Boris says ‘critical’ food and water workers, electricians and train drivers can skip isolation

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Boris Johnson tonight gave a small number of ‘critical workers’ permission to skip Covid self-isolation as England struggles to cope with the pingdemic. 

People working in food production or the water supply, plus electricians, soldiers, train drivers and care home staff will join NHS medics in having special dispensation to ignore the NHS app if they are pinged.

Mr Johnson make the announcement as he chaired a press conference on his grand unlocking alone at Chequers after performing a comical U-turn from initially saying he and Rishi Sunak would dodge quarantine. He has tested negative for coronavirus so far and is not displaying symptoms, according to No10.

The lifting of almost all legal restrictions has been overshadowed by fears about spiking cases bringing the economy grinding to a halt, as more and more people are doomed to house arrest.  

Experts estimate around 1.7million people are still self-isolating after being ‘pinged’ by the NHS Covid app or contacted by Test and Trace.

Firms including Iceland and Greene King have warned of serious problems, with some companies having to reduce hours or shut sites completely because up to a quarter of staff are off – as scientists warn the situation could spiral as the UK faces up to 200,000 cases a day.  

The Road Haulage Association has warned of impending chaos in supply chains, with chief executive Rod Mackenzie telling the FT: ‘Far from freedom day being freedom day, it’s going to be disaster day.’

In a key concession today, frontline NHS workers will be let off the rules to prevent hospitals having to cancel operations because of staff shortages. 

And tonight Mr Johnson said: ‘As you know we will be moving on August 16th to a system of testing rather than isolation for those who are double vaccinated by which time of course we hope that the wall of immunity in our country will be even higher. 

‘And I want to assure you we will protect crucial services including the staffing of our hospitals and our care homes, the supplies of food, water, electricity, medicines, the running of our trains, the protection of our borders and the defence of our realm by making sure a small number, a very small number of named fully vaccinated critical workers are able to leave their isolation solely for the work I have described.’

But he confirmed that the rest of the country’s double-jabbed will not be exempted before August 16 – as well as making clear the sensitivity of the app will not be reduced. 

Boris Johnson said people had to accept that increasing numbers would be required to self-isolate ‘as a consequence of living with Covid’. 

‘Even if they have been vaccinated there is a significant risk that they can still pass the disease on,’ he said.

‘And so as we go forward I’m afraid that the continuing sacrifice of this large minority, those of us who have been asked to isolate, remains important to allow the rest of society to get back to something like normality.’ 

Iceland supermarket boss Richard Walker earlier accused the Government of ‘squandering the advantages’ of its successful vaccination programme by forcing double-jabbed people to self-isolate, adding: ‘We’re behaving like it’s the dark days of March 2020’.

Humphrey Cobbold, the CEO of PureGym, which has more than 1.1million members in 287 sites, said: ‘We’ve been talking internally about living in the United Pingdom and it’s become a huge challenge for individuals and businesses’, adding his staff are ‘being pinged all the time’. 

He added: ‘Up to 25 per cent of our staff in some areas have been asked to self-isolate. Through flexibility we’ve been able to keep sites open so far but it’s been a really close call. I think there is a different way to react to the pings for the double vaccinated and using lateral flow tests that would keep the economy functioning’. 

It came as: 

• Keir Starmer demanded Mr Johnson backtracks on lifting all legal restrictions saying he had got ‘virtually every big decision wrong’ and tens of thousands of lives have been ‘lost unnecessarily’. The Labour leader demanded an explanation for the ‘hypocritical’ initial effort to avoid self-isolation and branded the PM ‘chaotic and incompetent’;
• People in England emerge from lockdown today with the government’s final major easing of restrictions – but so called ‘Freedom Day’ came as daily cases hit 50,000 – a result of the rapidly spreading Delta variant – and rising hospitalisations;
• Critical frontline medical and social care staff will be able to avoid self-isolation to go to work from today if they are double-jabbed;
• London Mayor Sadiq Khan suggested the exemption from self-isolation for the double-jabbed should be brought forward from August 16; 
• Tony Blair said it makes ‘no sense’ for the vaccinated to be kept isolating when we are at such a critical juncture in the fight against the pandemic;
• RyanAir chief Michael O’Leary has advised people to ‘turn off’ the Covid app because it is ‘complete rubbish’;  
• Nightclubs across the country have thrown open their doors to celebrate the arrival of Freedom Day – but 73 per cent of clubbers had previously said they did not want to return as the nation tiptoes out of lockdown;
• Mr Zahawi suggested the government will confirm today that only vulnerable children will be vaccinated, although he said the situation would continue to be reviewed.  

Greene King pub boss Nick MacKenzie said: ‘It’s a problem and it could get worse. It is disruptive to the business. We had to close 33 pubs in the past week because of a lack of staff and across the industry we think it is one in 5 who have been affected by this and therefore it is causing us a real issue on a daily basis. We are having to have shorten hours in certain circumstances.’

He added: ‘We need clarity from government on how the app works and we need to move to a test and release scheme where people can take a lateral flow test every day and get back to work and some sort of normality’.

Mr Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak had announced yesterday they would take part in a pilot scheme to avoid quarantine.  

