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One of the scientists behind the NHS Covid app urges people not to delete it in an attempt to avoid pings, as he calls for the Government to rid the self-isolation requirement.

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Professor Chrisophe Fraser developed the NHS Covid app as a measure reducing the number of growing cases and hospitalisations in the United Kingdom.

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However, with the recent rise of people deleting the app, he is now urging people not to remove it, rather requesting Boris Johnson to axe the self-isolation period for those with both vaccinations.

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In recent weeks over 10 million individuals have been forced to quarantine, with 327,635 cases over the last seven days.

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The rules are set to change on August 16 when the Government allows for anyone with both jabs to avoid self-isolation after being pinged.

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Although, Ministers and Business Chiefs are now advising Boris Johnson to bring the exit stage forward in wake of the ‘pingdemic’ app chaos.

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Chrisophe himself said “Like many people, I am enjoying more freedom and would be annoyed to now have to self-isolate.”

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“But deleting the app is not a good move. As one of the scientists who designed it, I can tell you that the app does work and is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.”

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Continuing, he added “Our research showed that over the winter period, use of the app helped reduce the size of the epidemic by roughly 14% to 24%.

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“And it is still working now, preventing new cases and hospitalisations every day.”

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A recent survey by YouGov revealed on average 1 in 10 users removed the app from their phones and a third of these admitted to disabling the Bluetooth contact tracing function entirely.

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Finally, Professor Fraser warned “Deleting the app now might allow you to go away on holiday next week but if too many people choose to do that we could imperil future holidays for all of us.”

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If you do get pinged by the NHS Covid app, it is advised for you to self-isolate and take a test, but is not a legal requirement.

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If you're a healthcare professional, including nurses, the Government is considering the possibility of excluding key workers from the self-isolation period all together to deal with concerns over staff shortages.

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For more information on Covid and the precautions to take against it, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

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