18 2GM Wednesday February 23 2022 | the times
News
Families are visiting pharmacies
demanding a pack of lateral flow tests
per person in an attempt to stockpile
while they are still free.
Lateral flow tests will no longer be
available free to the public from April 1.
The government has urged people not
to hoard tests in advance but pictures
were shared on social media of towers
of NHS test packs, saying people
wanted to be “fully prepared”.
Health officials have restricted ac-
cess to tests for home delivery in an at-
tempt to “manage demand”. Where
households could once order a new
pack every 24 hours, this has been re-
duced to once every three days.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of
the Association of Independent Multi-
ple Pharmacies, said members reported
stockpiling attempts across the coun-
try. “People want to get these tests free
of charge before they have to pay,” she
said. “Some come as a family and the
husband wants some, and then the wife
wants some — a whole family trying to
get these tests, keeping it for when they
need it. This is stockpiling.”
She said pharmacists feared “going
through the same thing again as hap-
pened over Christmas”, when staff
faced abuse from people seeking tests
during a national shortage.
From tomorrow there will no longer
be a legal requirement to self-isolate
after testing positive but government
guidance still suggests that people who
do so should stay at home and says they
may wish to use lateral flow tests to de-
cide when to resume normal activities.
In its strategy document setting out
plans for living with Covid, the govern-
ment said there were “good stock
levels” of tests but added that before
free universal testing ended the UK
Health Security Agency would have “to
cap the number of tests distributed each
day to manage demand.” It added: “The
government urges people only to order
what they need.”
Ministers were warned in the Lords
that people may face a choice between
“eating or heating or paying for a Covid
test”. The government said that the
price of lateral flow tests would be
“monitored” and regulated.
Baroness Smith of Basildon, a Labour
frontbencher, said: “Most people want
to do the right thing but will struggle
with, on one hand guidance about the
need to self-isolate if possible, but on
the other pressures either financial or
through an employer forcing them to
Businesses are confused about how to
manage Covid outbreaks after the gov-
ernment said sick staff should decide
for themselves whether to stay off.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said
workers should take “personal respon-
sibility” by isolating if they felt ill.
Industry bodies pressed the govern-
ment for new guidance, concerned that
employers would be forced to operate
in a “legal vacuum”. From tomorrow,
workers will not be obliged to tell com-
panies that they may need to isolate.
Covid health and safety requirements
will end from the start of April.
Asked whether sick workers should
pay for their own coronavirus tests,
Javid suggested the decision was ulti-
mately one for them. He told Times
Radio: “This really is about personal
responsibility, and that is something
the prime minister rightly stressed.
“If you weren’t feeling well and had
those kinds of symptoms, the first thing
Firms in a muddle over sick workers
to think would be ‘should I really go into
the office today, or meet my friends?’,
because you might be infectious.”
Although cases are moderate, Javid
said that the decision to scrap regula-
tions meant the country was “returning
more or less to the situation pre-Covid”.
One of the lessons of the pandemic,
he said, had been that when unwell “it’s
always best to stay away from others, at
least for a short term”.
Laws brought in to deal with the pan-
demic were “never intended to become
a way of life”. He told Sky News: “Being
able to remove them in the way we did
was a significant step forward. But of
course, we do need to remain vigilant.”
Most employers contacted by The
Times said they were still discussing
how to deal with cases in the months
ahead. Sainsbury’s said it was reviewing
the situation, and another supermarket
chain said it was “looking for some con-
crete guidance” before advising its staff.
Other businesses are talking to the
British Retail Consortium about howbest to deal with cases in the absence of
regulations. Unions have warned that
the lack of isolation rules will leave low-
income workers facing a “terrible
choice” about whether to declare their
illness or continue going to work.
The Confederation of British Indus-
try called on the government for more
guidance on sick pay and employer
liability in coronavirus cases “to avoid
the risk of a legal vacuum”. Matthew
Fell, the CBI’s chief policy director, said:
“Many firms will continue to be cau-
tious and use extra measures to protect
staff and customers.”
The British Chambers of Commerce
said it was “critical” that guidance be
issued to address a range of scenarios
that will be faced by businesses.
Beth Hale, from the City law firm
CM Murray, said staff and employers
would be “in a difficult position over the
next few weeks or months”, adding:
“Bosses have never been able to force
employees to come to work if they
honestly say that they are not well.”Mario Ledwith, Jonathan Ames
Rees-Mogg doubts figures
on civil servants in offices
Henry Zeffman
Associate Political EditorJacob Rees-Mogg has questioned
whether enough civil servants are
returning to Whitehall as he suggested
he did not believe his own department’s
figures on the issue.
