In England first came the pandemic Then along came the pingdemic

London: The problem comes down to simple maths, really. So here are the numbers.

A third coronavirus wave has been washing across Britain for weeks now, latching onto the young and mostly unvaccinated. The wave is big - some experts think new cases could soon hit at least 100,000 a day - but thankfully the wildly successful vaccine rollout has cut deaths and hospitalisations to a fraction of what would normally be expected.

So far, so good. The trouble is so many people are being infected that the pandemic is turning into what politicians, the press and exasperated employers call a “pingdemic”.

The NHS COVID-19 app is pinging hundreds of thousands of people each week.Credit:Bloomberg

In England and Wales, where the government’s bluetooth-based contact tracing app operates, hundreds of thousands of people a week are being sent alerts - or ‘pinged’ - and ordered to self-isolate because they have spent more than 15 minutes within two meters of a confirmed case.

The app lets people order a coronavirus test, check in to venues via a QR code and keeps a record of nearby users using random unique identification codes. If a person tests positive, they can choose if they want other app users to be alerted.

It doesn’t matter whether you are fully vaccinated - everyone has to self-isolate for up to 10 days if they are pinged. The app is also highly sensitive, with some even complaining about being ‘pinged’ through the walls of apartment buildings and terrace houses.

More than 530,000 people were pinged in the past week - up 46 per cent on the one prior.

About half-a-million people were also told to self-isolate during the deadly second wave over January but that was during a lockdown, when people were largely confined to their homes anyway. The key difference now is that huge numbers of people are being told to stay home just as Prime Minister Boris Johnson eliminates all remaining restrictions in England under his so-called Freedom Day experiment.

The pingdemic is causing chaos in workplaces and has even forced some pubs and stores to close.

“We are in the unprecedented position of having to close stores due to staff absences - not because of COVID-19, but because of a broken and disruptive track and trace app,” said Richard Walker, the managing director of supermarket chain Iceland.

“Staff absences rose by 50 per cent last week and the trend is sharp and quick, not just affecting our own colleagues but those throughout our supply chains and logistics networks.”

Pedestrians cross London’s Millennium Bridge on so-called Freedom Day.Credit:Bloomberg

Pub chain Greene King closed 33 local watering holes in just one week.

Chief executive Nick Mackenzie told the BBC: “Across the industry we think it is about one in five of our team members who have been affected by this and therefore it is causing a real issue for us setting up business on a daily basis â€" we’re having to have shortened hours in some circumstances.”

The union representing rail workers blamed the closure of a London tube line over the weekend on isolation-induced staff shortages.

So many crucial frontline healthcare workers were being forced to stay at home that Johnson has had to exempt double-vaccinated staff from self-isolation requirements, although those dealing with vulnerable patients will still have to comply with the old system.

Johnson and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak are self-isolating for 10 days after coming into contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive over the weekend.

Johnson told a virtual press conference on Monday that the test, trace and isolate system was still essential. The Prime Minister initially tried to exempt himself from self-isolation over the weekend but ditched that plan within three hours following a public backlash.

“I know how frustrating it is for all those affected, or pinged, and I want to explain that people identified as contacts of cases are at least five times more likely to be infected than others,” he said on Monday.

“Even if they have been vaccinated there is a significant risk they can still pass the disease on.

“And so, as we go forward, I’m afraid that the continuing sacrifice of this large minority - those of us asked to isolate- remains important to allow the rest of society to get back to something like normality.”

The isolation scheme will be replaced in mid-August by a system based on daily testing for double-vaccinated close contacts.

“In the meantime, I want to assure you that we will protect crucial services including the staffing of our hospitals and care homes; the supplies of food, water electricity and medicines; the running of our trains; the protection of our borders, the defence of our realm, by making sure a small number of fully-vaccinated critical workers are able to leave their isolation solely for the work I’ve described,” Johnson said.

Bevan Shields is the Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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