Ministers are considering a special exemption for NHS staff from having to self-isolate if they are “pinged” by the NHS Covid app, due to worries of a staffing crisis in hospitals.
The latest weekly figures show that the number of app alerts soared by more than 60 per cent to a record 350,000 in England – with millions of Britons expected to be asked to stay at home at some point this summer.
The government is considering reducing the sensitivity of the app after warnings that the economy could “grind to a halt” with increasing numbers of employees out of work – a move Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer likened to “removing the batteries from a smoke alarm”.
NHS Providers urged ministers to create an opt-out for health workers “as soon as possible” to allow staff to ignore the app alerts, before a wider relaxation is introduced on 16 August allowing fully-vaccinated adults to avoid quarantine.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the government was looking at exempting NHS staff “ahead of step 4” of England’s roadmap out of lockdown on 19 July.
Saffron Cordery,…
