Cancel your wedding if you get pinged night before the big day, couples told
COUPLES should call off their weddings if they get pinged by the NHS app the night before they are due to get married, Downing Street insisted last night.
During an interview, Home Office minister Victoria Atkins urged the public to isolate when pinged.
When asked on LBC if this would mean people should stay at home if notified by the app on the night before their wedding, she replied: ‘Oh gosh, the guidance is “please, you must stay at home”.
‘That is a terribly, terribly difficult scenario.’
Later, when questioned if the Prime Minister agreed, his spokesman said: ‘Yes. We recognise that would be a difficult situation for anyone but the app is carrying out an important function.
‘We know that one in three people contacted either by Test and Trace or by the app go on to develop coronavirus symptoms so that demonstrates the importance of people isolating when asked to do so.’
But couples who are pinged may struggle to claim on their insurance depending on their policy.
Boris Johnson apologised yesterday for the inconvenience caused by the so-called ‘pingdemic’ but insisted he will not fast-track changes due to come in on August 16 where those who have received both coronavirus vaccine doses will no longer have to isolate.
As he took part in Prime Minister’s Questions by video from Chequers – where he is in quarantine after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for Covid – he said: ‘I think that everybody understands the inconvenience of being pinged… here I am, I wish I was with you in the Commons chamber today.’
He added: ‘I must remind everybody that isolation is a vital tool of our defence against the disease.’