Record number of people 'pinged' by Covid app - with thousands notified in Yorkshire cities

In total, 689,313 alerts were sent to people across England and Wales to tell them that they had been in close contact with somebody who had tested positive for coronavirus in the seven days to July 21.

The latest data from the NHS shows an 11 per cent increase in the alerts since the previous week, when 619,733 pings were sent. The numbers do not cover the whole of the first week of restrictions being lifted across England, which happened on July 19.

Yorkshire cities recorded a high number of alerts, with 8,626 in Leeds and another 6,959 in Sheffield. The figures were lower in York and Bradford which recorded 3,069 and 3,335 pings respectively.

Meanwhile, a new survey published yesterday suggested one in four young adults who tests positive no longer follows the rules for self-isolating.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said 75 per cent of respondents aged between 18 and 34 said they fully adhered to the isolation requirements for the entire 10-day period after testing positive for coronavirus.

This was “statistically significantly” lower than the percentage of 35 to 54-year-olds who said they followed the rules, according to the ONS, whose figures are based on responses collected from adults in England between July 5 and 10.

While there is a legal duty in England for people to self-isolate if they test positive or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace, this does not extend to notifications via the app, although the Government strongly advises people to do so.