More than half a million alerts were sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England in the space of a week.

A total of 520,194 notifications were sent in the week to July 7, telling people they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.

This is up from 356,677 the previous week – a jump of 46% – and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.

This morning Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the Government is ‘concerned’ about the number of people off work after receiving the dreaded ‘ping’.

Some companies have reported missing 20% of their staff as a result of the system.

Jenrick told LBC radio: ‘It is important that we have the app, that we take it seriously, that when we do get those messages we act accordingly.

‘But we are going to give further thought to how we can ensure it is a proportionate response.’

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