Relaxation of 'pingdemic' rules is welcomed by businesses in Leeds which have been crippled by the work of an app

Prior to today, if you had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, and alerted by NHS Test and Trace by text you had to self-isolate for 10 days and were legally required to do so, facing a fine with a starting point of £1000 if you didn’t.

Across the country it has seen more than 14m people at some point being told to stay at home, and in Leeds, the ruling has caused disruption across the board from supermarket supply chains, to bars and restaurants closing or operating at limited capacity - and even rehearsals for nationwide dance performances being stopped.

However, from today (Monday) fully vaccinated people in England, and those aged 18 or under, will no longer be legally required to self-isolate after contact with a positive Covid case. They will instead be advised to take a PCR test and only have to isolate if it comes back positive.

While it still poses a problem for businesses, such as bars whose staff are not in the cohort for second vaccinations, it is a “step in the right direction” said Martin Greenhow, the managing director of MOJO Bar which has branches in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham and Harrogate.

All the branches have been affected by staff shortages caused by isolation requirements despite the affected staff testing negative.

He said: “I hope that this has a beneficial impact on us but a lot are not in a position to be double vaccinated because of their age. It is not easy but any step in that direction is very welcome.

“Personally, I think we need to get to a point where we can have test and release. If they have proved negative they can go back to work. The economy and society requires that and needs it.

“At MOJO Leeds we have on multiple occasions had to curtail opening hours. When we have people isolating, we look at the rota where the busy spots are to make sure we are accommodating this. It means we don’t open as early, or on a quiet night close early. I absolutely loathe doing that. If we decide these are our opening times, that is a promise to guests if we say we are open at 5pm, we are open and there will be a welcoming smile and they can get a drink.

"We had this numerous times in MOJO Leeds, and Harrogate is in that situation at the moment, last week more than 50 per cent of staff were isolating and we had to bring staff from Liverpool and put them up in a hotel - these are extra costs because in hospitality, we are not swimming in money.”

He said: “We have to be hyper sensitive to the demands we are placing on staff. They are very difficult to come by at the moment, particularly those that are of a high standard. We don’t want to burn anybody out, plus they have their own personal and social lives. It is not just about guest services but looking after staff and making sure they are okay. It is a nightmare at the moment.

“Take that down the supply chain, we are struggling to get deliveries because they can’t keep warehouse staff and drivers on the rota. The problems go further back in production, we are seeing products disappear off shelves and literally we have on occasions in different bars taken to very quick raids of Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s just to get stock.”

At Mumtaz in Leeds, they have been beset by problems ever since they were allowed to reopen on May 17. Staff had left as they needed to secure work elsewhere and the business was “crippled with debt” dealing with rent, service charges and utility bills. There was also trying to strike a balance between public reaction and COVID safety and this, says business manager Asad Arif, was before the ‘pingdemic’ even started.

With a fully booked restaurant and a wedding party, a staff member who had been pinged couldn’t work and it started a domino effect on staff, to the point where the restaurant had to cancel bookings.

He said: “The staff dropped like flies. It was accepted at least every other day a staff member would be off. We had to recruit more but where do you get new staff when there is such a shortage. One Saturday night we had to message 20 tables to ask them to cancel. The whole situation was difficult to manage when we pride ourselves on service and experience.

“Given the news pinging will be relaxed from Monday it will simply remove one area of stress and help with the operation of the restaurant and the recovery of the financial damage from COVID.

“We do not intend to be relaxed about COVID and will reserve our opinion on the value and benefit of the pinging app.

“We simply need stability and knowledge our fate is in our hands and not a ping of an app.”

Mr Arif added that the relaxation will allow management and staff to feel less stressed about planning operations and knowing they will not be losing income because they have been told to stay at home for ten days and can’t work.

The new ruling is welcomed by business leaders in Leeds who, despite calling for the public to remain vigilant, say it is necessary for stability, reassurance and economic growth.

Mike Cartwright is a policy and representation executive for the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “The recent ‘pingdemic’ added additional stress to an already difficult situation for businesses in some of the worst-hit sectors, so the latest changes to be introduced today should help to ease that stress.

“Self-isolation is playing an important part in helping to bring the virus under control but we welcome the change being introduced today. It will give businesses some reassurance and stability as they continue to get back on their feet following the massive disruptions of the last 18 months.

“It's still important that we don’t get too carried away with the recent relaxations, and that we all – businesses, their customers and the wider public – remain vigilant and cautious to help protect ourselves and each other for some time to come; but it’s also necessary to retain and create jobs to help drive economic growth and return to normality.”