PCR test rules ‘to be relaxed to solve staff shortages’

Health minister hints that ‘you may be able to expect some news’ on testing rule changes

A million people could currently be self-isolating at the moment, according to health minister Gillian Keegan (Getty Images)

Covid testing rules are expected to be relaxed to help ease the staffing shortages caused by rising Omicron infections, it has been reported.

The changes would allow those who test positive on lateral flow tests to no longer need a follow-up PCR to begin the self-isolation period if they do not have symptoms. The new testing rules could be announced as soon as Wednesday.

When asked whether the announcement would be made imminently, health minister Gillian Keegan said: “You may be able to expect some news - I don’t know when.”

Ms Keegan told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning: “The teams are looking constantly at what makes sense and what works, etc, but I don’t have any official news or updates for you this morning.”

She added: “I don’t have any official news on that but I know that the teams are looking at testing and testing regimes.”

Ms Keengan explained that there were “many, many more lateral flow tests” and that “they are really accurate when you’ve got a very infectious variant like Omicron.”

The Daily Telegraph reported that health officials have drawn up plans to limit PCR tests to people who have symptoms of coronavirus. This would allow those who are asymptomatic - around 40 percent of cases - to return to work more quickly.

Under current rules asymptomatic people who test positive on a lateral flow test are asked to order a PCR test to confirm their infection and can only begin their isolation period once they’ve received their positive PCR result.

This effectively extends the period of isolation for longer than seven days, especially as some labs are struggling to process PCR tests quickly.

Many hospitals have been struggling under increased staff absences and 17 hospitals in Greater Manchester announced yesterday that they would be suspending some non-urgent surgery as 15 percent of staff were off sick.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust announced on Monday that they were experiencing a “critical incident” over “extreme and unprecedented” staff shortages.

In an internal memo shared among staff, the NHS trust said that “the rapid increase in staff absent because of sickness is the largest factor in this deterioration in staffing levels, although reduced bank and agency fill is also a factor”.

Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which runs six hospitals in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, reported that staff sickness had gone up from around 7 per cent to over 10 per cent in the last week or so.

Referring to the potential change to testing rules, a UK Health Security Agency spokesperson said: “We keep everything under review and any announcement will be made in the normal way.”