Supermarket workers pinged

briskbeats

Could someone tell me if all supermarket workers are exempt from self isolating if they are pinged and double jabbed?

Different media sources say just the depot workers are exempt.

If this the case, it’s should be all workers in supermarkets. As need delivery drivers to take the food etc to the supermarkets. Then supermarket workers that need to put the delivery onto the shelves!

Better still all supermarket workers should delete this app.

I didn’t download this app as Bluetooth doesn’t recognise flats.

Pollycat

briskbeats said:

Could someone tell me if all supermarket workers are exempt from self isolating if they are pinged and double jabbed?

Different media sources say just the depot workers are exempt.

If this the case, it’s should be all workers in supermarkets. As need delivery drivers to take the food etc to the supermarkets. Then supermarket workers that need to put the delivery onto the shelves!

Better still all supermarket workers should delete this app.

I didn’t download this app as Bluetooth doesn’t recognise flats.

If you personally don't have the app installed does it matter what the rules are?

You are not going to get pinged anyway.

However, from the Economics editor of the BBC:

This intervention should alleviate genuine concerns in the food industry about supplies. Hundreds of designated sites - supermarket depots and food manufacturers - will be able to administer the tests that will enable workers to skip the need for self isolation.

This will be the case whatever the vaccination status of the worker. It is not sector-wide and will not, for example, apply to actual supermarket stores.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57937342

Andy_L

There is, and never has been,  any legal requirement to isolate if pinged by the app

Pollycat

Here's an interesting article that answers your question:

briskbeats said:

Could someone tell me if all supermarket workers are exempt from self isolating if they are pinged and double jabbed?

Whether you MUST self-isolate depends on how you're alerted

Exactly how you are contacted and told to self-isolate is key here. As Martin explains above, if you're pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app in England or Wales (or the equivalent apps in Scotland and Northern Ireland), it's not a legal requirement that you self-isolate, though you are still strongly encouraged to do so.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/07/martin-lewis-pingdemic-financial-support/?_ga=2.214396567.140416307.1626948603-566609291.1626948603

Tokmon

briskbeats said:

Could someone tell me if all supermarket workers are exempt from self isolating if they are pinged and double jabbed?

Different media sources say just the depot workers are exempt.

If this the case, it’s should be all workers in supermarkets. As need delivery drivers to take the food etc to the supermarkets. Then supermarket workers that need to put the delivery onto the shelves!

Better still all supermarket workers should delete this app.

I didn’t download this app as Bluetooth doesn’t recognise flats.

Where have you got your information that the app doesn't work properly in flats?

Many people are saying this but have it just seems to be based on rumours and not understanding how the app actually functions. The app doesn't simply just look at all Bluetooth signals and determine them all as contacts it also looks at the signal strength and any signal going through a wall will be very measurably weaker.

Also why would you have the app on while at home? You simply need to turn it off when your home and back on when out just like you should when your phone isn't with you.

Plus if you did get a notification to isolate then you can legally ignore it. So no real reason to not have it and delete it.

Pollycat

Tokmon said:

Plus if you did get a notification to isolate then you can legally ignore it. So no real reason to not have it and delete it.

I thought there wasn't a legal requirement to isolate if you were pinged anyway? (although you are 'strongly advised to do so').

Pollycat said:

Whether you MUST self-isolate depends on how you're alerted

Exactly how you are contacted and told to self-isolate is key here. As Martin explains above, if you're pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app in England or Wales (or the equivalent apps in Scotland and Northern Ireland), it's not a legal requirement that you self-isolate, though you are still strongly encouraged to do so.

sweetgirl2015

Andy_L said:

There is, and never has been,  any legal requirement to isolate if pinged by the app

So what was the point of it then? I thought it was a legal requirement hence why the government created the furlough scheme.
It may aswell not exist if people dont obide by it. 
That said I just been pinged myself and faced with all sorts of problems. Mine being I deal with vunerable people, so surely I should follow the requirements, legal or otherwise? 

MattMattMattUK

sweetgirl2015 said:

Andy_L said:

There is, and never has been,  any legal requirement to isolate if pinged by the app

So what was the point of it then? I thought it was a legal requirement

To reduce the risk of spreading the virus, with the hope of voluntary compliance, rather than legislated compliance.

sweetgirl2015 said:
hence why the government created the furlough scheme.

The furlough scheme (CJRS) was not designed for Test and Trace, it was designed to protect jobs where the government had closed large parts of the economy.

sweetgirl2015 said:

It may aswell not exist if people dont obide by it. 

It may as well not exist if people do not abide by it, but many people do and will abide by it, reducing transmission even if by a small and unknown amount, hence it exists.

sweetgirl2015 said:

That said I just been pinged myself and faced with all sorts of problems. Mine being I deal with vunerable people, so surely I should follow the requirements, legal or otherwise? 

That depends, morally yes, if you deal with vulnerable people even more so, the legal requirements can be different to the moral imperative and it may also depend on other factors (such as for people like myself, who test daily, which is far more effective in reducing the spread than any form of "pinging" by the app).

Pollycat

sweetgirl2015 said:

Andy_L said:

There is, and never has been,  any legal requirement to isolate if pinged by the app

So what was the point of it then? I thought it was a legal requirement hence why the government created the furlough scheme.
It may aswell not exist if people dont obide by it. 
That said I just been pinged myself and faced with all sorts of problems. Mine being I deal with vunerable people, so surely I should follow the requirements, legal or otherwise? 

What is the bigger risk?

You actually having covid and passing it on to the people you are caring for?

Or those people you care for going without food because you are not there to prepare it?

Or trying to do something that you usually do for them and having an accident? Like leaving the gas on or standing on a chair to get something out of a cupboard?

Brie

MattMattMattUK said:

It may as well not exist if people do not abide by it, but many people do and will abide by it, reducing transmission even if by a small and unknown amount, hence it exists.

Thanks for this Matt - I was thinking what's the point of the app but more from the point of view that there's lots of us who don't have it.  In my case because my phone isn't bright enough for the new fanngled techo.  Hence I was working on the assumption that there should be some way to track all of us somehow.  But you are very right that even a flawed system (according to the news reports) is better than none if it reduces transmission a bit.   

I was in fact annoyed that the new and very expensive iPhone provided by my employer has provided also cannot have the app on it.  This is due to security issues and the fact that only approved business related apps can be added.  And the NHS one isn't.  I really think that my employer really dropped the ball on this one.  

briskbeats

Read that someone went to a cafe to collect a takeaway. They were in the cafe for 5 mins max. They got pinged. Checked the Bluetooth data and it was down for 7 hours! 

No idea how to check your Bluetooth history.