Ministers are forced into another change of plan as thousands of lorry drivers, police officers and firefighters will be exempt from isolation rules
- Ministers were warned last night hotels and restaurants face summer of closures
- Staff at hundreds of lorry depots, police and stations can have daily tests
- A total of 2,000 testing sites could be rolled out over the next few weeks
Ministers were forced into another climbdown last night as they announced thousands of lorry drivers, police officers and firefighters will be exempted from isolation rules.
As the backlash over the pingdemic crisis intensified, the government promised more testing sites at key workplaces to ease the chaos.
Staff at hundreds of lorry depots, police and fire stations will be able to have daily tests as an alternative to isolating if they get pinged.
Ministers had already announced plans to set up 500 testing sites at factories, warehouses and distribution centres involved in supplying food to supermarkets.
Ministers were forced into another climbdown last night as they announced thousands of lorry drivers, police officers and firefighters will be exempted from isolation rules
A total of 2,000 testing sites could be rolled out in the next few weeks across all industries.
The government has also agreed a list of 16 critical sectors – including defence, energy and border control – where workplaces can apply for individual workers to be exempt from isolation rules.
But ministers were warned last night that hotels and restaurants face a summer of closures after hospitality workers were not included.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘It is disappointing that the government has drawn the list of roles so tightly and left hospitality and the rest of the economy to face the consequences.
‘We now face a summer of venue closures and reduced service, when we should be at a seasonal peak. The sector will do all it can to provide great service, but it will be with one hand tied behind our back.’
Supermarket bosses also warned that there was no point in exemptions for their suppliers if there was no one to put food on the shelves because shop staff are excluded from the emergency measures.
Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland, said: ‘We’re deeply disappointed to see supermarket store workers omitted from the list.
‘The food supply chain only works if teams are in place to support at each stage – there’s no point in fixing the manufacturing and logistics issues if there is no one to put products on the shelves, serve customers at the till and deliver to their homes.
‘We continue to encourage customers to avoid panic buying which will only create further disruption, but the Government needs to take urgent action to include our critical store colleagues in the exemption list, so they can continue in their heroic efforts to feed the nation.’
The Confederation of British Industry said the list of sectors would need to be expanded within days. Policy director John Foster said: ‘This exemption list will help some of our critical sectors to keep moving but it will rapidly become significantly challenged.
‘The idea of potentially thousands of businesses emailing Whitehall officials to request approval for individuals to go to work is undeliverable let alone undesirable.
‘The list is slim, missing out many businesses in the supply chains that will be crucial to the running of these key industries, so will need to be significantly expanded within days.’
It is understood ministers and officials could announce further changes within days. A government source last night said: ‘The exemptions that have been put in place are not set in stone and are definitely moveable.’
But another warned ‘challenges around testing capacity’ were hampering moves to help more people having to isolate.
The government last night clarified that rubbish collectors can qualify for exemption from quarantining.
Authorities in Bath and North East Somerset, Stoke-on-Trent, Oxfordshire and Harrogate have warned of waste collections being disrupted as staff were forced to self-isolate due to Covid-19.
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