Self-employed caller living in fear of NHS app ping worried over loss of income

23 July 2021, 10:22 | Updated: 23 July 2021, 10:25

Self-employed caller: He is constantly worried about getting pinged

By EJ Ward

This caller told LBC he was living in fear of an NHS Covid app ping meaning he could not work and would not have any income.

Hayden from Purley said he was 'concerned' by the so-called, 'pingdemic', and that he does not have confidence in the NHS Covid app.

Companies will still face staff shortages and lost revenue because of the number of workers having to self-isolate despite emergency measures to ease the crisis, industry leaders are warning.

The Government has announced plans to allow firms in sectors including transport, energy, local councils and digital infrastructure to deploy the daily testing of workers as an alternative to self-isolation.

The caller revealed he is a self-employed project manager for a small construction company.

Echoing the plight of many self-employed during the pandemic, Hayden said he had received no financial help from the government.

"I've had to work through the pandemic,"

He told Nick if he was unable to work then he would not be paid, and there were no government schemes he could rely on to support him during periods of isolation.

"Now I'm waiting for the ping."

Hayden said he was experiencing worry, "on a daily basis" over whether he might get a ping from the app.

"You don't know if you'll be able to go to work the next day, or even have income the next day."

He branded it "mindblowing" that so many people are living with such uncertainty.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to bring forward the date at which people who are double vaccinated against coronavirus can avoid self-isolation.

NHS figures show 618,903 alerts were sent to users of the coronavirus app in the week to July 14, a period before England's restrictions were lifted and more social contact was allowed.