NHS Covid app (pictured) will not be made less sensitive for weeks, reports say
A record half-a-million Brits were told to self-isolate by NHS Covid app last week, amid mounting concerns over the chaos triggered by the ‘pingdemic’.
Unions have warned factories across the country are on the ‘verge of shutting’ down, with tens of thousands of workers urged to quarantine at home by the app.
Up to 900 workers at car giant Nissan’s flagship plant in Sunderland are being made to self-isolate, it was claimed today.
Around 10 per cent of staff working at the Japanese car firm’s manufacturing site in Sunderland were pinged by the app.
People told to isolate by the app are under no legal requirement to do so because their identity is not tracked by the software.
But fears have been raised that the software could cripple the nation’s already fragile economy this summer when restrictions are completely lifted.
Businesses demanding a re-think of the rules have warned supermarket shelves may be left empty if tens of thousands of workers are told they must self-isolate in the coming weeks.
There are also fears piles of rubbish may pile up in the street some bin collections in Liverpool have already been cancelled from next week because too many staff are isolating to run the service.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today admitted No10 was ‘concerned’ about the number of people who may have to self-isolate because of the app.
Official figures released today show the contact-tracing app sent out 520,000 self-isolation alerts last week.
The number of ‘pings’ dished out by the software in the week ending July 7 was the highest since the data was first published in January, and was up 46 per cent on the previous seven-day spell.
Despite fears the chaos will only get worse over the next few weeks with infections expected to continue surging, it was claimed that the contact-tracing app may not be watered down after all.
Government officials have been tasked with tweaking the software so fewer people are ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate.
But sources told The Times that it was possible no changes will be made, and that if they are, they won’t happen until August 16 — the same day quarantine rules end for the fully-vaccinated.
Up to 10 per cent of staff working at Nissan’s car plant in Sunderland (pictured) have been told to self-isolate by the app
NHS England data showed a record 520,000 alerts were sent by the app last week, telling people they had been in close contact with someone who tested positive
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured visiting Redcar last week) said ministers were still considering how the app could be updated
NHS England data showed a record number of positive cases were linked to the app last week, as the third wave gathers steam.
Infections have soared over the past weeks, with some experts attributing the sharp rise to England’s progress to the final of Euro 2020.
There were 86,000 positive cases logged with the software, up 40 per cent on the 61,000 in the previous week.
And the number of alerts sent linked to venues more than doubled to 1,247 places.
These are sent when someone has visited a location, like a pub or restaurant, on the same day as another person who later tested positive for the virus.
Ministers are understood to have been spooked out of tweaking the app by the soaring infection rates.
Britain yesterday recorded 42,000 cases in the highest figure since mid-January, as the second wave was beginning to die down. Ministers fear they could spiral to 100,000 a day by mid-August.
Thinktanks have claimed the rise in cases could see up to 2million people told to quarantine at home every week by the app, unless it is watered down.
Mr Jenrick called on Britons to keep using the app today but hinted ministers were still mulling over how to update it.
Government sources last week told the Mail the app’s ‘sensitivity’ will be reduced to cut the numbers being asked to isolate unnecessarily.
Mr Jenrick told LBC: ‘It is important that we have the app, that we take it seriously, that when we do get those messages we act accordingly.
‘But we are going to give further thought to how we can ensure it is a proportionate response.’
He added: ‘We have indicated that for those who have been double-vaccinated there are opportunities to take a more proportionate approach.
‘We are concerned about absences as a result of being pinged, for example.
A record number of positive tests were also linked to the app last week, data showed. There were 86,000 cases logged with the app, up 40 per cent from 61,000 the previous week
And the number of alerts sent out in relation to venues also more than doubled in seven days
There are mounting warnings supermarket shelves could be left empty by the app, and bins could also be left to rot in the street because there are not enough staff available to self-isolate
‘That is one of the reasons why we do need to move to a more proportionate approach.’
Business leaders have warned the app could lead to a summer of chaos after Monday, when most remaining Covid curbs are due to be lifted.
Lidl has party blamed empty shelves at some of its stores on so many truck drivers having to isolate.
Nissan said it has had to adjust production at its plant because of the amount of staff being told to isolate.
The company said: ‘Production in certain areas of the plant has been adjusted as we manage a number of staff being required to self-isolate following close contact with Covid.
‘The well-being of our team is our number one priority and we remain confident in the rigorous safety controls we have on site.’
But unions are warning many factories are approaching collapse with so many staff members forced to stay home by self-isolation warnings.
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: ‘No one is advocating for Covid controls to go out the window and Unite’s number one priority remain the health and safety of our members.
‘But the reports Unite is receiving from our members and their employers are extremely worrying.
‘It is not an exaggeration to say factories are on the verge of shutting and that at some sites hundreds of staff are off work.’
And councils have raised concerns over bin collections after Leeds, Bristol and Rochdale were forced to leave resident’s rubbish on the curbside after the app forced workers to stay at home.
Liverpool Council today confirmed bin collection would be cancelled for two weeks in parts of the city.
Cabinet member for neighbourhoods Abdul Qadir said: ‘Unfortunately due to Covid guidelines on isolation our refuse service team is severely depleted, and we need to prioritise our waste collections.
‘Our current programme is clearly not sustainable when one in four staff are unavailable to work.
‘We know the temporary suspension of collecting garden waste will be an inconvenience but it will allow us to ensure general waste and alleyway cleansing is kept to schedule.
‘Our recycling centres are also open late in the summer so residents have an option if they feel they can’t wait for the next green bin cycle.
‘After 19 July, the isolation guidelines change for those who have been double jabbed and this two week delay will give us time to re-organise the teams to ensure we can get back on track at the start of August.’
There are reports that up to one in five workers in pubs, restaurants and bars were also self-isolating due to the app.
The NHS app — heralded as a way to halt the spread of the virus — uses Bluetooth to estimate how close a user has been to a Covid positive patient and for how long.
This information allows it to determine whether someone is at risk of catching the virus and if they should self-isolate.
Everyone who gets alerted is advised to self-isolate for ten days, even if they have had both doses of the vaccine or a negative test
Ministers have promised to drop isolation requirements for the double-jabbed on August 16, but are under pressure to push this date forward.
More than 26million Britons have downloaded the app — or around half the adults in the country — but many are now deleting and deactivating it.
It comes after polling revealed yesterday that a fifth of Britons are planning to delete the NHS app before ‘Freedom Day’ amid fears they may be asked to self-isolate.
It also found more than a third of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK have already deleted the app, and another third say they are considering wiping it from their phones within the next week.
Among adults of all ages, the proportion debating deleting the app in the next six days was 20 per cent according to Savanta ComRes.
It comes as it was revealed yesterday that thousands of ministers and government officials are escaping self-isolation thanks to a pilot scheme that amounts to a ‘get out of jail free card’.
The Cabinet Office, Border Force and Transport for London are among the bodies signed up to a trial that replaces quarantine with daily testing – meaning they can continue working after being ‘pinged’ for close contact with a positive case.
Michael Gove used the arrangements to avoid self-isolating when he returned from watching the Champions’ League final in Porto in May.