Government are going to stop giving out LFT’s.

I don't know about anyone else but the whole thing is driving me crackers.
We're all going to end up paranoid which is a far worse illness !

The newsfeeds I’ve looked at say from July. Is that right!

Am I being over optimistic to hope they won’t really be needed by then, except for private reasons?

If I was out and about, socialising and mixing I wouldn’t visit anyone considered vulnerable, with or without a test.

Our dear friend tested negative with LFT in the morning, tested again mid-afternoon and LFT was positive. I know some posters are not fans of anecdotal evidence, but I found it interesting. This phenomenon was also mentioned by the two epidemiologists on BBC news program, it is not uncommon.

I can see nothing wrong with discussions and planning for the future
The government will obviously want to see what happens with Omicron which is now becoming the dominant variant and hopefully infections will start to drop at an increasing rate over the next few weeks
And no I will not be testing on holiday if I am perfectly well why would I

Part of living with the virus is trying to protect those who are vulnerable to serious illness. Testing plays a part in that. If I was about to visit a vulnerable person and had a positive test, then I would not go. That has to be a positive thing.

Good to hear some positive people on here. I have posted several times we need to but it didn't go down well at all.

Hear, hear josieann and meryl too.

I accept that we can't keep this level of free testing going for ever.

However, there is a risk that people have become over-complacent because of Omicron's relative mildness.
But there's no guarantee that it won't be followed shortly by a variant that comes along might be both very serious and highly infectious.

I do hope that if free LFT testing is stopped (as it is bound to be at some stage), the option of restarting it isn't ruled out if stronger variants are circulating.
Being able to test before mixing in groups that include more vulnerable people has been invaluable for many.

Urmstongran

I’m glad to be honest. I think the UK are test-bonkers. Probably because tests are free.

I’ve always thought we should only test if feeling unwell. Yes, some folk are completely asymptotic and would slip through the net, but still.

We test way more than Europeans. Far too much. We need to calm down now. I think it ratchets up some folks’ anxiety which isn’t a healthy way to live. We will be more in line with Denmark now.

Hear, hear!

I’m glad to be honest. I think the UK are test-bonkers. Probably because tests are free.

I’ve always thought we should only test if feeling unwell. Yes, some folk are completely asymptotic and would slip through the net, but still.

We test way more than Europeans. Far too much. We need to calm down now. I think it ratchets up some folks’ anxiety which isn’t a healthy way to live. We will be more in line with Denmark now.

Baggs

The main reason I'm fine with it is that I think it's time to move on and to try to get back some kind of normality. I think covid-terror as pushed by media and governments has been demented. Or dystopian as Julia Donaldson said recently about masks on schoolkids.

I agree with JD Baggs.
It isn't so much their education wearing masks is affecting, but children's social learning. They need to see each others' faces.
And back to excessive testing, some children are going to be anxious about even leaving the house without testing if they are currently witnessing it as a routine overused activity.

I just paid $40 for 2 rapid antigen test kits ,one for me, one for my husband. You lot are lucky, count your blessings !

i don’t see the point of testing on holiday etc
It’s almost like a national pastime with some people, why would they stop on holiday ?

I am CEV and my family test before meeting up with me. My granddaughter tested positive recently so stayed with another member of the family who was also positive.

According to the article in the Times this isn’t happening at any point in the near future, it’s a proposal for consideration in the next few weeks. Omicron is already endemic, so unless there are any new variants in the meantime it does make sense to stop testing for it routinely once the current peak is over.

The main reason I'm fine with it is that I think it's time to move on and to try to get back some kind of normality. I think covid-terror as pushed by media and governments has been demented. Or dystopian as Julia Donaldson said recently about masks on schoolkids.

My thoughts are that I'm fine with it. or, more concisely: shrug. People who can afford holidays should be able to afford to pay for their own tests, if they want them or think they're necessary, I reckon.

Currently I have to have two LFTs per week at work. All mine and all those of all my team-mates have been negative for month after month after month. I guess we've been lucky, as well as protected by three jabs each, but meanwhile the blizzard of scare-mongering goes on around us and the people we help, all of whom are in the most vulnerable category. None of them have had covid either so we're doing something right.

Learning to live with it means assessing your risks and which ones you think you can afford to take, both in terms of avoiding illness and what cash you have available. I'm not sure it's fair to expect other taxpayers to pay for all everyone else's peripheral health needs.

I don't see the point of testing while on holiday. This could mean I'm missing the obvious. Happy to be enlightened.

MayBee70

Might this announcement result in people stockpiling them for future use ( she says thinking about ordering another box to cover my holiday ? )

Stockpiling is selfish, apparently the new boxes contain 20 tests, as another poster said, this should be enough for most people. I read about this last year, family in Germany already paying for their own.
www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/coronavirus-plans-to-end-free-rapid-tests-in-england-reckless

Have posted this before, but in Australia, DD had to pay $20 for ONE lateral flow test. Not a pack of 7, one single test.

From a pharmacy. Free testing at test centres, but always big queues.

So if we know this in advance that is a good thing. The new green boxes contain 20 tests. Using say one or two two a week this brings us nearly to the beginning of April. That should cover people visiting family or going to an appointment for a good few months, then it will be spring time hopefully along with some respite from the virus.. Even teacher DD currently only tests twice a week and if folk are testing more than this, then that sounds like paranoia. I do think they should be free for NHS staff.

Might this announcement result in people stockpiling them for future use ( she says thinking about ordering another box to cover my holiday ? )

Im worried about meeting elderly/vulnerable family and friends without testing. I take it that doesn't matter though..... Are we now meant to live with this? There is also talk of Track and Trace being scaled back. Is the Pandemic over? If it is, why has nobody told us? I really hope they don't end up regretting this decision, for all our sakes.

I’m hoping it’s just a bit of click bait distraction but it has just been discussed on Sky News so it must be true. Not sure what the timescale is, though.

My thoughts are that I can barely believe it. Slap bang in the middle of a pandemic and the one thing which has made it possible for us to meet others safely is to be removed. I hope we’ll still be able to buy them.

I think this is just so shocking. So how valuable are our weakest, poorest, and clinically vulnerable in our society? I believe this is a headline in tomorrow's paper The Times. I await more information, but surely this can't be true.