NHS and care homes in England are due to pause routine Covid testing including lateral flow tests.

Most hospital patients and care home residents in England will no longer be tested for Covid including using lateral flow tests unless they have symptoms, the government has said.

From 31 August, NHS and social care staff will not be offered lateral flow tests unless they fall sick.

Free testing for the public ended in April in England, but continued in some high-risk settings including care homes and hospital visits.

The government said UK Covid rates have fallen.

Individuals would continue to be protected through vaccination and antiviral treatments and it would keep the situation under close review.

Under the new rules, routine asymptomatic showing Covid testing of staff and patients or residents would be paused in adult social care and hospice services parts of the prison estate and some places of detention certain domestic abuse refuges and homelessness settings

Though:

All new admissions into care homes and hospices will continue to be tested using lateral flow tests for Covid, as will patients with weakened immune systems who are admitted to hospital or transferred between wards.

Those with symptons will still be asked to test themselves. If they have Covid symptoms such as a fever, persistent cough or loss of smell.