But amid widespread outrage from politicians, business leaders and the public they humiliatingly caved in within hours and revealed they would join the legions of people self-isolating – in the PM’s case Chequers until July 26, his country estate in Buckinghamshire.

They had faced accusations they were accessing a ‘VIP lane’ that was not available to workers who are having to isolate, bringing some businesses and public transport to the brink of collapse. 

The PM’s  official spokesman said he did not know ‘specifically’ when Mr Johnson discovered Health Secretary Sajid Javid had tested positive for coronavirus, after they held a face-to-face meeting on Friday afternoon.

The official also could not confirm what day or time Mr Johnson was contacted by NHS Test and Trace, merely insisting he was at Chequers at the time.

The spokesman refused to say whether Carrie Johnson is with her husband in Buckinghamshire as well but did reveal Mr Sunak is quarantining in his flat above 10 Downing Street.

‘We do abide by the regulations and ministers have been taking the requisite precautions,’ the spokesman said.

‘It is down to NHS Test and Trace to decide what constitutes a close contact – there are broad guidelines but they may take other things into account.

‘The Chancellor, Prime Minister and Health Secretary, as you would expect, have a number of meetings which can last more than an hour certainly, so obviously Test and Trace have taken that decision, but it is not for me to comment on how they came to that decision.’

Earlier, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi dismissed calls for the app to be made less sensitive.

‘I think the right thing to do is to continue to clinically advise people, with that sensitivity, that they have come into contact with people who have tested positive,’ he told Sky News.

‘The difference now so that we’ve got almost 88 per cent of people with one dose and 68 per cent of people with two doses, so we can take decisions like we’ve just done with NHS and social care staff, we can make decisions that on August 16 anyone who is double vaccinated doesn’t need to then isolate if they are pinged and don’t test positive for Covid.

‘Those changes are happening because of the vaccination programme.’

Mr Zahawi denied the Government has been taking the public for ‘fools’ after insisting the PM only ‘briefly considered’ entering a pilot scheme to avoid having to self-isolate before deciding to stick to the rules.

No10 put out a statement yesterday morning confirming that Mr Johnson would use the exemption, and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick defended the move on TV before a sudden U-turn.

Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘No-one is taking anyone for fools.

‘Every decision the Prime Minister has had to make throughout this pandemic has been a tough decision – there are no easy options here.’

Mr Zahawi confirmed that the Cabinet Office and No 10 will ‘no longer be on the pilot scheme’.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng acknowledged the number of workers being ‘pinged’ by the NHS Covid-19 app was the ‘single biggest issue’ being raised with him by company bosses.

He told LBC ‘I accept it’s a difficult situation’ but ‘there isn’t any movement on it’, and it would still be August 16 before there was a wider relaxation of the self-isolation requirement.

‘I said I would make representations in Government, I said I would try and see what could be done,’ he said.

‘We have taken a collective decision. There are lots of different views but we took a collective decision, I think this is the right decision.’

But Mr Khan said the August 16 date should be brought forward. 

‘My concern is that the government has not realised that because most of us have received two jabs, the consequences of being pinged are very different now than what they were a year ago, in the second wave,’ he told NBC.

‘We’ve asked the government to bring forward this not least because of which many of our essential services, public transport, the health sector, police and fire services are being adversely affected by test and trace when members of their staff have had both jabs, haven’t got the virus, but have been told to self-isolate. 

‘Additionally, there are many small businesses that have 10, 11, 12 staff, and four or five of those staff are being pinged and contacted by test and trace, and businesses can’t reopen. We’re asking the government if it is possible to bring that date forward.’ 

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said he would turn the NHS Covid app off because it was ‘complete rubbish’.

He told Sky News it was ‘pinging’ people who were double vaccinated and added: ‘I would turn it off, I think it’s complete rubbish.

‘You’re pinging people many of whom who are double jabbed.

‘There’s apps pinging all over the place, we don’t need that type of caution, I think, when 60 per cent-70 per cent of the adult population have been vaccinated.

‘I would switch off the app, I don’t think it has any effect any more.’

Mike Cherry of the Federation of Small Businesses questioned why a system to avoid self-isolation was open to politicians.

‘Small firms have been struggling to get across mixed messaging regarding the reopening for weeks now, and this is no different,’ he said.

‘Thousands of small businesses will now be left wondering why the testing pilot is only open to those at the top of government and a handful of big corporates and organisations but not them.’

The CBI said there was an urgent need ‘to allow double-jabbed individuals not to self-isolate if they have been informed by NHS Test and Trace that they have come into contact with a Covid positive individual’.

The British Retail Consortium called for pinged store staff to be able to continue to work if they had a negative test result.

James Bielby of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors said: ‘Food supply chain workers are key workers and, unlike Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak, their workplace doesn’t close down for the summer.

‘They’re needed not only to keep shelves and storerooms stocked, but also to drive the economic recovery of the hospitality sector which the Prime Minister and Chancellor are depending on.’

Writing in the Daily Mail, Tony Blair said the self-isolation system was ‘not rational’. Its chaotic results have led to hospitals postponing operations, factories cancelling shifts, disruption to rail services and fears of food shortages.

