Some businesses to be eligible for exemption to self-isolation rules
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Businesses will be able to apply for exemptions to the government’s self-isolation rules amidst fears the so-called pingdemic will cripple the economy.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said vital businesses that maintain the supply of food or medicines, like supermarkets and pharmacies, could be eligible for the exemption.
It comes as up to 1m people are supposed to be currently self-isolating, after being pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and a number of major retailers have complained that the number of workers that will be forced to self-isolate over the next month will be crippling to the economy.
Johnson’s spokesman said today that exemptions to the self-isolation rule would be on “a business by business need”, but that “there are some limited sectors, like nuclear for example, when it will be for the broader sector”.
There is currently no timeline for these exemptions to be introduced.
“Most of the critical public businesses are already in discussion with a regular basis from the relevant department…we expect thoses discussion to continue,” the spokesman said.
“Departments are contactable for anyone that’s unsure.”
There has been confusion this morning around the government’s message on self-isolating, after London minister Paul Scully said it was up to employers and employees to decide.
The minister said this morning on Times Radio that it is up to people to “make informed decisions” about whether to self-isolate if pinged by the Test and Trace app.
The Times also reported that ministers have written to manufacturers to tell them there is no legal obligation to self-isolate if alerted by the Test and Trace app.
A Downing Street spokesperson reiterated the need to self-isolate.
“Isolation remains the most important action people can take to stop the spread of the virus,” they said.
“It is crucial people isolate when they are told to do so, either by NHS Test and Trace or by the NHS covid app. Businesses should be supporting employees to isolate, they should not be encouraging them to break isolation”.
Boris Johnson said last night that it was not possible to change the self-isolation rules to stop the pingdemic, despite warnings from the private sector.
The number of people being self-isolating will decrease significantly on 16 August when double-jabbed people will no longer need to stay indoors after being pinged by the app.
Johnson said this date would not be brought forward so that more people would have a chance to get their second jab.