Jenrick warns of coming ‘frustration and disruption’ as hundreds of thousands to be ‘pinged’ by app
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Robert Jenrick has today warned that the next month will be blighted by “frustration and disruption” as hundreds of thousands of people are set to be pinged by the Test and Trace app.
The housing secretary also said the government stood by the decision to only exempt double-jabbed people from self-isolating from 16 August as it will give people more time to get their second vaccination.
Covid cases are at their highest point since January, with infection rates expected to go as high as 100,000 a day.
This is expected to lead to hundreds of thousands of people being told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace app as social distancing restrictions are dropped from tomorrow.
There have been widespread predictions that this could lead to serious problems for retail and hospitality businesses just as they are allowed to reopen in full.
“I do appreciate that it will cause some further frustration and disruption in the coming weeks, but I urge people to ensure they do have the app on their phones, that it’s fully switched on,” Jenrick said.
It comes as Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak said today that they will not be self-isolating, despite being pinged by the NHS app.
The duo are taking part in a trial which allows people to go to work and then isolate the rest of the time after being pinged by the app.
The announcement was widely criticised by Labour MPs who claim that it shows the Prime Minister and chancellor are giving themselves special treatment.
“This is a pilot that’s being use by around 20 organisations, by hundreds if not thousands of public sector staff who work in those organisations will be able to use this pilot,” Jenrick said
“It will be rolled out to the wider public if it’s proven to be safe and successful.”
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said: “This looks like one rule for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and something else for the rest of us.
“At a time when we need to maintain confidence in self isolation, people are going to look at this and wonder what on earth is going on.”