Britons across the country were left unable to order Covid-19 lateral flow tests today after a 'temporary glitch' on the Government's website.
Members of the public attempting to order free supplies of the at-home kits through the government portal were today told that 'no more tests can be ordered' and they should instead 'come back tomorrow'.
The Department of Health and Social Care has now insisted that people can still order a lateral flow test and that the 'temporary technical glitch' with their site has now been rectified.
The glitch came just hours after the country eased almost all legal restrictions on the nation's so-called 'Freedom Day'.
Britons struggled to order lateral flow tests on the government portal today after a 'temporary glitch'
Those attempting to order free supplies on the government site were today told to 'come back tomorrow'
Earlier today a message on the government site read: 'Sorry no more tests can be ordered today.
'No more rapid lateral flow tests can be ordered online or through the call centre today.
'Please try again tomorrow when more tests will be available'.
The government portal still allowed members of the public from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to answer the relevant questions on the site before presenting a statement confirming that the kits were unavailable.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that lateral flow devices (LFDs) are still available to order via gov.uk website.
'There was a temporary technical glitch with the website earlier today and this has now been rectified.'
All adults in the UK are currently entitled to pick up two free testing kits a week, which can be collected from pharmacies or ordered online.
They are intended to be used by people when they do not show symptoms of Covid-19 in order to pick up the estimated one in five cases that are asymptomatic and ensure people isolate.
Boris Johnson has put the kits at the forefront of his plans to keep the country safe as the final restrictions are lifted today.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health said anyone in England will be able to pick up a test until the end of August 'at least' but did not confirm if a decision to scrap the scheme had been made.
It said: 'Further details on the provision of free rapid LFD testing will be set out in due course.'
Asked about whether the scheme will be extended past the end of August at the Public Accounts Committee today, Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the Health Security Agency, refused to rule out it being scrapped.
Adults in the UK are currently entitled to pick up two free testing kits a week through the site
She said: '[We are] looking at whether it is an effective and essential public health intervention going forward. Nobody has discussed charging.'
However Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth slammed the proposal to introduce charges for tests at the same time cases are surging in the country and claimed the move to introduce charges 'beggars belief'.
He said: 'Sajid Javid's policy of allowing infections to rise as high as 100,000 a day will see hundreds of thousands forced into self quarantine.
'In that context ascess to lateral flow tests will be vital. It beggars belief that the health Secretary is introducing charging for testing.'
This year, a major review found that rapid coronavirus tests may miss four in 10 asymptomatic people.
Researchers who analysed 64 studies of the effectiveness of lateral flow kits found they failed to detect 42 per cent of cases who didn't show signs of illness.
The gold-standard Cochrane review found the tests, which give results in as little as 30 minutes, were better at catching symptomatic cases (78 per cent).
Despite this, the tests have still remained an important tool in keeping people safe amid a surge in cases.
Yesterday, Covid-19 cases across the UK soared by 52 per cent week-on-week after the UK recorded 48,161 Covid cases - up from the 31,772 cases recorded last Sunday.
But while case numbers are on the rise, the Covid death figures have seen a slight decrease.
Last week 26 people were
