LFTs: a price for freedom - article
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: https://gianlucabarbazza.wordpress.com/2022/02/27/ltfs-a-price-for-freedom/ With the British government set to get rid of the last Covid restrictions that are still in place and to officially end the state of emergency a month earlier than scheduled, the rumour that free lateral flow (LFTs) tests won’t be free of charge anymore, doesn’t seem to be a rumour anymore. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that these have been branded as ‘free’: that is a downright lie. LFTs are paid for and funded by taxpayers. They don’t magically appear out of thin air,” said 34-year-old Louise Gordon, who’s originally from County Armagh in Ireland. Gordon disagrees with the terminology used by the Government on LFTs/Photo-louisegordon instagram Music producer Grant Norton, 39, that he wouldn’t be surprised if the rapid lateral flow tests won’t be free anymore, adding that it wouldn’t bother him too much – as long as the charge will be “reasonable”. Rumour has it that a box of seven LTF tests could cost £30. As the Government’s approach to the virus changes, the utopia of a free-of-charge LFT country seems to be constantly under review by the Department of Health, which has recently commented to Sky News: “No decisions have been made on the provision of free testing. Everyone can continue to get free tests and we are continuing to encourage people to use rapid tests when they need them.” In the meantime, as of February 11th, traveling restrictions in the UK have been modified allowing fully vaccinated travelers to roam freely, while for the unvaccinated, a pre-departure test and a PCR post-arrival are still required. Norton said he wasn’t surprised when he heard the news about LTFs/Photo-tatetosto instagram Some people believe decisions to end most restrictions are correct. “Leaving aside vaccination – unquestioned hero of the hour – the external cost of the Covid lockdown has been unquantifiable but appalling,” columnist Simon Jenkins wrote in the Guardian yesterday. “In medicine alone, cancers have gone unreported, with other illnesses untreated and mental health neglected,” he said. “The money spent on lockdown compensation, much of it reckless and some even corrupt, has been denied to other welfare uses. The cost to child welfare is inestimable, as has been the cost to education.”