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Covid live: Germany and Portugal to cut restrictions; Israel to scrap passport system as Omicron wanes
Germany and Portugal preparing to axe most curbs as cases stabilise; Israel’s PM says ‘green pass’ system to be suspended as cases decline
See all our coronavirus coverageHello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
We start with the news that the UK government may announce an end to the provision of free lateral flow tests (LFTs) next week. James Heappey, the armed forces minister, has suggested Boris Johnson may scrap free do-at-home tests when he outlines his “living with Covid” plan.
I think that is the direction of travel but the prime minister will shortly announce his conclusions on that.
It’s still important that people test if they have symptoms or if they’re going to see someone vulnerable.
If you take away free tests, that will … make it worse in the long run. It’s not good to get rid of free tests on health grounds nor is it economically the right thing to do.
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