New record for NHS Covid app "pings" in Wales
11,417 people in Wales have been told to self-isolate in the past week
Last updated 22nd Jul 2021
A new record has been set for people being told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 App in Wales.
Between 8 July and 14 July, 11,417 people in Wales were told to self-isolate by their phones.
The latest data for the same time period in England, however, shows a record figure of 607,486.
So far in Wales, 104,843 "pings" have been sent to users since February. That figure is 3,943,572 for England.
Click here to read the data in full.
'Pingdemic' hits supermarket shelves
There are reports that staff self-isolation across the country is leading to some reports of shortages at supermarkets.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: "We are working hard to ensure customers can find what they need. While we might not always have the exact product a customer is looking for in every store, large quantities of products are being delivered to stores daily and our colleagues are focused on getting them onto the shelves as quickly as they can."
Meanwhile at Iceland, managing director Richard Walker said: “We are seeing some stock shortages across stores, as a result of both staff absences caused by the Pingdemic and the ongoing HGV driver shortage. We need absolute clarity from the Government as soon as possible, including a Test and Trace self isolation exemption list, to include all retail workers and HGV drivers.
"We have taken matters into our own hands and are launching a drive to recruit 2,000 new workers to support, so we can continue in our efforts to feed the nation via our stores and delivery service. We have already increased online capacity by 400% and continue to offer free home delivery, the only supermarket to do so.
"We are urging people to avoid stockpiling and to shop responsibly – the industry is working hard to resolve the issue and panic buying will only increase pressure on retail workers who have worked tirelessly to feed the nation throughout the pandemic.”
The response from Lidl reads: "Like all other retailers, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult as we have more and more colleagues having to self-isolate after being notified by the Track and Trace system. Whilst this is starting to have an impact on our operations, our teams are working hard to minimise any disruption to customers."
A spokesperson for Co-op said: “We are sorry that we are running low on some products. Like many retailers, we are impacted by some patchy disruption to our deliveries and store operations but we are working closely with our suppliers to get re-stocked quickly.”