Covid Scotland: Free lateral flow testing to be scrapped from end of April

Free lateral flow testing will no longer be available in Scotland from the end of April, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Contact tracing will also end, though people with Covid symptoms will still be advised to self-isolate.

The Scottish Government is “severely limited” in its approach to testing as funding is determined by the UK Government, and will not be able to continue offering free tests beyond April, the First Minister said.

From the start of May all routine testing will be scrapped, including for those with symptoms. Permanent testing centres will be closed, and facilities will only remain to protect high-risk settings and manage outbreaks.

A Covid-19 Lateral Flow (LFT) self-test kit, containing a SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Current advice around Covid testing will remain until April 18. Those without symptoms are asked to test twice a week, while close contacts of positive cases should test each day for seven days.

From the Easter weekend, those not displaying symptoms will no longer be asked to test. This will include workplace, school and childcare settings.

From the beginning of May all routine testing will end.

Ms Sturgeon said: “It is important to note that we are aiming for the same long-term position as England on testing. However, we consider that the transition should be longer.

"In England, testing for people without symptoms ended in mid February, and will do so at the end of this month for those with symptoms.

"We intend the transition to last until the end of April. This is as far as we can go within funding constraints, but it allows us to take account of current case numbers, and better support the shift in our management of the virus.”

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