Government scales back isolation advice as ‘pingdemic’ hits businesses
The government has toned down its guidance on whether people should self-isolate when pinged by the NHS test and trace app amid concerns about staff shortages.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, business minister Paul Scully said the app was there to allow people to make “informed decisions”, but added that isolation was “obviously up to individuals and employers”.
The comments follow reports that ministers have written to companies to emphasise that workers are not legally required to isolate if they are pinged by the app.
In one letter to a large employer, seen by the Times, investment minister Lord Grimstone said the app was only an “advisory tool” and that people were not under any “legal duty”.
It comes amid concerns about a so-called pingdemic as the lifting of coronavirus restrictions has sparked a surge in the number of people told to isolate.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak are among the hundreds of thousands of people currently isolating.
Hospitality, leisure, food production and retail sectors have complained of having to close premises or cut opening hours because of the number of people being told to stay home for 10 days after being in contact with a person who has tested positive.
Pub chain Greene King and supermarket Iceland are among the companies that have been forced to shut sites in recent days.
But the softening of rhetoric around the app appears to contradict comments made by the prime minister during a press conference yesterday.
Johnson said it was “essential” for people to keep isolating if pinged by the app, with exemptions applying only to a very small group of critical workers.
Downing Street has also said it does not plan to reduce the sensitivity of the app amid concerns that many people are opting to delete it.
Under current plans the rules will be relaxed on 16 August, after which people with both doses of the vaccine will not need to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case.