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The NHS Covid-tracing app was today updated to alert fewer users to self-isolate in the hope of combating Britain’s ‘pingdemic’ chaos.
The app will now only find close contacts of all infected people from up to two days before they tested positive. Previously, it had trawled through five days of the user’s Bluetooth history to send out quarantine alerts.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the changes would ‘ensure we are striking the right balance’ between reducing disruption and protecting those at risk.
Health chiefs have now begged the country to keep using the ‘life-saving’ software, which only offers self-isolation guidance and isn’t enforceable by law. A Department of Health spokesman said it did not have to pay an extra cost to do the update.
The NHS app has played a major role in fuelling the ‘pingdemic’, telling hundreds of thousands of people to stay at home over the past few months.
It sent out a record 700,000 alerts in the week to July 21, the latest available, which was the highest number on record.
Supermarket shelves have been left empty as a result of the chaos, while trains have been cancelled due to a lack of staff and one in ten pubs and restaurants have been forced to shut temporarily.
In an attempt to fix the fiasco, ministers have already announced fully-vaccinated people who are told to self-isolate either by the app or Test and Trace will no longer have to do so from August 16.
But No10 is under pressure to bring this date forward to the end of this week in order to be in line with Wales.
The NHS Covid-tracking app was today updated to alert fewer users to self-isolate in hope of combating Britain’s ‘pingdemic’ chaos. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the changes would ‘ensure we are striking the right balance’ between reducing disruption and protecting those at risk
NHS figures show nearly 700,000 alerts were given out by the app in the week to July 21, the highest number since it was introduced
Graph shows: The number of people told to isolate by NHS Covid app (blue), contacts of someone testing positive reached by Test and Trace call handlers (orange) and people isolating because they tested positive (green) each month
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the changes would ‘ensure we are striking the right balance’ between reducing disruption and protecting those at risk. Dr Jenny Harries called on Britons to keep using the app. She is pictured above at a Downing Street press conference
Some customers have been panic buying, leaving some gaps in the shelves (pictured, shelves in Sainsbury’s in Taplow, Buckinghamshire). There are some supply chain issues in general with supermarkets due to HGV lorry driver shortages because of the ‘pingdemic’
HOW DOES ENGLAND’S CONTACT TRACING APP WORK?
Bluetooth technology will keep a record of which phones spend 15 minutes within 2metres (6’7′) of one another and then alert people if they have been near someone who later tests positive for Covid-19.
People’s phones are only recognised by the system if they are running the app themselves – it cannot detect others.
The contacts it keeps track of are all anonymous and phones exchange digital ‘tokens’ with every app-using phone within Bluetooth range.
If one person develops symptoms of the coronavirus or tests positive, they will be able to enter this information into the app.
The phone previously sent out a notification to all devices they had exchanged tokens with over the five days before – the infection window – to warn people they had been exposed to Covid.
But an update in August saw this period slashed to two days amid concern over ‘pingdemic’ chaos.
Each phone keeps an individual log of the Bluetooth profiles someone has come close to. These are then linked anonymously to people’s NHS apps.
People can delete their data from this app at any time.
Users also have an ‘isolation companion’ which has a countdown timer if they are asked to self-isolate, and are able to ‘check in’ to places such as pubs using QR codes.
The app also shows what the Covid risk level is in someone’s local area based on the first half of their postcode.
Will the app tell me what to do?
The app can only react to data that people put into it, and it will only ever offer guidance. If a user reports that they have symptoms of coronavirus – a new continuous cough, a fever, or a changed sense of smell or taste – they will be urged to self-isolate for 10 days from the start of the symptoms and to get tested.
If they test positive for Covid, they should report this to the app. The app then sends out an anonymous alert to everyone with whom that person has been within 2m (6’7″) of for 15 minutes or more since they started feeling ill.
How well does it work?
The app is far from perfect, and the Department of Health has admitted that around half of people who are warned they have been near an infected person will actually not have been within the 2m for 15 minutes danger window.
Three out of 10 people who were put at risk – 31 per cent – won’t receive a notification at all.
