Nicola Slater’s daughter, Rebecca, has complex health needs and needs 24-hour care. He fears that moving to end universal free trials – part of the government’s Living with COVID – plan could lead to people not taking reasonable precautions. Read more: Who can do free lateral flow tests today? Image: Ms Slater says many people do not understand what it is like to be vulnerable “Outside and around the community, if people are not going to try themselves and buy the tests, then there will be more [virus] out there and how do we know if it will be more at risk? ” he told Sky News. “It’s because disability is being pushed under the rug that I don’t think people even think or understand what it’s like to be a vulnerable person,” he said. “I would prefer to continue using the mask, in shops, public transport, hospitals and doctors’ offices, where I go to Rebecca.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:19 Tears as the free COVID tests were abolished From today, free examinations will continue in England only for certain groups, with others who believe they have coronavirus simply being encouraged to stay home. Some free trials will continue in April in Scotland and Northern Ireland and until the summer in Wales. Ministers in England have argued that although infection levels have risen, vaccines and antiviral drugs are working to protect the vast majority of people. The latest figures show that there have been 15,632 people hospitalized in England with COVID-19 since Wednesday – up 18% each week and the highest since 19 January. Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Read more: How do I do a sideflow test now and how much do they cost? Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, told Sky News that the move could increase COVID rates. “The government seems to be denying the pandemic: the pandemic continues and we have the highest rates of infection we have ever had – one in 16 people in the community is currently infected,” he said. “Removing things like tests, which help us detect infected people so they can then be isolated, will lead to further fuel transmission.”
