COVID-19: Business Secretary Says Government “Very Concerned” As Over 600,000 Responded In One Week | UK News

A record 618,903 people in England and Wales have been slashed by the NHS COVID-19 app in a week, according to the latest figures.

Alerts were sent to app users in the week leading up to July 14, telling them that they had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and needed to self-isolate.

Of these, 607,486 alerts were sent to people in England – up 16.8% on the 520,194 registered for England in the previous week.

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Around 428,000 additional people were contacted by NHS Test and Trace contact tracers in England and were invited to
self-isolate in the week to July 14, according to the latest figures – about 90% of the 475,465 people identified as close contacts of COVID cases.

It came after 259,265 people tested positive for COVID-19 in England at least once during the same period, up 33% from the previous week.

This is the first set of numbers since the majority of restrictions have been lifted in England Monday.

Many experts have predicted that easing regulations could lead to an increase in cases as the virus spreads quickly through the unvaccinated population, which currently stands at 12% of adults and almost all the children in England.

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On Tuesday it was revealed that over a million children in England were out of school last week for reasons related to the coronavirus.

While nearly seven in 10 adults enjoy the protection of two jabs, currently all must self-isolate if requested by the NHS Test and Trace.

And Tuesday, Downing Street said it was “crucial” for people to isolate themselves when they are pinged by the NHS COVID app.

Speaking to Business Secretary Kay Burley Thursday Kwasi Kwarteng said the government was “very concerned” on the number of people surveyed by the NHS app.

Mr …