Thousands of ministers and government officials are escaping self-isolation thanks to a pilot scheme that amounts to a 'get out of jail free card', it was revealed today.
The Cabinet Office, Border Force and Transport for London are among the bodies signed up to a trial that replaces quarantine with daily testing - meaning they can continue working after being 'pinged' for close contact with a positive case.
Michael Gove is believed to have used the arrangements to avoid self-isolating when he returned from watching the Champions’ League final in Porto in May.
Several Downing Street staff have benefited from the pilot, instead being able to take daily lateral flow tests to check whether they have the virus. They can carry on as normal unless they develop symptoms.
According to the Telegraph, some politicians have likened the scheme - which is apparently open to a range of employers - to the famous Monopoly card.
Nadhim Zahawi highlighted at the weekend that daily testing could replace self-isolation more widely in future. However, the news will raise questions about whether ministers and civil servants are getting preferential treatment when hundreds of thousands of healthy members of the public are being forced into house arrest.
Self-isolation rules aren't due to be relaxed for fully jabbed Britons until mid-August, which has led to fears many will delete the app in case a surge in infections post Freedom Day means they get 'pinged' and have to quarantine.
Business leaders have warned that the tough rules could lead to a summer of chaos after Monday, when most remaining Covid curbs are due to be lifted. Lidl has party blamed empty shelves at some of its stores on so many truck drivers having to isolate.
And councils have raised concerns over bin collections after Leeds, Bristol and Rochdale were forced to leave resident's rubbish on the curbside after the app forced workers to stay at home.
There are reports that up to one in five workers in pubs, restaurants and bars were also self-isolating due to the app. Separate figures showed 830,000 children were also off school as a result of themselves or a family member getting 'pinged'.
Boris Johnson and several Cabinet ministers have begged Britons not to delete the app, warning that it provided a layer of protection against the virus when restrictions are lifted.
Everyone who gets alerted is advised to self-isolate for ten days, even if a person has been given both doses of the vaccine or can prove a negative test. Britain yesterday recorded 36,660 new Covid cases, up 27 per cent on last Tuesday. Ministers warn the country could hit 100,000 daily cases before the end of August.
Michael Gove is believed to have used the arrangements to avoid self-isolating when he returned from watching the Champions’ League final in Porto in May
A fifth of Britons are planning to delete the NHS app before 'Freedom Day' amid fears of a 'pingdemic' that could force millions of people off work
The number of contact tracing alerts has been spiking as the Delta variant fuels an increase in cases, figures show
A poll this week has suggested a fifth of Britons are planning to delete the NHS app before 'Freedom Day' amid fears the software could spark a 'pingdemic'.
More than 356,000 people were alerted by the app in the last week of June, figures show, and there are fears this could spiral over the coming months amid mounting cases.
Polling suggests more than a third of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK have already deleted the app, with another third saying they were considering wiping it from their phones within the next week.
Among adults of all ages, the proportion debating deleting the app in the next six days was 20 per cent, according to a survey by Savanta ComRes.
Britons are choosing to delete the NHS app instead of facing the prospect of self-isolating for ten days after restrictions are lifted on July 19, according to a poll by agency Savanta ComRes revealed in the Guardian.
Professor Henry Potts, a health data scientist at University College London, told the publication that people deleting and deactivating the app would 'reduce the potential efficacy'.
Dr Nighat Arif, from Buckinghamshire, has revealed she plans to delete the NHS Track and Trace app because she is continually pinged and told to go into self-isolation
A GP has revealed she plans to delete the NHS Track and Trace app because she is continually pinged and told to go into self-isolation.
Dr Nighat Arif, from Buckinghamshire, says it 'doesn't surprise her' that people want to get rid of the app, which has been heavily criticised for forcing large numbers of double-jabbed workers to stay at home .
Appearing on The Morning today, the doctor said the nature of her job means she will come into contact with patients who may test positive for Covid, but that self-isolating if she is negative for the virus puts unwarranted 'pressure' on her colleagues.
Host Ruth Langsford cited a survey which revealed that one in five Britons are planning on delete the app when nearly all legal restrictions on social contact are removed on July 19th.
It comes after Sage expert Dr Adam Kucharski, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group, warned that 30,000 to 40,000 cases a day in the summer could mean more than a million contacts per day who may be eligible for quarantine.
Advertisement
'We know that the number of people downloading the NHS Covid app was never as high as desired and that some people who downloaded it have already deleted it,' he said.
'Anecdotally, many people turn it off or do not use it as directed. This all reduces the potential efficacy of the app.'
He predicted more people would delete it in the future, saying: 'What will happen is that the more they see Covid as
