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* Daily tests to replace self-isolation for 'pinged' workers
* Testing sites to be set up at distribution centres this
week
* Supermarkets have warned of shortages on limited lines
* Named workers from other key services will not have to
isolate
(Adds plan to roll out daily testing)
By Guy Faulconbridge and James Davey
LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Daily contact testing will be
rolled out to workplaces in Britain's food sector so staff who
have been 'pinged' by the COVID-19 app can keep working if they
test negative rather than isolating, the government said on
Thursday.
Some supermarkets are facing shortages of specific products
- mainly those in demand in hot weather - and some petrol
stations have had to close after the health app told workers to
isolate following contact with someone with the virus.
British newspapers carried front-page pictures of empty
shelves in supermarkets, declaring a "pingdemic".
With cases rising to nearly 50,000 a day in the United
Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of people have been advised - or
"pinged" - by the National Health Service's contact-tracing app
to isolate for 10 days.
The government said priority testing sites would be set up
at the largest supermarket distribution centres this week, and
up to 500 sites would start next week.
"As we manage this virus and do everything we can to break
chains of transmission, daily contact testing of workers in this
vital sector will help to minimise the disruption caused by
rising cases in the coming weeks, while ensuring workers are not
put at risk," Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.
Contact testing is designed to limit the spread of COVID-19
by identifying people infected by being in proximity to someone
with the virus, either via the app or human contact tracers, but
who have no symptoms themselves.
WARM WEATHER LINES
The government said supermarket bosses had downplayed fears
of shortages, saying problems were not widespread.
Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest grocer, said
customers may not be able to find the exact product they want.
"Large quantities of products are being delivered to stores
daily and our colleagues are focused on getting them onto the
shelves as quickly as they can," a spokesperson said.
Asda, the industry's No. 3 player, said although more staff
were being forced to self-isolate the level of absences remained
well below what it saw at the height of the pandemic last year.
"We’re also not in a position where we would have to close
any stores," said a spokesperson.
Product availability was "largely OK across the board"
though some stores were short of warm weather lines: beers and
soft drinks, bottled water, ice cream and salad leaves.
But smaller rival Iceland said it had closed a number of
stores due to staff shortages. BP said it had to
temporarily close a handful of petrol stations due to a lack of
fuel, with a shortage of HGV drivers exacerbated by COVID-19
isolations.
Official data showed the app had told nearly 620,000 people
to isolate in England and Wales in the week up to July 14.
Britain has allowed some workers in critical roles to carry
on working, even when "pinged".
Companies must apply for authorisation for their staff, and
it will only be granted to designated workers in approved
workplaces who are fully vaccinated, the government said on
Thursday.
Infections had been rising in Britain for several weeks, but
a vaccination programme appears to have weakened the link
between infections and deaths, with daily fatalities remaining
relatively low.
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by Paul
Sandle, Kate Holton and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Catherine
Evans, Angus MacSwan Giles Elgood and Jonathan Oatis)