The boss of Marks and Spencer, Steve Rowe, warned a staff exodus could force the chain to reduce opening hours.

Meanwhile, Andrew Lloyd Webber said ‘freedom day has turned into closure day” following the cancellation of performances of his West End show Cinderella.

In a statement, the composer labelled the Government’s self-isolation rules as a ‘blunt instrument’ as he announced Monday’s performance of the musical would not go ahead.

Two installments of the musical at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre were previously axed on Saturday as a result of a positive coronavirus test among the production’s staff.

Lord Lloyd-Webber said that, although other members of the the cast had tested negative, the production could now not go ahead because of ‘the impossible conditions created by the blunt instrument that is the Government’s self-isolation guidance’.

‘We have been forced into a devastating decision which will affect the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of people and disappoint the thousands who have booked to see the show,’ he added.

‘Cinderella was ready to go.

‘My sadness for our cast and crew, our loyal audience and the industry I have been fighting for is impossible to put into words.’ 

From today fully vaccinated frontline NHS and social care workers who are a contact of a positive case will be allowed to work in exceptional circumstances.

They will have to take a PCR test and daily lateral flow tests for the duration of the period they would otherwise have been in isolation

The Adam Smith Institute yesterday estimated more than 1.7million people were isolating across the UK and warned the figure could reach 5.2 million in a month.

A senior Tory said: ‘They ought to have said last week that ‘We’re bringing the August 16 date [on easing the isolation rules] forward so that people who are double vaccinated and have a negative test can go out and do as they please’.

‘If they’d done that, the Prime Minister wouldn’t be having to self-isolate now.’

Mr Johnson yesterday admitted in a video posted from isolation at his official country residence Chequers that it was ‘far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules’.

And he begged for caution amid warnings from scientists that cases could reach 200,000 a day before the current wave of the virus peaks.

Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former adviser, suggested he had been ‘forced to U-turn’ on self-isolation by the Chancellor. Downing Street denied the claims, but came under friendly fire from insiders.

A well-placed source said: ‘This has been a classic shambolic situation where decisions are taken without being properly discussed or considered, so we just lurch from one plan to another.

‘I’m a little bit worried we’re just blindly walking into a very similar situation that saw the PM end up in hospital last year because people think they’re too important or invincible for the rules to apply.’

A senior Tory MP said: ‘It is appalling that such basic mistakes are being made which simply serve to send out the message of one rule for the public and another rule for us. They need to start looking at themselves rather than everyone else.’ 

Tory WhatsApp groups were abuzz with MPs sharing their frustration at the initial statement when it was ‘blindingly obvious that this was not going to be a sustainable position’. 

Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, told the Telegraph: ‘The rules proposed for after August 16 are sensible and reflect the reduced risk if fully vaccinated, but they need to be brought forward, along with altered app advice and sensitivity, to now.

‘We are going to have to learn to live with Covid, trust the public to balance the risks of life and believe in the evidence that continues to show how effective our vaccines are.’

Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the Prime Minister of being ‘magically selected’ for the pilot scheme so he could ‘avoid isolation like the rest of us’.

In a letter to Mr Johnson, Sir Keir wrote: ‘There are hundreds of thousands of people who have been forced to miss family events, close businesses and go without pay because they have done the right thing. And yet ministers have played the system.’

Defending Mr Johnson’s initial decision, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘The Chancellor and the Prime Minister will be able to conduct the most essential Government meetings but the rest of their time will have to be spent isolating and not meeting up with family or friends or socialising. So it is relatively restrictive.’

Addressing whether he would quarantine in a video put out this afternoon, Mr Johnson said: ‘We did look briefly into the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows people to test daily, but I think it’s far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules.

‘That’s why I’m going to be self-isolating until the 26th of July. I really do urge everybody to stick with the programme and take the appropriate course of action when you’re asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.’      

Mr Johnson faced condemnation this morning over the plan, which comes as tens of thousands of workers are forced to isolate by a Covid app ‘pingdemic’.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said: ‘The only reason that he’s U-turned on this is because he’s been busted. It’s like bank robbers who’ve got caught and now they’re offering the money back.’

In a snap poll carried out by market researcher Savanta ComRes, which surveyed 1,003 English adults, 60 per cent said the Prime Minister’s plan to dodge self-isolation was ‘unfair’.

In addition, 75 per cent (three quarters) agreed with the statement: ‘There is one rule for members of the government and another rule for everyone else.’  

Mr Johnson was already under pressure ahead of Freedom Day tomorrow. His plans for a triumphant end to more than six months of lockdown in England – including a ‘Churchillian’ speech were thrown into complete disarray as he found himself under attack from all sides of the political spectrum over surging virus cases and hundreds of thousands of workers being forced to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app. 

And one of the UK’s top epidemiologists has refused to rule out a new lockdown before Christmas today as Boris’s plans for a triumphant end to more than six months of in England tomorrow collapsed into complete disarray.

Prof Neil Ferguson said he ‘can’t be certain’ over whether the country will need to lock down again in the winter before Christmas.

