How to deal with the ‘ping’demic

How to deal with the ‘ping’demic

The buzzword that is being used by many in the media and political arena at present is “ping”demic. Here’s what it means, and the rules around it to help you deal with the pingdemic.

What is the ‘pingdemic’?

The phrase is a play on words made up of the terms “pandemic” and “ping”. It refers to being notified by the NHS Covid-19 app on your phone.

When you are “pinged” by the app on your mobile device, you are advised to self-isolate for a set amount of time. The notification is sent after the app registers that you have been close contact with someone who has tested positive with Covid-19.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of people being “pinged” by the app in the last few weeks, causing problems for some industries who have staff that have to self-isolate and stay at home.

When are you legally required to self isolate?

An individual must self-isolate under the regulations when

• they receive a notification (including results of tests) from a relevant person that they have tested positive for covid or
  • a child for whom they are responsible has, or
  • they receive a notification from a relevant person that they or their child for whom they are responsible have had close contact with someone who has tested positive for covid, or
  • they have travelled from a location (country) that requires them to self-isolate

“relevant person” means—

1.  the Secretary of State,
   1. a person who is employed or engaged for the purposes of the health service (within the meaning of section 275 of the National Health Service Act 2006) in communicable disease control, or
   1. a person employed or engaged by a local authority in communicable disease control;
   1. It does not include notification by means of the NHS Covid 19 smartphone app.

If you know that a worker has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, (of other relevant persons) you must not allow them to come into work or work anywhere other than where they are self-isolating (usually, their home) for their full self-isolation period. Failure to do so could result in your firm facing a fine, starting from £1,000.

Can isolation end early with a negative test?

You still need to self-isolate for 10 full days if you get a negative test result and:

• someone you live with has tested positive
  • you’ve been told by a relevant person to self-isolate because you’ve been in close contact with someone who tested positive
  • you had a PCR test (a test that is sent to a lab) because you had a positive rapid lateral flow test, and there were more than 2 days between the tests (England only)

What about  the COVID App?

The NHS have explained that the app pings those who have been in ‘close contact’ with a positive-testing person: ‘Close contact is based on an algorithm, but generally means you’ve been within 2 metres of someone with coronavirus for 15 minutes or more.’  The app alert is advisory only and not enforceable by law, unlike a phone call from the Test and Trace team.

Several members of the government have encouraged all members of the public and the GGF to self isolate when ‘pinged’ by the app however the app is guidance and not a legal requirment.

Therefore, organisations can take a risk based approach to deal with the app ‘pinging’ staff to isolate. Thing to consider when taking this approach.

• How do you stop an employee coming to work with COVID? You could deal with this by;
  • Regular testing of staff
  • Once ‘pinged’ staff isolate until results confirmed by a PCR test, if negative end isolation
  • Evidence of negative test of staff returning from isolation
• Ensuring that COVID risk mitigations are in place and affective, these could be;
  • Managing social distancing
  • Increasing ventilation
  • High standards of personal hygiene
  • High standards of cleaning and hygiene on site
  • Face coverings when social distancing is not possible

Remember that whilst the legal requirement in England have been removed and some measures in other parts of the UK and Ireland have been relaxed that employers still have a duty to manage the risks of COVID by taking reasonable and practical steps to ensure employees and other that are connected to your operations are not affected.