More than 1,000 Peterborough people pinged by NHS COVID app for fifth week in a row as ‘pingdemic’ hits city hard

More than 1,000 people have been ‘pinged’ in Peterborough by the NHS COVID app in the past week for the fifth week in a row.
By Stephen Briggs
Published 12th Aug 2021, 11:33 BST
Updated 12th Aug 2021, 13:21 BST
People all over Peterborough are being 'pinged' by the test and trace appPeople all over Peterborough are being 'pinged' by the test and trace app
People all over Peterborough are being 'pinged' by the test and trace app

A total of 1,457 people were sent a notification from the app in the seven days up to August 4 - up two from the previous seven days.

The figure is down from the record 1,960 people pinged in the week up to July 21, but it is the second highest number recorded in the past six months.

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A hospital meeting held in Peterborough this week showed the impact the ‘pingdemic’ was having there, with staff needing to take time off to isolate.

Postal services and bin collections have also been disrupted as people have had to isolate.

COVID cases are continuing to rise in Peterborough, with the case rate in the city currently standing at 441.2 per 100,000 people - the highest number since January.

Vaccination rates remain low, and there have been five COVID deaths (within 28 days of a positive test) in the city since July 20. Before then, the last death was in April.

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