tools we still have to reduce transmission among students and staff and the Government must reverse its decision and continue to provide free tests to people working or studying in education settings beyond the end of March and for the foreseeable future.”