Thread by @Telegraph

There has been chaos and confusion over NHS's Test and Trace app just days before millions are due to return to work on 'Freedom Day'.

The leader of one of the UK’s biggest ports companies has warned this chaos could cause food shortages

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telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/1…

❌There is mounting alarm at the economic impact of the disruption caused by more than 500,000 people being forced to stay at home for up to 10 days after being 'pinged' by the NHS app.

📈It's been predicted that the numbers could rise to up to five million

It has been stressed that an app alert is advisory - whereas contact from the official Test and Trace service is legally enforceable.

However, Number 10 continued to publicly insist that anyone pinged by the app had to self-isolate
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/1…

🔴The chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, described the “pingdemic” as the most “significant threat to ports’ resilience we have seen yet”.

Elsewhere, trains were cancelled and councils warned that garden bins won't be emptied for 10 weeks because of staff shortages

⚠️Economic damage

The scale of the disruption has alarmed economists.

One has warned that it would set back the post-pandemic recovery by “a few months”, costing the economy billions of pounds in lost growth
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/1…

❓Mixed messages

The PM’s deputy official spokesman said: “We are asking people who are contacted by the app to continue to self-isolate.”

Yet officials at the Treasury and the business dept. have notified business groups to make clear that being pinged was only advisory

🤳One business source said company leaders had been quietly told that staff who were pinged should be able to return to work after a negative PCR test and avoid isolating for up to 10 days.

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telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/1…