But he admitted that in a worst-case scenario ‘there may be a need to basically slow spread to some extent’ to ease pressure on the NHS

But appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, he said that it was possible 2,000 people would be hospitalised a day, and 200,000 new daily cases, but it would be three weeks before the impact of Freedom Day tomorrow is known.  

Prof Ferguson said: ‘We’ll know it’s worked when case numbers plateau and start going down, we know then hospitalisations and deaths will take some more weeks.

‘The best projections suggest that could happen any time from, really, mid-August to mid-September. So, we will have to be patient.

‘It’ll also take us three weeks before we know the effect of Monday, of relaxing restrictions, and what that will do to case numbers. So, it’s going to be quite a period of time.’

It comes as Covid cases across the UK soared by 52 per cent week-on-week with the number of deaths has fallen slightly.

The UK yesterday recorded 48,161 Covid cases – up from the 31,772 cases recorded last Sunday. 

In his full video message, Mr Johnson said: ‘Like so many hundreds of thousands of other people across the country, I’ve been pinged.

‘I’ve been asked to self-isolate by the Test and Trace isolate system, after I’ve been in contact with someone who has Covid, in this case of course, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

‘And we did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows people to test daily.

‘But I think it is far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules. That’s why I’m going to be self-isolating until Monday, July 26.

‘I know how frustrating it all is but I really do urge everybody to stick with the programme and take the appropriate course of action when you’re asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.

‘The reason for that is we’re going tomorrow into step four, we’re doing a big opening up. 

‘And that’s quite right. If we don’t do it now, then we’ll be opening up in the Autumn and Winter months when the virus has the advantage of the cold weather. We lose the precious firebreak that we get with the school holidays. 

‘If we don’t do it now, we have to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it. So this is the right moment.

‘But we’ve got to do it cautiously. We’ve got to remember that this virus is sadly still out there. Cases are rising, we can see the extreme contagiousness of the Delta variant.

‘But we have this immense consolation and satisfaction that there is no doubt at all that the vaccine programme – the massive vaccination programme – has very severely weakened the link between infection and hospitalisation, and between infection and serious illness and death.

‘So please, please, please be cautious and go forward tomorrow into the next step with all the right prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present.

‘And above all, please, please, please, when you’re asked to get that second jab, get your jab, please come forward and do it.’

Pingdemic paralysis spreads: Marks and Spencer could shut early, rail services are axed, the post is hit, National Trust house closes, MOT bookings pile up and business close as millions go into Covid isolation

‘Pingdemic’ chaos is spreading across Britain today with more businesses announcing temporary closures and services facing delays due to the growing number of staff being told to self-isolate.

Rail users in the north of England and parts of Wales are being warned of delays – after a London tube line was closed entirely yesterday – due to a shortage of drivers.

Pubs, many of which are ramping-up staffing levels ahead of Monday’s ‘Freedom Day’, are temporarily closing due to staff being ordered into isolation by the NHS Covid-19 app. 

Hair salons, which are still recovering from months of lockdown, are also having to close, along with sports facilities.

Schools are also facing tough decisions on whether to move classes online close early for the summer due to rising numbers of teachers and staff in isolation. 

Royal Mail sorting offices have also been hit, while garden waste collections in some areas have been suspended to allow isolation-hampered councils to focus on waste bins.

Meanwhile, as temperatures soar to 86F in some parts of England, some tourist attractions are having to close due to a lack of staff. 

And today a warning was issued of a potential MOT backlog, with garages having to mass cancel bookings due to their mechanics being forced into isolation.

It comes as Transport for London (TfL) was yesterday forced to shut the Metropolitan tube line amid staff shortages.  

M&S bosses also warned last night that store hours may have to be cut with up to one in five supermarket staff forced into Covid isolation.

Today, services on Northern trains are being disrupted. Customers are being advised not to travel between Sheffield and Leeds via Moorthorpe, between Leeds and Doncaster, from Sheffield to Lincoln and between Sheffield and York because of delays.

They are also warning passengers of busier than usual services on coastal routes as Britons flock to the beach today with temperatures set to soar.

In an alert issued today:  ‘A number of front-line staff have either tested positive for COVID or having to self-isolate. 

‘Due to this, there will be a number of alterations on some Northern routes today.

‘In addition, Northern are also expecting busier services at popular leisure spots and routes out to the coast. 

‘Where possible, please try not to rely on the last service of the day.’

There are also reduced Transport of Wales services in the Cardiff area today due to a ‘shortage of train drivers’ – though the alert does not specifically say this is due to Covid isolation.

Meanwhile, more pubs are having to close due to a lack of staff. It comes as restrictions are set to be lifted tomorrow in what has been dubbed ‘Freedom Day’ in England.

One pub owner, Steve Lomas, who runs Suffolk-based pub chain Deben Inns, took to Twitter to share his frustration.

He said: ‘Nine staff pinged, nine negative tests over five days and there still unable to come out of isolation. Business closed. 

‘Surely this is preposterous and is certainly unsustainable?’ 

Meanwhile, in Kendal, a market town on the edge of the Lake District, a pub has been forced to shut after weeks of battling to stay open in the face of staff shortages. 

Bosses of The Duke and of Cumberland announced on their Facebook page last night: ‘We have got a number of staff off or self isolating and we’ve been trying to keep going over the last couple of weeks on reduced staffing levels. 

