Number of people in Wakefield pinged by NHS Covid app reaches record high

The highest number of people since September have been pinged by the NHS Covid app in the most recent data available.
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A total of 3,863 people were alerted and told to isolate in the district by the app in the week up to July 14.

That figure was up from 3,472 in the week running to July 7 and means a total of 25,700 have been pinged since last September.

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The purpose of the app is to alert people that have been in contact with someone who have tested positive for Covid and urge them to self-isolate for 10 days.

Being pinged and then told to isolate is not legally enforceable although the government has said it is crucial that anyone alerted does so, following conflicting advice from ministers.

Anyone who is contacted by the NHS track and trace system is legally required to isolate.

The system has recently been criticised by employers for being overzealous and forcing healthy people to miss work.

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Unite the Union said it had been causing havoc on production lines when workers

The increase in the Wakefield district means that number rose by 11 per cent on the previous week.

Across England, more than 160,000 cases were transferred to the contact tracing system between July 1 and 7, with 381,000 people identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive – also the highest number since the week ending January 20.

Figures also show more than half a million alerts were sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales telling them to self-isolate.