‘Pingdemic’ gets worse

UK shelves empty as Covid contact tracers text more people to isolate

LONDON: Supermarkets apologised for empty shelves in stores on Wednesday amid warnings that the “pingdemic” was putting a strain on supply chains.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose all said they were facing problems, blaming factors including a growing number of staff and delivery drivers being forced to isolate after coming into contact with someone with Covid-19.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, said: “The ongoing ‘pingdemic’ is putting increasing pressure on retailers’ ability to maintain opening hours and keep shelves stocked. Government needs to act fast.”

Ministers confirmed that supermarket workers were unlikely to be granted an exemption from isolating if they came into contact with someone who had the coronavirus.

Up to a million people have been instructed to isolate, including about 500,000 who have been pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app.

Pictures on social media showed empty shelves in certain supermarkets. Shoppers reported shortages of meat, bread, fruit and vegetables as well as toilet paper.

Supermarket Waitrose on Wednesday put up notices in some of its stores apologising for the “limited choice” because of “nationwide supply issues”. Tesco told customers it was “working hard to resolve” issues with its supply chain.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, said that “something is going to crack” if workers at food production plants continue to have to isolate.

“If they lose too many in the plants then they will have to close and shut down lines.”

Supermarkets said it was a “perfect storm”.

The “pingdemic” is causing growing numbers of depot staff, shop assistants, delivery drivers and food production workers to isolate, but retailers were already facing a shortage of HGV drivers.

The extreme hot weather has also caused huge demand for certain items, causing issues with restocking supplies. German flooding leading to some re-routing of European deliveries is also contributing to the problem.

On Wednesday Sir Keir Starmer became the latest politician to self-isolate. The Labour leader has gone into isolation after one of his children tested positive for the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, appearing via videolink from Chequers, apologised to those being pinged for the inconvenience but he is resisting calls to reduce the sensitivity of the app that detects contacts.