Over 1 million children out of school last week due to ‘pingdemic’ July 20, 2021 More than 1 million state school children were off school last week because of coronavirus-related reasons, government figures revealed. The estimated number of 1.05 million school students not in class on 15 July, is a record high since all children returned to school in March, and up 11.2 per cent on figures from just one [...]
Pingdemic: 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users have turned contact tracing off July 20, 2021 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users currently have their Bluetooth or contact tracing turned off on their phones, as more than half a million people were “pinged” into isolation last week. As the Delta variant rips through the UK and most restrictions lift, a third of Brits using the NHS app have admitted to [...]
Pingdemic shutdown: No industry untouched by NHS Test and Trace havoc July 16, 2021 Staffing shortages have turned manufacturing, bin collections, retail, transport and healthcare upside down as the NHS Test and Trace app “pinged” more than half a million people into isolation last week. The contact tracing app’s sensitivity is now under review after reports that the app is “pinging wrong” and Brits are being told to self-isolate [...]
Test and trace: 10 per cent of Nissan workers told to self isolate July 15, 2021 Hundreds of staff at Nissan’s Sunderland car plant have been told to self isolate by the NHS Test and Trace app, as Covid-19 case numbers have spiked in the area. Roughly 700 workers have been “pinged” by the app, causing disruption to the plant’s production. Sunderland reported 955 Covid cases per 100,000 people last week, [...]
Covid-19 app sensitivity to be reviewed, amid rising infections July 9, 2021 The sensitivity of the NHS Covid contact tracing app will be reviewed, amid a rise in alerts as infections surge. The NHS Covid contact tracing app used in England and Wales may need to change as coronavirus restrictions change, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said. He said that the end of the one metre plus rule [...]
Government adviser says Test and Trace app usage “at all-time high” July 7, 2021 A Test and Trace adviser to the government has dismissed suggestions that people are deleting the app and instead said usage is at an “all-time high”. Epidemiologist professor Christophe Fraser, who advised the Department of Health on the programme, squashed suggestions that people were deleting the app because they were getting “pinged” too often as [...]
Kwarteng: Businesses “can’t have it both ways” with self-isolation rules July 7, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has defended the government’s decision to keep self-isolation rules while other restrictions are dropped from 19 July. It comes after Conservative MPs and business leaders – especially in the hospitality industry – slammed the decision for the effect it would have on staff operating capacity. Kwarteng told Sky News: “You can’t [...]
UK hospitality sector calls for changes to test and trace system July 1, 2021 Hospitality trade association UKHospitality has called for an immediate review of the government’s test and trace isolation guidelines. It says current measures are “massively disruptive” to the sector. The body says existing staff shortage problems are being “compounded” by staff being told to self isolate. It says the current system can lead to whole teams [...]
Serco profits set to rise 50 per cent, bolstered by Covid contracts demand June 30, 2021 Outsourcing giant Serco today said it expects profit to reach up to £125m in the first half of the year – up more than 50 per cent from the first half of 2020. Serco, which has outperformed the wider UK outsourcing space, said in a trading update this morning that it expects stronger demand for [...]
NHS Test and Trace: Serco wins new year-long contract June 28, 2021 Outsourcing giant Serco today announced it has been awarded a new contract with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to continue providing Covid test and trace services. It comes just days after a National Audit Office (NAO) review into the largely privatised service found that 600m tests were unaccounted for and the £22bn [...]