Because more and more people are being sent to quarantine at home as Corona contact persons, there is a shortage of employees in Great Britain.
London – Tens of thousands of new infections with the coronavirus are currently reported in Great Britain every day. Hundreds of thousands are notified as contact persons – and sent to quarantine accordingly. This is becoming a problem across the country. Because now there is a lack of employees in the public service and in companies. The effects can already be felt in many places.
Data from the national health system, the NHS, shows that nearly 620,000 retail workers in England and Wales were “pinged” via Corona app and asked to go into isolation. It is estimated that around 1.7 million British people are currently in quarantine because they are sick with Covid-19 or have been in contact with an infected person.
Corona in Great Britain: “Pingdemic” causes chaos and empty shelves in the supermarket
Several supermarket chains apologized for the partly empty shelves on Thursday (July 22, 2021). According to Richard Walker, head of the Iceland chain, there is currently a lack of staff, including in the supply chains. However, it is said that there are enough goods. His company now has to hire 2,000 temporary employees, he told the BBC.
The “Pingdemic”, as the phenomenon is called by the British media, has sparked a debate about whether fully vaccinated people can avoid quarantine and instead test themselves daily. This regulation should apply from mid-August. Many industries, including the British Retail Consortium and the meat industry, are demanding further exemptions for their employees. These currently only apply to health care professionals and participants in pilot projects.
There are also problems in other areas. The BBC reports that some garbage cans are not emptied. The police warned against long waiting times, as many emergency services have to isolate themselves. In addition, many schools had to take their summer vacation early due to a lack of teachers. There may be delays at the post office. Two of the largest rail operating companies, Southern and Thameslink, have had to cut their schedules. Many people are said to have simply deleted the NHS corona warning app from their cell phones.
“Pingdemic” is plaguing Great Britain: 1.7 million people in isolation because of Corona
In view of the lifting of most of the corona measures in England since Monday (July 19, 2021), this problem is likely to worsen. Distance rules and the mask requirement are no longer applicable. Prime Minister Boris Johnson assumes that the corona vaccinations will curb the number of serious illnesses and deaths from Covid-19. High numbers of infections are currently being registered, especially due to the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The seven-day incidence continues to rise. On July 21, the value was 472.3 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
But not only the corona crisis seems to be responsible for the empty shelves in the supermarket. The unusual heat and the Brexit, which was officially carried out at the beginning of the year, both contribute to this, as industry expert Bryan Roberts explained to the BBC. Associations estimate that up to 100,000 truck drivers are missing. So far, these have mainly come from Eastern Europe.
Corona: Empty shelves in Great Britain – Minister Kwarteng “worried”
Since Brexit, however, EU citizens need expensive work visas if they want to work in Great Britain. Great Britain imports fruit, vegetables and other fresh produce mainly from the EU. In addition, there are high temperatures of more than 30 degrees in England, which led to a devastating failure of refrigerated shelves, said Roberts.
Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, responsible for energy, business relations and industrial strategy, was “concerned” about the impending deterioration of the situation. However, pictures of empty shelves should not give the impression that every supermarket in the country is affected: “That is not the case” and there is no need to panic, he said on Thursday. (lrg / dpa / afp)
