Has YOUR bin not been collected? NHS track and trace sparks bin men CHAOS with pings
BRITAIN has been hit by a pingdemic in addition to the pandemic, with the NHS COVID-19 app forcing local authorities to suspend refuse collections across the nations.
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And the situation is also posing a threat to businesses across a wide range of sectors as a result of staff being forced to isolate, CEOs have warned - with one claiming the situation is “causing havoc”. The app - which only covers England and Wales - alerts people when they have come into contact with somebody who has tested positive for COVID-19, at which point they may be instructed to isolate for ten days.
However, with restrictions due to lift on Monday and the Government keen for companies to get back to normal as far as possible, progress appears to be being hampered by the app - and ultimately, the prevalence of the virus.
Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of Coventry’s 34 waste collection crews are currently off work, with garden waste collections suspended for two weeks as a result.
Recycling waste collections were cancelled on Wednesday in Thornton, Lancashire, were cancelled after numerous staff were pinged.
Cllr Julie Craig, cabinet member for highways, neighbourhoods and transport, said: “There are a very small number of positive cases among council staff, but a very high number who are now self-isolating.
“When any one staff member confirms contact with someone who has tested positive, it inevitably has a knock-on effect on their crew mates.”
She added: “These isolations include a high number of specially-trained drivers, for whom a substitute cannot easily be found.
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“It is this temporary lack of specialist staff that means safe operation at full capacity is not possible.”
Nor is it just the public sector which is feeling the pinch.
Torsten Muller-Otvos, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce, told The Telegraph: “Cases have gone through the roof and it is causing havoc.”
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He refused to reveal how many of the company’s 2,000 staff had been instructed to isolate, but neither could he rule out a total shutdown of operations, saying: “Never say never.”
The car manufacturer is now having to combine those staff from both shifts who have yet to be pinged into a single one to keep things on track, he explained.
Nor is Rolls-Royce the only company beset with problems.
Hundreds at Nissan’s Sunderland car factory, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited earlier this month, have also been forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with a positive case.
A company spokesman said: “The wellbeing of our team is our number one priority and we remain confident in the rigorous safety controls we have on site.”
Generator producer Cummins, which has sites in London, Leeds and Glasgow, has likewise been affected.
A spokesman said: “The self-isolation protocols instituted by the UK Government are impacting many companies, including Cummins, and we are actively working to mitigate the impact on our customers while prioritising the health and safety of all people.”
Meanwhile one in five people working in the hospitality and retail sector are currently self-isolating.
From August 16, people who have received both jabs will no longer be required to self-isolate for 10 days if they have come into contact with positive cases.
However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid is understood to be considering whether to bring the rule-change forward for healthcare workers amid similar concerns over staff shortages.
More than 500,000 alerts have been sent in the week up to and including July 7.