Workers from critical industries across the UK must now take a lateral flow test every working day in an effort to catch infections earlier.
Boris Johnson said that workers in England in a range of industries “from food processing to transport to Border force” will now have to do a daily test on every day they are working from January 10.
The move will then prevent workers with the virus from unknowingly spreading it to colleagues. It comes following an ongoing rise in staff shortages across the country as Omicron continues to spread, with the UK recording a record 218,724 cases on Tuesday (January 4).
The government has pledged to send lateral flows directly to the “critical national services”, with Johnson explaining that testing for key workers would allow the country to “find a way to live with this virus.”
Johnson also extended Plan B measures in England, including mask wearing in shops and on public transport, as well as a recommendation to work from home where possible.
The move to introduce daily testing comes following ongoing disruption in the retail sector due to the impact of self-isolation rules. British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Staff absences continue to rise in line with rising Covid cases, however the overall situation remains manageable throughout the supply chain.
“Retailers are monitoring the situation closely - clearly, continued rising absence rates due to self-isolation will get increasingly difficult to sustain.”
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