Calls to change coronavirus app alert rules

The Government is being warned that a ‘pingdemic’ could bring workplaces and services to a halt next week because of the NHS tracing phone app.

Medics are among those calling on the Government to rethink the month-long delay between so-called "freedom day" – on Monday – and the quarantine rules being eased for people who are doublejabbed.

With the rise in the number of virus cases, the NHS app ‘pinged’ out 530,126 alerts during the first week of July – alerting people to self-isolate –but fully-vaccinated individuals will not be exempt from having to quarantine until August 16.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine wants double-jabbed NHS staff exempt from isolation now. A spokesman said: "The risk of patients contracting Covid from vaccinated healthcare staff is minimal compared to the damage that patients could suffer by having their treatment delayed.

"We encourage the Government to not wait until August to free vaccinated healthcare workers from the isolation rules."

Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch warned that Monday "will see a surge in workers pinged with a selfisolation instruction".

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nichols said the pub, club and restaurant trade is facing "significant staffing challenges" with up to as many as a fifth of staff isolating at any one time.

She added: "We urge the Government to move quicker on this issue to prevent the summer being cancelled and vast swathes of the population being unnecessarily confined to their homes."