Nadhim Zahawi: UK should lead move from pandemic to endemic Covid

Minister says cutting isolation to five days would be helpful, but dismisses report that free tests are to end

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The education secretary has called for the UK to show the rest of the world how to move from pandemic to endemic Covid, as he suggested it would be helpful to cut the isolation period to five days to ease workforce shortages.

Nadhim Zahawi, played down suggestions that the government was about to start charging for free lateral flow tests (LFTs), which would lead to fewer infections in the community being identified.