More than a month after the govern-
ment urged civil servants to return to
their offices, Rees-Mogg, the new min-
ister for civil service reform, questioned
the number of “empty desks”.
Rees-Mogg told Conservative
Home’s Moggcast: “I’m not sure,
wandering around here, quite how
many people are back at work yet. I’m
told certain figures and then I wander
round and there seem to be a lot of
empty desks.”
Last month Steve Barclay, who has
since become Boris Johnson’s chief of
staff, told civil servants to “ensure wemake maximum use of our office
space”. The Cabinet Office claimed at
the time that attendance had returned
almost to pre-pandemic levels, and
tripled since the start of the year.
As minister for Brexit opportunities
and government efficiency, Rees-Mogg
has an important role shaping the
future of the civil service. While he
praised the officials at the Cabinet
Office as “very, very good people”, he
added: “I don’t think as a whole [the civil
service] delivers for the British people
in the way it should.”
He added: “What do I mean by that?
That I get too many constituents writ-
ing to me that they are not getting the
service from DVLA that they ought to
be getting. Their driving licences seem
to be lost in a post room that is taking
months to deal with [them].”
Jacob Rees-Mogg is right to sound
a warning, leading article, page 29News Coronavirus
Rush to stockpile lateral flow
work. What about those working with
the most vulnerable people?”
Boots announced that it would sell
lateral flow tests online from today for
£5.99 each or £17 for a packet of four.
From next month shops will sell them
at £2.50 for one or £12 for a pack of five.
Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat
leader in the Lords, criticised Boris
Johnson’s “lack of self-awareness” in
easing Covid rules after allegedly
breaking them by attending parties at
Downing Street. He added: “If faced
with eating or heating or paying for a
Covid test, it is pretty obvious what is
going to be the lowest priority.
“So we have real concerns about get-
ting rid of free testing, especially for
those who are either vulnerable or have
family who are vulnerable.”
Health leaders said a failure to offer
free Covid-19 tests to NHS staff after
April would make vulnerable patients
fearful about their care.
The government said in its strategy
document that “limited ongoing free
testing” would include symptomatic
testing for some at-risk groups and
social care staff. However, the situation
for NHS workers was unclear. The
prime minister said it would be up to the
NHS to “determine themselves” the ex-
tent of testing for frontline staff.
As well as getting tested when they
have symptoms, staff have had to take
lateral flow tests twice a week, even
when they do not have symptoms, as
part of infection control.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said:
“If NHS staff need tests they will be pro-
vided with free tests — that will be a de-
cision for the NHS.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of
the NHS Confederation, said: “Ninety-
four per cent of health leaders we sur-
veyed recently said access to free tests
for NHS staff and other key workers
should not end. Patients, staff and visi-
tors deserve to feel confident that they
can access and work in services without
risking their own health or causing
worry to those around them.”
Pat Cullen, general secretary and
chief executive of the Royal College of
Nursing, said her members in England
would be “alarmed” by a lack of reassur-
ance that they still had access to tests.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the
British Medical Association council
said: “People visit hospitals and surger-
ies to get better, and not to be exposed
to deadly viruses.” He added: “Testing
for healthcare workers is invaluable in
protecting both staff and patients.”
Lifting restrictions, letters, page 28The national picture
How many people have Covid-19?
There were 41,130 new cases reported
yesterday, bringing the cumulative total to
18,695,448 or 279.9 for every 1,000 people
17.5% decrease from seven days ago
(based on seven-day moving average)
Daily casesOct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan
2022050,100,150,200,Seven-day
averageNational
R number
0.8 to 1.How many are in hospital?
There are 11,357 patients in hospital being
treated. 324 patients are on ventilators. An
additional 1,042 patients have been
admitted, down 9.8 per cent in seven days
to Feb 18 when this data was last updatedOct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan
202201,2,3,4,Hospital admissions
Seven-
day
averageHow many have died?
Yesterday there were 205 deaths reported,
bringing the total number of deaths in the
past seven days to 976. The rolling
average number of daily deaths is 139.4,
down from 166.1 a day a week ago
DeathsOct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan
202205001,Seven-day 1,averageHow does 2021 compare?
There were 11,558 deaths from all causes
recorded in England and Wales in the
week to February 11, of which the
coronavirus accounted for 9.2 per cent.
The number of weekly deaths was 1,
lower than the five-year average for the
same time of year05,10,15,20,
2020/Jul Oct Jan
2021Jan
2022Apr Jul OctFive-year averageSelfridges in Oxford Street, London, implores shoppers to trade online stores for aKat Lay Health Editor