London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Covid-19: Free PCR tests to end for most people in NI

Covid-19: Free PCR tests to end for most people in NI

Most people can no longer access a free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

Testing sites across Northern Ireland closed on Friday.

Lateral flow tests (LFTs) will continue to be free for people displaying Covid-19 symptoms, people visiting high-risk settings and those providing close personal care.

The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Lourda Geoghegan, said it was "exactly the right time" to make the change.

LFTs will continue to be available free of charge from more than 500 community pharmacies across Northern Ireland or by ordering online.

Anyone eligible for Covid-19 treatments, such as those at higher risk, should take a lateral flow test as soon as symptoms develop.

The Department of Health said this group will still be prioritised for testing.

"We're not ending testing, we're actually just transitioning our testing to a more targeted and more focused approach," Dr Geoghegan said.

"It is exactly the right time to change to this more focussed approach."

She said although transmission remains high, the "risk of serious illness has been significantly reduced" due to vaccines and new Covid-19 treatments.

Contact tracing in the wider community also ended on Friday, although anyone who tests positive should continue to report their result.

Those who are household contacts are asked only to take a test if they become aware of symptoms; this applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated household contacts.

Dr Geoghegan says the changes are proportionate and necessary at this stage of the pandemic


Dr Geoghegan said testing could be ramped up again by the Department of Health if needed.

"This change in testing and in contact tracing is accompanied by the development of a very strong contingency plan so we will retain the capability to scale back up our testing should we need it and, of course, if a variant of concern was identified either here or some other part of the UK or Ireland and we needed to scale back up we would do exactly that."

She added that it as vital that "those at higher risk and who may be eligible for Covid-19 treatments, take a lateral flow test as soon as symptoms develop, even if symptoms are mild, as treatments should commence quickly following a positive test result".

Lateral flow tests will continue to be free for people in certain circumstances


David Farren, the chair of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee in Northern Ireland, said the pandemic is not yet over.

"Covid is here to stay and we will continue to have our lives disrupted by it," he said.

"If you're walking out and about, and you're passing 50, 60 people in the street, there's a fair chance you've passed someone who's positive with Covid and you have not known it, so you have had that exposure, and the end of contact tracing means that Covid will spread as a result of this decision.

"The more Covid is in the community, the more numbers end up in hospitals, the more people end up in intensive care, and the more people who will sadly die."

'New realities of pandemic'


Roger Pollen, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said some businesses explained they would pay to have their workers tested, but it would not be affordable for all employers.

He added: "There are some members, especially in the heavily-regulated areas such as childcare, who are concerned that without the ability to test they could find absences affecting their workforce."

Health Minister Robin Swann previously said the changes reflect the "new realities of the pandemic".

"The risk posed by the virus at the present time does not justify testing and isolating large swathes of the population at the levels that we have seen to date in the past two years," he added.

"Test and trace will continue to have a key role and will be used in a more focused and targeted way to support and protect our most vulnerable."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×