Sajid Javid accepts people will go to work with Covid after free tests scrapped

Health Secretary Sajid Javid

PA Wire

Rachael Burford, Chief Political Correspondent @RachaelBurford

22 February 2022

Sajid Javid has conceded that some people will go into work despite having Covid when free testing is scrapped — as the row over the Government ending all virus restrictions escalated on Tuesday.

The Health Secretary said it would come down to the “personal responsibility” of workers to stay at home if ill and suggested people should no longer head into offices with cold-like symptoms if they do not want to pay for tests.

All restrictions are due to be ditched in England on Thursday, including the legal requirement to self-isolate. Free mass testing stops on 1 April under Boris Johnson’s “Living with Covid” plan.

But scientists and opposition MPs are concerned about the speed at which controls are being dropped.

Asked by Times Radio about whether people with symptoms should pay to find out if they have the virus, Mr Javid said: “For people who want to buy tests, they will no doubt be available.

“We are returning more or less to the situation pre-Covid. I’m sure you woke up pre-Covid and had cold or flu-like symptoms and I think we all know what to do then.

“Whether you think it’s Covid or not, it’s always best to stay away from others to make sure you’re not infecting others.”

When asked whether people might socialise and go to work with Covid without a test, Mr Javid told Sky News; "Without a test of course you won’t know [if you have the virus].”

He added: "You could go to work with flu. The reason I say that is that one of the things that the prime minister rightly said yesterday is that we’ve got to learn to live with Covid as we have learned to live with other diseases.

“If someone thinks that they might have flu they don’t need to take a test, we recognise the symptoms and ideally you will use stay away from work, your colleagues or friends and that is how we have lived with viruses and now with Covid."

But shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said removing free testing and access to £500 isolation payments will inevitably result in people spreading the virus.

He said: “This week we have seen NHS leaders, business leaders, school leaders all expressing concern about the end of free testing. I don’t see how the prime minister can say take personal responsibility if he’s removing the very tool that tells them whether or not they are infectious.”

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, added: “Living with Covid-19 must not mean ignoring the virus all together - which in many respects the Government’s plan in England seems to do. “

Mr Javid admitted that there had been “debate” in Government yesterday following reports the restrictions announcement was delayed when he clashed with Chancellor Rishi Sunak over funding for testing and other virus precautions.

Mr Javid said that vaccines would continue to be an important part of the country’s defence against the virus and free tests would remain for NHS staff.

It comes as Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said there is a “strong possibility” that Covid jabs will be given every autumn alongside flu vaccines for the most vulnerable.

But he told the BBC that the scientific community was concerned about the lifting of restrictions because “this is a tricky business, we really can’t predict the future”.

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Sajid Javid accepts people will go to work with Covid after free tests scrapped

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