‘Unfortunately two more staff have had to go off today so we will have to close for a few days until the full team is back. 

‘We don’t want to let anybody down so have tried to stay open but at the same time we are struggling with only a few staff and we don’t want to give you a bad experience or long waits when you visit.’ 

O’Neills in Reading, meanwhile, has now closed following a Covid-19 outbreak.

The pub had a sign on its front door, which reads: ‘Unfortunately, following the return of positive Covid-19 tests within the team, and being instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, we are closing the pub for a short time as a precautionary measure.’

It adds: ‘We’re sorry for any disappointment this may cause, but we’d like to thank our guests and our team for their support shown and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.’

Also in Reading, residents were told this on Friday that they will not have their garden waste collected for at least the next two weeks after several staff from the council’s waste team were forced to self-isolate. 

Meanwhile, a salon in West Yorkshire announced it was having to close due to an outbreak. Empire Hair salon, near Halifax, said on Facebook: ‘ It’s took me a day to write this but I have had to close the doors for now at Empire.

‘We have one staff member isolating, one showing symptoms and awaiting results.

‘I felt for the safety of all our clients, and our staff I have decided to close our doors until we all have our tests results back, obviously hoping we won’t have to self isolate.’

Today the National Trust announced that one of its sites is having to close due to staff shortages caused by isolation.

Announcing a temporary close of Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire, the trust said: ‘Due partly to some staff self-isolating and awaiting results, mean the house will be temporarily closed on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July. 

‘The garden, woodland and tea room will remain open for visitors to enjoy. Thank you for your support.’  

Today teaching unions warned schools faced having to close early for the summer holidays due to a teacher shortage.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said headteachers faced a ‘grim situation’ in deciding whether to close up a week early because of the number of staff in isolation.

He told the Observer: ‘It is an absolutely grim situation and a depressing end to an academic year in which schools and colleges have been fighting to keep education running for their students despite waves of disruption caused by the pandemic.

‘Schools are remaining open until the end of term where possible but we are hearing more reports of some having to close because of Covid-related cases and absence among pupils and staff.’ 

It comes as Royal Mail warned earlier this week of postal delays in the Peterborough earlier this week due to staff having to self-isolate.  

A Royal Mail spokesperson told the Peterborough Telegraph: ‘A number of colleagues are self-isolating at the Orton Southgate Delivery Office following a positive case of COVID-19. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery.

‘This temporary impact on staffing levels may result in some disruption to services and we apologise to any impacted customers in advance. We are working hard to restore normal service levels as quickly as possible.’

There is also now concern about delays to MOT services due to garage staff having to self-isolate due to the NHS Covid-19 app.

Jonathan Barbera, founder of Parkers MOT said concerns over staff catching the illness was now the ‘biggest problem’ facing garages.   

Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: ‘It’s the biggest problem we’ve got so far. We’ve really tightened everything at work to try and avoid this.

‘The problem is if one of them gets pinged then everyone else who they have come into contact with will also need to go into isolation.’  

It comes as yesterday a London Tube line had to be suspended and two others partially closed due to a staff shortage triggered by workers being told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app. 

The Metropolitan Line was not running yesterday after control room staff received an alert from the app this morning telling them to stay at home.

Services on the Piccadilly and District line were also affected, with partial closures to last until at least 9pm yesterday.

It comes as industry bosses are warning that Britain faces food shortages with shops being closed early and bins not emptied for ten weeks if urgent action is not taken to address the so-called ‘pingdemic’.  

Richard Jones, London Underground’s head of network operations, said: ‘Due to a shortage of control room staff who are having to self-isolate following notification this morning via the Test and Trace app, there will be no service on the Metropolitan line for the rest of the day.

‘This will also impact the Piccadilly line with no service between South Harrow and Uxbridge and no service on the District line between High Street Kensington and Edgware.

‘Services are expected to resume on the Piccadilly and District lines at 9pm this evening.

‘We apologise to customers for the disruption. London Underground tickets will be accepted on local bus services.’ 

The suspension to Tube services comes after warnings to the Government over a ‘surge’ in workers and medics being forced into self-isolation over coronavirus contacts when most restrictions end in England on Monday.

Transport unions have said there will be ‘dire consequences’ next week when staff are ‘pinged’ as the level of infections rise.

It comes after Transport for London (TfL) had to scramble to find cover on the day of the Euro 2020 final, after a staff shortage due to workers being ‘pinged’ risked the Bakerloo line having to be suspended an hour before kick-off. 

Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch previously warned that Monday ‘will see a surge in workers pinged with a self-isolation instruction next week’.

‘Even at this late stage, the Government, the train operators and the bus companies should issue a clear, legally backed instruction that levels up the rest of the UK to the safety standards that will remain in force in Wales and Scotland,’ he said.

Elsewhere in the country, passengers were warned of alterations on some Northern routes this weekend due to a number of front-line staff either testing positive for Covid-19 or having to self-isolate.

According to the National Rail Enquiries website, trains may be cancelled in both directions on services connecting Huddersfield, Sheffield and Lincoln, Sheffield with Leeds, Retford and York and between Leeds and Doncaster.

