London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the 'pingdemic' is harming London's hospitality sector. AP
London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the 'pingdemic' is harming London's hospitality sector. AP
London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the 'pingdemic' is harming London's hospitality sector. AP
London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the 'pingdemic' is harming London's hospitality sector. AP

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urges Boris Johnson to end 'pingdemic' chaos


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Coronavirus — live updates

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday asking for a change in Covid-19 rules so those who are fully vaccinated can avoid self-isolation by taking a PCR test.

His plea came with businesses across the British capital struggling to contend with debilitating staff shortages as a consequence of the so-called “pingdemic".

Last week, a record 618,903 people in England and Wales were instructed to self-isolate by the UK's National Health Service Covid-19 app.

The spate of pings is being sparked by increasing case numbers in the UK, with daily infections for more than a week now consistently topping 40,000.


Writing on behalf of the London Covid Business Forum, Mr Khan cited “the continuing mixed messages from ministers around self-isolation” and the harmful effect it was having on the capital's businesses.

“Many hospitality businesses, such as pubs and restaurants, are already struggling with staff shortages,” he wrote.

“These shortages have been exacerbated, in some cases leading to temporary closure, by large numbers of employees being simultaneously advised to isolate by the NHS Covid app.”

He expressed concerns that closures in the “crucial summer months” would jeopardise the long-term prospects of these businesses before outlining his proposed solution.

“We are therefore calling on you to ensure that the necessary testing is in place to enable people who have been double vaccinated for longer than two weeks and pinged by the NHS Covid app to immediately return to work, following a negative PCR test, rather than having to self-isolate.

“It is vital that both employers and employees retain faith in the NHS Covid app to help prevent the spread of the virus and further damage to London’s economy, and that is why we hope you will give urgent consideration to our request.”

Mr Khan is not a lone voice in opposition to current protocols around self-isolating following an alert, with some going further and suggesting the app should be scrapped altogether.

“People working in the NHS have been told to delete it … I don't think the app saying someone might have passed [you] by in a supermarket is actually that useful any more,” Prof Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King's College, London, told Sky News.

“Employers have got to use common sense in this. It seems to be overkill.”

Mr Johnson, himself currently isolating, has urged the public to continue to self-isolate if pinged but confirmed that from August 16, the system would change to contact testing and not contact isolation.

SERIES SCHEDULE

First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6

Scoreline

Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'

Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'

Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

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8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series

Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen​​​​​​​
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg​​​​​​​
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg

Updated: July 23, 2021, 7:31 PM`