Covid tests twice a week to get UK out of lockdown
As the British government prepares to further ease lockdown restrictions, everyone in England is to be offered regular tests for COVID-19.
Under plans due to be announced on Monday, people will be entitled to take a rapid test twice a week to prevent outbreaks and find those not displaying symptoms.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also expected to confirm that non-essential shops, outdoor hospitality and hairdressers can re-open on April 12.
He will also give more details on proposed vaccine passports and international travel.
In a statement, Johnson said:
"As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine program and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions underway, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts aren't wasted."
The UK has pulled off one of the world's most successful vaccination campaigns.
More than half the adult population has been given either an AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine shot.
It's meant that the UK is able to relax its rules, while across the channel in Europe countries are tightening theirs.
But Britain still remains one of the worst hit by the pandemic.
It's recorded almost 127,000 deaths - the fifth-highest death toll in the world.
In 2020 its GDP fell by 9.8% - the most in more than three centuries - and one of the deepest contractions in the world.
