UPDATE - UK Exempts Food Supply Staff From COVID Quarantine To Avoid Shortages Over 'Pingdemic'

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) The UK government exempts food production and supply sector workers from coronavirus-related quarantine in a bid to avoid food shortages as the so-called pingdemic puts pressure on the sector, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

The move comes after the official health app told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate following contact with someone with COVID-19, causing disruptions and prompting people to panic-buy. A record 618,903 people in England and Wales were "pinged" by the NHS COVID-19 app in the week to July 14, the official data said.

The UK health department revealed late on Thursday a list of 16 sectors, including food production and supply, where workers regardless of vaccination status will not have to self-isolate after coming into close contact with a COVID patient. They will be allowed to take daily tests at work instead.

The list also includes such sectors, as energy, civil nuclear, digital infrastructure, waste, water, veterinary medicines, essential chemicals, essential transport, medicines, medical devices, clinical consumable supplies, emergency services, border control, essential defense outputs, and local government.

The Times reported on Friday that the new rule will apply to workers in 2,000 warehouses and supermarket distribution centers, with up to 10,000 staff expected to qualify for the scheme.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the government�s "rapid response to this unfolding pingdemic," which has impacted shops and distributions centers.

"Retailers are working closely with Government to identify hundreds of key distribution sites that will benefit from the new daily contact testing scheme. It is absolutely vital that Government makes up for lost time and rolls out this new scheme as fast as possible," Dickinson said in a statement e-mailed to Sputnik by the consortium�s press office.

She said that although disruption is limited at the moment, and retailers are monitoring the situation closely, the government will need to continue to listen to the concerns of the retail industry in the coming days and must be prepared to take further action if necessary.