Meanwhile, West Midlands Trains warned yesterday that the number of staff having to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace app had ‘quadrupled’ in recent weeks, leading to ‘trains being cancelled at short notice and fewer carriages being available on some services’.

The Metropolitan Line suspension in London today came as Wembley Stadium, near to Wembley Park station on the north-west section of the line, prepared to host thousands of fans for the rugby league Challenge Cup final at 3pm.

The station is also serviced by the Jubilee line which was still running, while Wembley Stadium and Wembley Central stations are also near the ground. 

It follows estimates which suggest the UK economy is expected to be hit by £4billion in losses after it reopens fully on Monday’s ‘Freedom Day’ because workers are being forced to stay at home after being told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app.

Marks and Spencer said it will be forced to reduce its opening hours and because of the sheer number of staff told to remain at home after coming into contact with an infected person. 

Staff shortages at ports and in the meat industry mean supermarket shelves could be left empty, with supply chains badly affected 

And Jeremy Hunt, the former Health Secretary, today claimed the app needs to be changed, adding that a quarter of junior doctors are currently in isolation.

Ministers have said the lifting of restrictions on Monday is likely to push daily infections to more than 100,000, which could force around half a million a day to self-isolate. 

Analysis by MailOnline suggests that in a worst-case scenario around six million adults could be in isolation by the end of the month. 

Britain’s daily infection toll breached 50,000 yesterday for the first time since January. Anyone who tests positive is told to self-isolate and has their contacts traced. 

But because the Bluetooth phone app ‘pings’ all those who have been in close contact with positive cases, the number of people self-isolating at home at any one time is far higher.

Unlike those people contacted by phone, it is not a legal requirement to self-isolate after being pinged by the app. But Downing Street today made it clear it expects people to do so. 

It raises the prospect of the economy grinding to a halt due to a chronic lack of available workers, even after the lockdown is supposed to have ended . 

Business leaders and trade unionists from across all sector of the economy lined up to warn the Government that a major rethink is needed, because the current situation is not sustainable. 

A fifth of all private sector workers are currently having to self-isolate, according to industrial analysis. 

‘Professor Lockdown’ says Britain might have to shut down again in months – but urges the nation to be ‘patient’ and wait to see if cases start falling by September or stay high in a ‘worst-case scenario’

• Boris Johnson had planned a major speech to celebrate the lifting of Covid rules in England tomorrow
• But it was scrapped as Number 10 became anxious after Covid-19 infections continued to rise rapidly 
• Yesterday, the number of daily cases hit 54,674, with 740 patients hospitalised in growing crisis
• Hundreds of thousands of people are also off work because they have been pinged by NHS Covid app 
• Pingdemic closed part of the London Underground yesterday and raised concerns about food supplies 

One of the UK’s top epidemiologists refused to rule out a new lockdown before Christmas today as Boris Johnson‘s plans for a triumphant end to more than six months of lockdown in England tomorrow collapsed into complete disarray.

Prof Neil Ferguson said he ‘can’t be certain’ over whether the country will need to lock down again in the winter before Christmas.

But he admitted that in a worst-case scenario ‘there may be a need to basically slow spread to some extent’ to ease pressure on the NHS

But appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, he said that it was possible 2,000 people would be hospitalised a day, and 200,000 new daily cases, but it would be three weeks before the impact of Freedom Day tomorrow is known.  

Prof Ferguson said: ‘We’ll know it’s worked when case numbers plateau and start going down, we know then hospitalisations and deaths will take some more weeks.

‘The best projections suggest that could happen any time from, really, mid-August to mid-September. So, we will have to be patient.

‘It’ll also take us three weeks before we know the effect of Monday, of relaxing restrictions, and what that will do to case numbers. So, it’s going to be quite a period of time.’

It came as the Prime Minister found himself under attack from all sides of the political spectrum amid surging virus cases and hundreds of thousands being forced to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app.

Former prime minister Tony Blair led calls today for the quarantine rules to be axed for the fully vaccinated immediately as firms warned of imminent closures to factories, potentially affecting food supplies. 

Meanwhile public transport has also been hit, with parts of the London Underground forced to shut yesterday due to a lack of staff.

But at the same time leading public health officials from across the UK warned that tomorrow’s great unlocking in England – while other home nations take more cautious routes from lockdown – risked ‘letting Covid rip’.

The Mail on Sunday today revealed that Mr Johnson cancelled plans for a Churchillian launch of Freedom Day after No 10 became alarmed by the surge in the number of infections. 

Officials had discussed marking the lifting of Covid restrictions with a rousing speech by the Prime Minister at an historic venue associated with the wartime leader – until scientific advisers took fright at the recent climb in cases.

Mr Johnson has abandoned his previously bullish attitude to tomorrow’s ditching of most restrictions – including social distancing and legal limits on gatherings – and is no longer referring to the moment as ‘irreversible’.

Sage adviser Dr Neil Ferguson today admitted that the UK could hit 2,000 daily hospitalisations and 200,000 daily infections, which would put pressure on the NHS. He confirmed he would continue to wear a mask into the autumn, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday described the situation as ‘very serious’, and raised the prospect of another lockdown this autumn. 

