Star comment: Free tests are ending but Covid threat has not gone away

Covid testing is coming to an end at a time when infections are rampant.

The intention is to save money as the Government comes to terms with an outstanding high level of debt.

The plan is that we treat Covid like any other illness, with people staying off work if they feel a bit peaky.

There are dangers in this approach, however. As we struggle through the cost of living crisis, we must accept that many people will not be able to afford their own testing kits. Too many are already facing the insidious choice between heating and eating, or are living in just one room so that families don’t have to heat other parts of their home.

The medical danger of withdrawing testing is obvious. The Government is forsaking the most effective tool it has in combatting the pandemic. At present, it is able to collate data to observe where Covid is at its worst. Once testing is withdrawn and people refrain from it, the data will become patchy at best.

There are more concerns. While the Omicron variant has been relatively mild, other variants might not be. Without the ability to track it properly we are exposing ourselves to new dangers.

Those who are vulnerable have also, overnight, become significantly more vulnerable. Covid has not gone away, in fact levels are as high as they have been. It is vital that existing Covid surveys continue to see what is going on in the population and that research work also continues.

There has been considerable focus on Ukraine and the cost of living. That, however, has not diminished the threat that Covid continues to pose, particularly to the vulnerable.

Huge numbers of people are being pushed into poverty. The cost of living crisis is an increasingly depressing reality as high food costs and exorbitant motoring costs are met with colossal increases in the price of energy.

Three tax rises are also taking effect, decreasing the amount of disposable income for most working people. Interest rates are lower than inflation, so savings are depreciating. In essence, we’re all worse off.

Boris Johnson knows that this is possibly his biggest crisis to tackle. He may get away with Partygate and deceit but then come unstuck at the polls by an electorate that is fed up having to fight to stay warm or feed their children.

His Government should be listening to debt agency groups and foodbanks and monitoring the impact of the financial squeeze on the population. Today we offer advice to those struggling. Help is out there.