Opinion-in-brief: Free Covid-19 tests enable personal responsibility
Boris Johnson will announce his strategy to “live with Covid-19” next Monday, bringing an end to all restrictions in England. The provision of free rapid flow tests is also under review in a bid to save as much as £10bn.
Johnson has put considerable effort into turning the Covid-19 strategy into a question of “personal responsibility”. So it’s baffling that while he’s scrapping the legal requirement to isolate if positive, he is also making tests something to pay for.
It is precisely the ability to access lateral flow tests for free that has enabled this same “personal responsibility”. Testing before meeting someone vulnerable, or to make sure you’re not bringing Covid-19 into the workplace, has been routine for many. If you suddenly need to pay for testing, you are automatically less likely to test as frequently, or to test at all.
It will also unfairly hurt those already struggling the most with the cost of living crisis, enabling a perverse “personal responsibility” for the wealthy.