Mr Hunt, who is now chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, said that if cases were still rising in September, ‘I think we are going to have to reconsider’.

He added the NHS dashboard’s warning light ‘is not flashing amber, it is flashing red’, although he admitted he was hopeful that enough people have had either the virus or vaccine for the country to be approaching herd immunity. 

A Government source said: ‘The plan had been for Boris to effectively declare victory over the virus by summoning the spirit of Churchill, with appropriately stirring rhetoric. That no longer feels appropriate.’

Despite the relaxation in rules, the official guidelines still advise that facemasks should be worn in enclosed spaces such as shops and on public transport, while pubs and bars should be table service only.

Mr Johnson published a biography of Churchill, writing that ‘he alone saved our civilisation’.

Critics detected an attempt to draw parallels with his predecessor when the Prime Minister described him as ‘a thoroughgoing genius’ although ‘there were too many Tories who thought of him as an unprincipled opportunist’.

On Friday, the UK recorded more than 50,000 daily cases of Covid for the first time since mid-January and that tally is soon expected to pass the previous peak of 68,000.

Yesterday, the number of daily cases hit 54,674, with 740 patients admitted to hospital and 41 deaths.

But vaccination rates are slowing, with 67,956 people having their first dose on Friday, and 188,976 their second: daily rates were running well below the level at the height of the rollout.

The total number of people who have had both doses across the UK is now more than 35.7 million – just under 68 per cent of adults. 

Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said he thought the current wave ‘will be quite long and drawn out… my hunch is that we are looking at a high level of incidence for a protracted period right through the summer and probably much of the autumn’.

He added that with infections doubling every two weeks, the number of cases could soon reach 100,000 a day – something which he ascribed to the number of young people still unvaccinated.

Underlining the risks involved in the unlocking, Sajid Javid revealed on Saturday that he had tested positive for Covid and was self-isolating – describing his symptoms as ‘mild’ and saying he has been double-jabbed.

Even as fellow MPs rushed to wish him well, alarm bells started ringing over a ‘pingdemic’ at the heart of government – with ‘close contacts’ of the health secretary potentially forced into 10-day home isolation.

The Health Secretary had visited the Commons and Downing Street in previous days – and is understood to have held a lengthy face-to-face meeting with Boris Johnson just before his symptoms developed – sparking concerns that senior figures across Whitehall would have to be confined to home.

One insider warned that ‘half the Cabinet’ could be in isolation by the end of the week.

After feeling ‘a bit groggy’ on Friday night, Mr Javid – who has been double-jabbed – took a lateral flow test yesterday. When it came back positive, he began self-isolating with his family pending the results of a more reliable PCR test.

He said his symptoms were ‘mild’ but there were immediate concerns over those he had been in contact with, including Ministers and senior civil servants.

Downing Street last night said that if Mr Javid’s PCR test came back positive, those he had been close to him would be traced.

The Health Secretary was pictured leaving No 10 on Friday, shortly before he began to feel unwell, and earlier in the week he had visited vulnerable people in a care home.

Schools, hospitals, transport services and factories have been decimated by staff shortages caused by the ‘pingdemic’ of notifications on the NHS Covid app.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been told they have been close to someone who has tested positive so must self-isolate, while others have been contacted by Test and Trace call centres.

Unlike most ordinary members of the public, however, many Whitehall officials and Ministers have been able to carry on visiting their offices if they take a daily test. 

They include Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, who was ‘pinged’ in May when he flew out to Porto to watch the Champions League football final but was able to avoid self-isolation by entering a ‘research programme’ called the Daily Contact Testing Study.

The Whitehall scare – just hours before the so-called Freedom Day relaxation of Covid measures tomorrow – came as industry chiefs warned of food shortages and unemptied bins if urgent action was not taken to address the sensitivity of the app.

One London Underground line closed yesterday when control room staff were forced to self-isolate, and teaching unions said there had been reports of children being taken out of school because parents were scared of losing family holidays if they were ‘pinged’.

Social distancing, working from home, masks in shops and on public transport: What WILL and what WON’T change as Freedom Day arrives

People in England will today emerge from lockdown with the government’s final major easing of restrictions – but so called ‘Freedom Day’ has come come with a note of caution.

Just over four months after setting off on the government’s roadmap, last week Boris Johnson confirmed that the country could finally make its much-awaited last step towards freedom on Monday, July 19.

‘We think now is the right moment to proceed’ he said in press conference statement, before warning: ‘It is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution.’

For the much-touted end to face masks and scrapping of social distancing has given way under reports of over 50,000 new Covid cases a day – a result of the rapidly spreading Delta variant – and rising hospitalisations.

While the law may be changing, as the Mail will highlight here, the government, other public bodies and businesses have started issuing strong guidance for people who are travelling, shopping or out socialising.

The Prime Minister’s tone has also changed, and he no longer says ‘cautious, but irreversible’ when referring to unlocking the country, with fears of a return of restrictions in the autumn.

Mr Johnson will not even be out celebrating ‘Freedom Day’ or making his previously planned Churchillian speech – he is having to isolate after being pinged due to his contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who recently tested positive for Covid.

