A ping on the mobile sent over 690,000 Britons in isolation in one week.
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Pling warnings have caused trouble for a number of industries in England, after the country experienced a new, demanding infection boom in mid-July
The infection tracking app for the public health service, NHS, sends out alert to Brits who have been less than 2 meters for more than 15 minutes from an infected. Anyone who receives notice must be in solitary confinement for ten days. It must also be vaccinated for the time being.
The explosion of ping warnings this month led, among other things, to many empty store shelves last week. The reason was that many workers driving out goods were put in isolation. Other shops and supermarkets had to reduce their opening hours or close completely.
Encouraged to delete
The service industry is also hard hit, writes the BBC. There is one in five employees in isolation. Several bars, restaurants and hotels have had to close temporarily because so many employees have been notified that they have had close contact with an infected person.
Several in the service industry tell the news channel that they feel pressured to delete the app by the employer – others have chosen to delete the app even after several rounds in isolation without income or sick pay.
A bar employee who tested positive, says that she was encouraged by the boss not to enter the positive result in the infection tracking app, because it would put the rest of her colleagues in isolation.
–Minister of Trade and Industry: The rules should be followed
The wave of isolation over England and Wales in recent weeks has been called “pingdemic” by the British media. It has also done that 830,000 children have been away from school.
However, a warning from the infection tracking app does not trigger an order for isolation, but is a strong request.
The message from the British Minister of Trade and Industry Kwasi Kwarteng is nevertheless clear:
– If you are notified, you should go in isolation. I know it creates challenges, but the rules are clear and they should be followed.
To prevent the collapse of the grocery industry, exceptions were made from the call for workers in food production and supermarkets’ food warehouses as of Monday this week. Instead, they can test themselves daily.
–Fewer are pinged
In the last week of July, the British infection rates have been declining. The peak was reached on July 17 with 54,674 cases. Since then, the curve has fallen.
This means that fewer have to be in isolation. Absenteeism is now declining among several companies, reports the news agency Bloomberg. But: It could just as easily be because people are tired of the app and delete it, or turn off the location search feature.
– In recent days, the pling has decreased day by day, Richard Walker, CEO of Iceland Food Group told the BBC earlier this week.
– I think many have now started deleting the app. And to be honest: who can blame them?
In addition to creating trouble for a number of industries, the infection tracking app has been criticized for giving arbitrary alerts. Among other things, the bluetooth signal can be transmitted through walls and give results even if you have not had contact with an infected person, skriver The Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper writes about hundreds of people who complain about the problem on social media. One of them, Fiona Sampson, tells the newspaper that she and her partner received a phone call. But he had not left the house on the day they were supposed to be in close contact with an infected person.
– Later we realized that he had put the phone on the desk while he was working, less than 2 meters away from the neighbor, Simpson says.
BBC Sport writes that English football can also be affected by the “plingmie”. During last year’s season, the players kept to themselves and theirs the most, but when this year’s season starts, they can get close to the audience again. This increases both the chance that they will be infected by the virus and that they will be considered close contacts to others who are infected, writes the channel.
This weekend’s training matches for Manchester United and Norwich have been canceled due to proven infection in the squad.
The infection tracking app is used in England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own.
As of 16 August, vaccinated people will be granted an exemption from the invitation to go into isolation.
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