PINGING THE CHANGES
NHS APP TWEAKED SO FEWER CONTACTS ARE FORCED TO SELF-ISOLATE
THE NHS app behind the Covid ‘pingdemic’ that left some supermarket shelves bare has been tweaked so fewer people will have to isolate.
It will alert people up to two days after they were close to someone who then tested positive, instead of five.
The change should cut the number pinged from almost 700,000 a week, which forced truckers and store staff into ten days’ self-isolation last month.
The government also hopes the fix will stop people deleting the app from their phones. Around 40 per cent of adults use it and it is said to have averted up to 2,000 Covid cases a day in early July, slowing the pandemic by 4.3 per cent each week.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘We want to reduce the disruption self-isolation can cause for people and businesses while ensuring we protect those most at risk from this virus. This update to the app will help ensure we strike the right balance.’
He said the change was ‘based on public health advice’ and that it was safe to change the app’s trigger point
for asymptomatic contacts after new cases fell to 21,952 yesterday from a peak of 54,000 last month. Deaths rose to 24 yesterday from 14 a week earlier, but the seven-day average fell to 64.
Dr Jenny Harries, head of the health security agency, insisted: ‘The app is the simplest, easiest and fastest way to find out if you have been exposed to the virus. It has saved thousands of lives. I strongly encourage everyone – even the fully vaccinated – to continue using it.’
Self-isolation rules, which also led to prime minister Boris Johnson quarantining for ten days last month, are due to be abolished in England for the double-jabbed on August 16. Labour called it ‘yet another Covid U-turn’ while accusing the government of allowing infections to spiral out of control.
Shadow health minister Liz Kendall said: ‘Their response is not to drive down infections but instead quietly change the app that helps to keep us safe.’ Travellers’ plans are in the balance with ministers due to reveal changes to the traffic lights system on Thursday.
But there was joy yesterday as families were reunited at UK airports as restrictions on double-jabbed US and EU arrivals ended at 4am – although some travellers had to struggle through customs halls left undermanned as staff self-isolated.
Karen Tyler, 57, had not seen son Jonathan, 27, since autumn 2019 and was at Heathrow to welcome him home from Houston, Texas. ‘I didn’t know if they were going to make it, I didn’t know if they were going to put more restrictions on,’ she said. ‘FaceTime isn’t the same as a hug. Two years, nearly two years.’ At Gatwick, Ben Gilkes had flowers and a ring to propose to girlfriend Cristina Paiva as she returned from a holiday he was forced to miss after catching Covid between jabs.
Nurse Cristina – stuck in Portugal for two months without him – said: ‘Yes!’