In trials it had a 69 per cent accuracy rate at detecting people who had been at risk, and it was 55 per cent accurate at detecting people who had not.
The NHS app — heralded as a way to halt the spread of the virus — uses Bluetooth to estimate how close a user has been to a Covid positive patient and for how long.
This information allows it to determine whether someone is at risk of catching the virus and if they should self-isolate.
Everyone who gets alerted is advised to self-isolate for up to ten days, depending on when they came into contact with an infected person.
Self-isolation alerts are sent to everyone considered to be at risk, even if they have had both doses of the vaccine or a negative test.
Mr Javid said: ‘We want to reduce the disruption that self-isolation can cause for people and businesses, while ensuring we’re protecting those most at risk from this virus.
‘This update to the app will help ensure that we are striking the right balance.
‘It’s so important that people isolate when asked to do so in order to stop the spread of the virus and protect their communities.’
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘The NHS Covid App is a really practical example of how technology can be used to fight the biggest challenges we face in protecting and improving our health.
‘The app is the simplest, easiest, and fastest way to find out whether you have been exposed to the virus, and it has saved thousands of lives over the course of this pandemic.
‘I strongly encourage everyone, even those fully vaccinated, to continue using the app.
‘It is a lifesaving tool that helps us to stay safe and to protect those closest to us as we return to a more familiar way of life.’
A Department of Health spokeswoman claimed around 40 per cent of British adults are using the app.
But polling suggests many Britons have already deleted or deactivated the device because they do not want to be told to self-isolate.
Ministers began allowing employees in the food industry, transport, the Border Force, frontline policing and the fire service to dodge self-isolation rules by taking daily positive tests last month.
They have since added bin collectors, prison staff and those working in defence to the list.
No10 is planning to relax strict quarantine requirements for the double-vaccinated in two weeks time.
But they are under mounting pressure to bring this date forward to be in line with Wales, which will allow the double-jabbed not to self-isolate from August 7.
The ‘pingdemic’ has left supermarkets with empty shelves and bins lying in the street because so many staff have been told to stay at home.
And one in ten pubs and restaurants have been forced to close for days by the app, says the chief of UKHospitality Kate Nicholls.
It comes after a survey found almost half of Britons had cut back on their socialising over fears they could fall victim to the ‘pingdemic’.
Some 46 per cent of people said they reduced their contact with others because of the risk of being ‘pinged’ by the NHS’ Covid app and being forced into self-isolation.
The YouGov poll for The Times also found that 39 per cent had not reduced their contact.
The figures show that the government’s self-isolation policy for people coming into contact with anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus is having the ‘designed’ effect of minimising the spread of the virus.
The survey of 1,722 people, conducted on July 29 and 30, also suggested the vast majority were sticking to rules, although 10 per cent said they had deleted the NHS Covid app from their phones and 13 per cent had turned off contact tracing.
Some 7 per cent of people said they had even avoided taking a Covid test because of the rules which say the 10-day period starts again if you test positive.
A government spokeswoman told the publication: ‘The self-isolation rules are doing exactly what they are designed to do — minimising the contacts of people who have been exposed to Covid-19, so we can protect the population while we continue to roll out the vaccine.
‘By sticking to the rules, the public are playing a vital role in reducing the spread of the virus and preventing cases from becoming outbreaks.
‘This enables the NHS to vaccinate as many people as possible ahead of August 16th, and we continue to encourage everyone to come forward to get their jab.’
Business leaders have however urged Boris Johnson to end self-isolation rules as soon as possible the avoid crippling businesses and other vital services because of staff absence.
Ms Nicholls said one in ten hospitality businesses in Britain had to close over the last month because the ‘pingdemic’ had had a major impact on staffing levels.
She added that one in five firms have had to ‘significantly adjust their offer or services’ to cope with the pandemic as their revenues plunged.
Half of Britons – including 18-24 year olds – are avoiding social contact to avoid risk of getting ‘pinged’ and 10 percent delete NHS app as job vacancies hit 1.1 million
By William Cole for MailOnline
Almost half of Britons have cut back on their socialising over fears they could fall victim to the ‘pingdemic’, a survey has found.
