Pingdemic’ chaos hits ANOTHER record-high with 600,000 alerts sent last week in England
Pingdemic’ chaos hits ANOTHER record-high as NHS Covid app sends 600,000 alerts in England last week
- Total 618,903 people ‘pinged’ in week ending July 15, a 17% rise on week prior
- Fears pingdemic could cause major disruptions and food shortages as cases rise
- Comes as some fully vaccinated key workers will be exempt from self-isolating
More than 600,000 people in England were ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app last week
More than 600,000 people in England were ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app last week amid fears the software is creating a pingdemic.
Data shows 618,903 alerts were sent in the week ending July 15, a 17 per cent rise increase on the previous seven days and another record high.
The figures come as a cabinet minister today urged Britons not to panic buy after warnings that supermarket shelves could be left empty this summer unless staff and delivery drivers are exempt from quarantining when they are pinged.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also revealed the Government will U-turn and rush out a list of industries allowed to ignore the app later today – less than 48 hours after Downing Street insisted there would not be one.
MailOnline readers have shared pictures of empty shelves in dozens of supermarkets across the UK in the past 24 hours.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl, Morrisons, Asda, M&S and Waitrose are also seeing significant gaps on the shelves in most aisles, but specifically wine, frozen food, fresh meat such as minced beef, dairy products such as cheese, pizzas, bottled water, fruit, vegetables and packaged salads and cooked meats.
Iceland boss Richard Walker has warned that Britain’s creaking food supply chains are on the brink of collapse causing shortages of products in shops with 1,000 of his staff – almost one in 20 – among the 1.7million Britons currently stuck at home.
Mr Kwarteng has admitted he is ‘concerned’ about food supply issues but urged shoppers not to ‘panic buy’ and said he ‘can’t guarantee’ the ‘pingdemic’ won’t.
