RATES of Covid infection have hit a record high in the UK, official data showed, just as free government testing ended for millions in England.
Some 4.9 million people in the UK are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week ending March 26, or 600,000 more than the previous week, the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics said.
It said one in 13 people in England are estimated to have had Covid during that week, up from one in 16 the week before.
The rate in Scotland was higher still, at one in 12.
"The rapid rise continues to be fuelled by the growth of the Omicron BA.2 variant across the UK," ONS senior statistician Kara Steel said.
Tim Spector, a professor of epidemiology at King's College London, told Times Radio the timing of the government's end of free testing in England "couldn't really be worse".
From Friday, most people in England have to pay for their own lateral-flow test kits for Covid. Free testing will only be available in healthcare settings.
Britain's health secretary Sajid Javid speaks during a press conference. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
General free tests will continue for now in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set their own health policy.
The Alzheimer's Society has been campaigning to keep tests free for all people visiting their relatives in English care homes.
"With the end of Covid rules, people may well assume infections are dwindling," said James White, the charity's head of public affairs.
"But the reality is that cases have been soaring, which means scrapping all isolation rules and ending free tests is a dangerous gamble."
However, health secretary Sajid Javid said people must "learn to live with Covid".
"We are one of the most open and free countries in the world now, and that's because of decisions that we've taken as a country," he said, after England's last legal curbs were lifted in February.
(AFP)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.