Pingdemic: Scarborough sees fourth highest increase in 'pings' from Covid app in England and Wales

The so-called pingdemic continues to cause issues across the country as the number of people self-isolating is creating staff shortages in various industries
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In Scarborough several hospitality businesses have been forced to close for a few days due to not having enough staff to run.

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Scarborough businesses forced to shut amid staff shortages caused by self isolat...

The most recent NHS data, for the seven days to July 14, shows that Scarborough saw the fourth highest increase in 'pings' compared to the week before of all local authorities across England and Wales.

The number of people being contacted by the NHS Covid app has risen dramatically. (Getty Images)The number of people being contacted by the NHS Covid app has risen dramatically. (Getty Images)
The number of people being contacted by the NHS Covid app has risen dramatically. (Getty Images)
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In the seven days to July 14, 1,221 people in the local authority area of Scarborough were told to isolate by the app, an increase of 609 (99.5%) from the week before.

This represents a record high since December 17.

In total 5,789 people in Scarborough have been told to isolate by the app since September, meaning 21 per cent of all contact tracing alerts sent since the app was created were sent in the seven days to July 14.

Some of the businesses which have been affected include The Hideout on Columbus Ravine and The Golden Grid on Sandside, both of which have had to close for a few days this week due to staff being told to isolate.

Across England and Wales, 607,486 alerts were sent in the week ending July 14, representing 15.4 per cent of all alerts sent since September.

To date 3.94 million alerts have been sent.

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When someone is 'pinged' by the app, isolation is recommended but not mandatory, while those contacted by Test and Trace have a legal duty to self-isolate.

The Government is urging those told to self-isolate to follow the guidance and despite calls for the app's sensitivity to be altered, Downing Street confirmed yesterday that will not happen yet.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We are asking people who are contacted by the app to continue to isolate, that’s what we’ve asked people to do since the app was launched.

“The reason for that is not just to protect themselves but also to try and break the chain of transmission to other people that they may come into contact with.

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“The Prime Minister spoke about the fact that we are seeing case numbers increase, and obviously as a result you would expect to see the numbers of people being notified to self-isolate increase also.