Why is the government willing to risk another wave by lifting almost all COVID rules on 19 July?
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is considering an "appropriate, balanced and proportionate" approach for self-isolation when people are 'pinged' by the NHS app, Rishi Sunak has said.
The chancellor told Sky News he has spoken to Mr Javid about "the frustration" that people have with the test and trace system, following reports that numerous people are deleting the application ahead of the government's planned 19 July lockdown easing date through fear of being contacted.
It comes as on Wednesday, for the first time since January, more than 32,000 coronavirus cases were recorded in the daily figures.
It is expected that the number of COVID-19 infections will increase further as the remaining restrictions are removed later this month.
Latest Test and Trace figures show a total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the NHS COVID-19 app in England in the week to 30 June, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive.
This is up from 219,391 the previous week - a jump of 62% - and the highest weekly figure since data was first published back in January.
Downing Street confirmed work is "ongoing" with the app. And Sky News understands the Department for Health and Social Care is looking at its sensitivity in particular.
On Thursday, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed work is taking place to "tune" the NHS COVID app to take account of the fact increasing numbers of people have been vaccinated.
"We have a piece of work ongoing at the moment because it is entirely possible to tune the app to ensure that it is appropriate to the risk," Dr Jenny Harries told the Public Accounts Committee.
Mr Sunak said the health secretary is "aware" of concerns regarding how the app is working and suggested he is "looking at" possible solutions.
He also noted that there are "two systems" of contact tracing and that the majority of concerns "rest with how the app is working".
"I've spoken to the health secretary about this and he's aware of the frustration that people have around this," Mr Sunak told Sky News.
"We have two different systems for the test and trace: we have obviously the NHS one, and we also have the app. I know most people's concerns rest with how the app is working and the health secretary is aware of that.
"The app counts for the majority of the people who need to isolate, I understand, on the numbers - and he's looking at what the most appropriate, balanced and proportionate approach to isolation is in these circumstances."
Speaking later on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he knows "how frustrated people are" that changes to self-isolation rules for those who have had two vaccine doses and those under 18 are coming into force on 16 August and not in July.
"I know that people are obviously fed up with COVID restrictions but we have to be prudent, we have to be cautious and one of the ways of restricting the spread of the disease as you know is to ask contacts to self-isolate - that has been going on now for a long time," the PM told reporters.
"What we want to do is just keep going for a little bit longer so that we can get even more vaccinations in people's arms, give us even more protection.
"But as the health secretary has said, we are moving now from self-isolation, from a quarantine approach, to testing, to a test and release approach - and the day is not too far away."
He added: "It is coming to an end. And what we want to do is use this next few weeks just to do more vaccinations until we're able to move from quarantining, from isolation to a test and release system."
The comments came as a study found the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England is continuing to rise rapidly, recently doubling every six days.
According to new REACT study data, based on home swab tests taken by over 47,000 people between 24 June and 5 July, around 1 in 170 people had the virus during this period, or 0.59% of the population.
This is four times higher than the study's previous report when 0.15% of people (1 in 670) were infected, as of 7 June.
And new data shows a total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the NHS COVID-19 app in England in the week to 30 June telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
This is up from 219,391 the previous week - a jump of 62% - and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.
At PMQs on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned Boris Johnson it was "entirely predictable" that people had begun deleting the NHS contact-tracing app in order to avoid being "pinged" and having to self-isolate.
"They're doing it because they can see what's coming down the track," he said. "Now of course we don't support that, but under his plan it's entirely predictable."
Mr Johnson said the government was taking a "prudent approach" by "moving away from self-isolation towards testing over the course of the next few weeks".
Almost all COVID rules - including limits on the number of people who can meet together, legal requirements on wearing face masks, and social distancing in pubs and bars - will be ditched as part of the final step of the roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions in England.
The move is due to take place on 19 July, but a final decision on whether it goes ahead will be made next week.
Should step four proceed later this month, it will see:
• No more limits on social contact to allow people to gather in groups of any size
• The removal of the "one metre-plus" rule in almost all settings, apart from specific places such as airports
• All remaining businesses, including nightclubs, able to re-open
• No capacity caps on large-scale events, such as sports matches, theatre shows or concerts
• No more legal requirement on wearing face masks in shops or on public transport
• The government will no longer require people to work from home
• No more limits on the number of people who are able to visit care home residents
Labour has accused the government of being "reckless" by aiming to remove the majority of measures in one go and called for the mandatory wearing of face masks on public transport to remain.
