A record 619,000 people were told to isolate by the NHS Covid app in a week as the government urged people not to panic-buy amid warnings the “pingdemic” was leading to empty supermarket shelves.
The number of people “pinged” by the NHS Covid-19 tracing app has intensified the strain on supply chains. A total of 618,903 alerts were sent to users of the app in England and Wales in the week to July 14, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus and should self-isolate for ten days.
The figure, taken from NHS data, rose from 530,937 alerts the previous week and is the highest since the app launched at the end of September
