Regular asymptomatic testing for Covid in all remaining settings
in England will be paused from 31 August, as Covid cases continue
to fall.
Free testing for the public ended on 1 April 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.
The vaccination programme means Covid cases have now fallen to
40,027 and the risk of transmission has reduced. Deaths have
fallen to 744 and hospitalisations to 6,005 in the last seven
days, meaning wider asymptomatic testing can soon end as planned
in most instances. Symptomatic testing in high risk settings will
continue.
Settings where asymptomatic testing of staff and patients or
residents will be paused include:
- The NHS (including independent health care providers treating
NHS patients);
- Adult social care and hospice services (apart from new
admissions);
- Parts of the prison estate and some places of detention; and
- Certain domestic abuse refuges and homelessness settings.
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.
Year-round symptomatic testing will continue to be provided in
some settings, including:
- NHS patients who require testing as part of established
clinical pathways or those eligible for Covid treatments;
- NHS staff and staff in NHS-funded independent healthcare
provision;
- Staff in adult social care services and hospices and
residents of care homes, extra care and supported living settings
and hospices;
- Staff and detainees in prisons; and
- Staff and service users of certain domestic abuse refuges and
homelessness services.
Individuals will continue to be protected through vaccination and
access to antivirals where eligible.
The government continues to encourage all who are eligible to
take up boosters. Autumn boosters will be available to book
through the National Booking Service ahead of the wider rollout,
due to start on the 12 September. The NHS will contact people
when it is their turn.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Thanks to the success of our world-leading vaccination roll-out,
we are able to continue living with Covid and, from 31 August, we
will pause routine asymptomatic testing in most high-risk
settings.
This reflects the fact case rates have fallen and the risk of
transmission has reduced, though we will continue to closely
monitor the situation and work with sectors to resume testing
should it be needed. Those being admitted into care homes will
continue to be tested.
Our upcoming autumn booster programme will offer jabs to protect
those at greatest risk from severe Covid, and I urge everyone who
is eligible to take up the offer.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Health Security
Agency, said:
Covid case rates and hospitalisations are on the decline,
demonstrating the positive impact of the vaccines, which remain
our best form of defence. The data from our surveillance shows
prevalence is low and decreasing, and we will continue to monitor
this data closely.
If you are invited to receive a booster jab in the autumn, or if
you have not yet had a Covid vaccine, please do take up the offer
to protect yourself and those around you.
The government expects the prevalence of Covid to remain low
following the most recent wave but will keep the situation under
review. In line with the Living with Covid plan, the government
will continue to work closely with sectors and services and will
be ready to resume testing if required.
Guidance on testing in adult social care settings will be updated
today (24 August) and guidance on other high-risk settings will
follow shortly.
On 15 August, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation
(JCVI) published its advice on which vaccines should be used in
this year’s Autumn booster programme. This includes the approval
of new dual-strain (or “bivalent”) vaccines as part of the
programme, targeting both the original strain of the virus and
the new, more prevalent Omicron strain.
All of the available boosters provide good protection against
severe illness from Covid and the Committee has emphasised that
getting a booster in good time before the winter season is more
important for those eligible than the type of vaccine that is
received.
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