Some 46 per cent of people said they reduced their contact with others because of the risk of being ‘pinged’ by the NHS’ Covid app and being forced into self-isolation.
The YouGov poll for The Times also found that 39 per cent had not reduced their contact.
The figures show that the government’s self-isolation policy for people coming into contact with anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus is having the ‘designed’ effect of minimising the spread of the virus.
The policy has been incredibly disruptive, with almost 700,000 people being ‘pinged’ in the last week alone. Current rules mean they will all have to self-isolate for 10 days even with a negative test.
A YouGov poll found 46 per cent of people said they had reduced their contact with others because of the risk of being ‘pinged’ by the NHS’ Covid app and being forced into self-isolation
However, from August 16 those who are double-vaccinated will not have to stay at home. Boris Johnson confirmed the change last week, saying it was ‘nailed on’.
The survey of 1,722 people, conducted on July 29 and 30, also suggested the vast majority were sticking to rules, although 10 per cent said they had deleted the NHS Covid app from their phones and 13 per cent had turned off contact tracing.
Some 7 per cent of people said they had even avoided taking a Covid test because of the rules which say the 10-day period starts again if you test positive.
YouGov has separately found that the half of Britons also still avoid crowded spaces (down from 80 per cent in April 2020) and over 70 per cent still wear masks in public, a figure that has barely moved since the start of the pandemic.
Almost 700,000 people being ‘pinged’ in the last week alone after coming into close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus
A government spokeswoman told the publication: ‘The self-isolation rules are doing exactly what they are designed to do — minimising the contacts of people who have been exposed to Covid-19, so we can protect the population while we continue to roll out the vaccine.
‘By sticking to the rules, the public are playing a vital role in reducing the spread of the virus and preventing cases from becoming outbreaks.
‘This enables the NHS to vaccinate as many people as possible ahead of August 16th, and we continue to encourage everyone to come forward to get their jab.’
Business leaders have however urged Boris Johnson to end self-isolation rules as soon as possible the avoid crippling businesses and other vital services because of staff absence.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said one in ten hospitality businesses in Britain had to close over the last month because the ‘pingdemic’ had had a major impact on staffing levels.
She added that one in five firms have had to ‘significantly adjust their offer or services’ to cope with the pandemic as their revenues plunged.
YouGov has separately found that the half of Britons also still avoid crowded spaces (down from 80 per cent in April 2020) and over 70 per cent still wear masks in public, a figure that has barely moved since the start of the pandemic
The Government rolled out exemptions for workers it deems to be employed in critical industries, such as those in the food sector, transport and waste collection.
Tony Danker, head of the Confederation of British Industry, demanded a change in the government’s timetable for freeing double-jabbed workers, urging the PM to shift from ‘mass isolation’ to ‘mass testing’.
He told the Telegraph: ‘There is a high degree of confusion about how the Government’s going to approach September reentry, in a world where one, people are coming back from holidays from different parts of the world; two, people are going back to school; three, most employers are implementing the beginning of their new hybrid or back-to-work strategy; and four, we’re told there might be another wave.
‘We think August needs to be a time where we genuinely bang heads together and talk about an integrated plan and a philosophy for managing the next six to 12 months.’
Separately, a new report has warned more than 1.1 million jobs remain unfilled as the pingdemic crisis worsens the shortage of workers.
There are almost 31,000 retail vacancies, up by 14 per cent in the last month, 10,000 in supermarkets, 77,000 in hospitality and catering, 90,000 in trade and construction, and 84,000 in logistics and warehousing, it said.
The backlash over the continuing ‘pingdemic’ comes as Covid cases fell for the eleventh day in a row with a further 24,470 recorded in the UK yesterday.
Last Sunday saw 29,173 cases recorded, meaning today’s figures represent a fall of 16% from the July 25 figure.
The most recent data for vaccinations, which goes up to July 31, shows 88.6 per cent of the adult population have had one dose of the Covid jab, while 72.5% have had two.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, described it as ‘a phenomenal achievement’ and thanked the NHS, armed forces officials and volunteers for their ‘tireless efforts’ in getting the country to this point.
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