From the 1st April 2022, the eligibility for getting a free test for COVID-19 in England has changed with many walk in services or pick up points for rapid lateral flow home test kits ending. In addition, most people in England are no longer advised to get tested for COVID-19 (See the NHS England pages for more details on testing).

A small number of people are still able to get free NHS Covid-19 testing. Tests are available for those who are going into hospital for a procedure or surgery or for those with certain health conditions. Patient-facing staff who work in the NHS or in social care are also eligible for free testing. Some local authorities also provide limited supplies of test kits to residents.

Commercial test kits are also available for purchase and there may be requirements for some people to take a COVID-19 test. For example, whilst individuals no longer need to take a COVID-19 test to travel to the UK, some international destinations may require proof of a negative test result. Most commercially available lateral flow test kit results cannot be reported to the UK Government's national reporting system.

As such, the number of people eligible for getting a test and the number of people able to report their test results are now much lower and this will impact case numbers in addition to falling numbers of infections.

August 2023

As the number of tests being conducted and reported has declined, the risk of misintrepreting case numbers to represent the true prevalence of COVID-19 in the community has increased. As at August 2023, we have made the decision to stop updating this website.

If you have any comments or questions, please email us at publichealth@westsussex.gov.uk.