The revelation about Mr Johnson being collared by Test and Trace has sent alarm bells ringing over a ‘pingdemic’ at the heart of government and beyond – a huge dampener to what was meant to be a celebratory end of a hard slog.

Here, the Mail looks at the rules that are changing today and what guidance has been issued to replace it in some areas:

FACE MASKS

Legal rules mandating the wearing of face masks will be axed.

However, despite ministers previously saying they want to ditch coverings as soon as they are voluntary, guidance will state that they are ‘expected and recommended’ in crowded spaces.

Guidance published last night said: ‘Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.’ 

London‘s Mayor Sadiq Khan has broken rank to ordered they be kept compulsory on the Tube, buses and taxis. He was backed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who said he had ‘expected’ operators to put in place ‘conditions of carriage’ to ensure that passengers were safe on public transport.

Regional leaders such as Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have also said the restrictions would stay on transport in his city.

Private companies will be allowed to make them a requirement for entry, as Ryanair has already announced on its flights.

An ONS survey this week found that nearly two thirds of adults will continue to wear masks in shops and on public transport.

GOING TO PUBS

It will no longer be a legal requirement to scan a QR code on entry to a venue as part of the test and trace system. However, venues will be allowed to make use of the codes a requirement for entry if they choose.

It will also no longer be a legal requirement for pubs to require customers to order drinks at their tables.

However, some pub chains may continue this – meaning that people will still not be able to go to the bar if an individual pub bans it.

SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES

The one-metre rule will be scrapped in law – meaning fewer Perspex screens in offices.

It also means hospitality businesses like pubs and restaurants won’t have to limit customers to ensure they are spaced apart. 

But people are now being strongly advised to ‘minimise the number, proximity and duration of social contacts’.

Chris Whitty even suggested that people should avoid ‘unnecessary meetings’ – and said everyone should continue to abide by ‘hands, face, space’.

However, the one-metre rule will continue to be enforced at borders, such as in airports, amid concern over people coming into the country with variants. 

SELF-ISOLATION RULES

There had been hopes that the requirement for the double-jabbed to self-isolate for up to 10 days when they are ‘pinged’ for coming in contact with a positive case would be dropped from July 19.

However, that date was pushed back to August 16 by Health Secretary Sajid Javid amid concerns about fueling rising infection numbers.

The rules on self-isolation for those who have not had two doses are staying in place for the time being.

However, officials are working on ways of making the NHS app less sensitive to avoid millions of people being doomed to house arrest.

And ministers have said work is ongoing on a system of daily testing that could potentially replace the self-isolation regime.   

WORKING FROM HOME

The Government’s ‘work from home’ message will end and employers will be able to start to plan a return to workplaces, some having been empty since last March.

But the decision of course is still be up to individual employers.

Some may decide to continue with working from home for the foreseeable future, although city centre businesses such as cafes and retail have been hugely affected by the lack of office workers.

Government advice will also be that any return to offices should be ‘gradual’ over the summer while cases are high. 

The guidance states: ‘Whilst government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, government would expect and recommend a gradual return over the summer.’ 

Although guidance to employers will be slimmed down, it will still encourage them to ensure rooms are properly ventilated to minimise risk.

CAP ON CARE HOME VISITS

The current restriction that people can only be seen by five named visitors will be scrapped.

But strict infection-control measures – such as the wearing of PPE and regular cleaning – will continue, with more detail to be announced later. 

COVID PASSPORTS

Covid status certification – so-called vaccine passports – will not be legally required within England.

It is being left up to individual venues to decide themselves whether to demand Covid status certification through the NHS App as a condition of entry.

The government is ‘encouraging’ the use of Covid certification for large events. 

Owners of busy indoor venues such as nightclubs and busy city-centre bars have been told to consider bringing in the passports.

The government will ‘encourage’ businesses and large events to use the NHS Covid Pass in ‘high risk settings’ – that is, where people are likely to be in ‘close proximity to others outside their household’.

Few details have been given, but the guidance could cover theatres, cinemas, indoor concerts and exhibitions. The government many consider mandating certification in certain venues at a later date. 

TRAVEL 

A new system to allow double-jabbed people to avoid quarantine after returning from amber-list countries will come into force from July 19 – with one big exception. 

A government U-turn announced on Friday night now means that even vaccinated Brits returning from France will have to quarantine – sparking fury as families were forced to cancel trips to France at the last-minute. 

RULE OF SIX

There will be no legal limits on social contact, meaning groups will not have to limit themselves to six people or two households if they are mixing indoors. 

Groups outdoors can be as large as people want them to be.

WEDDING AND FUNERAL CAP

The limits on attendance at weddings, funerals and other major life events are being scrapped.

ART AND SPORT VENUE LIMITS

There will be no more restrictions on the size of an audience at a concert or a show, or a crowd at a sports fixture, which means theatres and stadiums can run at full capacity.

NIGHTCLUBS

All other legal requirements for venues to close will be lifted, allowing night-time industries – including nightclubs – to reopen for the first time since the pandemic began.

SINGING CURBS

No restrictions on singing, or even guidance to restrict it. It means singing by church choirs can continue – as can karaoke nights.