AROUND 10,000 supermarket supply chain workers will be exempt from self-isolation rules in a bid to ease the “pingdemic”.
Shoppers across the country have been reporting empty shelves, stripped of fruit and veg, bottled water, ice cream and even beer.
Supermarket shelves have been ravaged by supply chain shortages
The impacts have been widespread hitting all the major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Iceland and Lidl.
Last night, ministers published a limited list of sectors whose double-jabbed workers are eligible to avoid isolation if they undergo daily testing.
Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News that “up to 500” distribution centres and food supply chain hubs have been identified where workers could be part of the scheme.
But he confirmed that the measures will not be extended to shop floor workers, leading food bosses to call the plan “worse than useless”.
Richard Walker, managing director at Iceland, said: “We’re encouraged to hear that supermarket depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from Government rules, but deeply disappointed to see supermarket store workers omitted from the list.”
Industry leaders also complained that there is still significant confusion over whether they will be contacted over exemptions, which workers will be eligible and whether they should apply directly.
Richard Harrow, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation said: “Yet again Government does not understand how connected the food supply chain is. Only opening part is unlikely to solve the overall issue.
“Plus, who is in and who is out, who decides and how do they decide? Confusion continues to pervade… This is worse than useless.”
A dairy company executive told the Press Association that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plans will not go far enough.
He said: “We have thousands of workers. The idea of picking a handful of ‘critical workers’ at each huge supplier feels like nonsense.
“We cannot pick a few workers who can keep products going to supermarkets if shortages keep arising – that isn’t how it works.”
The mounting criticism came as data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows Covid-19 cases continued to rise, with around one in 75 people in England infected.
The estimate of 741,700 people testing positive in the week to July 17 is the highest since January this year.
More than 600,000 people in England and Wales have been told to quarantine in the week to July 14, despite research suggesting one in four have deleted the app.
The Government has said that daily testing for workplaces was being extended to frontline emergency services and some transport workers, with an extra 200 testing sites expected.
The Local Government Association said directors of public health were already being overwhelmed with queries from employers who believe their staff should be exempt.
One industry not to feature in the exemptions list was hospitality. UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “We now face a summer of venue closures and reduced service, when we should be at a seasonal peak. The sector will do all it can to provide great service, but it will be with one hand tied behind our back.
The British Medical Association has said the problem is not the “excessive pinging” of the NHS Covid-19 app but that the Government’s coronavirus strategy has caused “rocketing case numbers”.
Its council chairman, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said isolation numbers are the “direct result of lack of effective measures by Government that is allowing the virus to let rip throughout the nation”.
Shops, pubs and restaurants including Greggs, Toby Carvery and Harvester CLOSE venues due to pingdemic staff shortages.
What is the pingdemic and why has the NHS Covid app forced so many to self-isolate?
Businesses must apply for staff to be exempt from Pingdemic self-isolation rules with 10,000 workers expected to qualify.
