'Pingdemic' | Greene King & Iceland among firms having to shut workplaces

Pub chain Greene King and supermarket Iceland are among several firms currently having to close down shops and pubs due to staff shortages caused by staff having to self-isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app. This is being referred to as the ‘pingdemic’.

Greene King confirmed that it had been forced to close 33 of its pubs in the last week due to staff self-isolating, whilst Iceland stated that up to 1,000 of its staff have currently been ordered to isolate, after being ‘pinged’ by the app, as reported by the BBC.

Figures published by the ONS show that more than 500,000 people in England and Wales were ‘pinged’ by the app – which means that they received a notification ordering them to cut contact with others and remain at home for ten days – in the week of 7 July.

This represents a steep rise of 46% on the previous week.