Great Britain has a new corona problem: Too many people are in quarantine. That is why the app is now being screwed on.
In the future, the application will only work if there has been a corona contact in the past two days, as the Ministry of Health announced on Monday. So far the search has gone back five days. The ministry emphasized that the update neither affects the sensitivity of the app nor does it change the risk threshold.
A pandemic becomes “pingdemic”
Most recently, hundreds of thousands each week in England and Wales were asked to self-isolate because of close contact with people who later tested positive for the virus. The regulation had serious effects on the economy: pubs and restaurants remained closed, food shelves were empty, trains and buses stopped. The media call the phenomenon “pingdemie” – after the “ping” that informs users about a corona contact.
“This update to the app will help us find the right balance,” said Health Minister Sajid Javid. “We want to reduce the disruption that self-isolation can cause for people and businesses, while making sure we protect the most vulnerable from this virus.”
Business representatives and conservative politicians welcomed the changes. The broadcaster Sky News reported, citing government officials, that the app had helped avoid more than 50,000 new infections and 1,600 hospital admissions in the first three weeks of July. (SDA)