Nearly 1,000 people in Watford received a ‘ping’ from the NHS Covid app to self-isolate in the last week, as self-isolation numbers soar in England.

Across England and Wales, 530,126 alerts were sent out telling people to self-isolate in between July 1 and July 7.

Latest NHS data shows that in Watford specifically, 935 alerts accounted for the over half a million alerts.

In the week ending June 30, there were 562 alerts sent in Watford.

But just a few weeks ago in the week ending June 23, just 318 people in Watford were pinged.

In total, there have been 6,008 self-isolation alerts sent out from the NHS app in Watford.

Alerts are sent through the app to tell individuals that they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid, and anyone alerted is asked to self-isolate for 10 days.

However with such a rapid rise of alerts sent over the past few weeks, there are concerns that the function of the app should be revised, with some calling it a ‘pingdemic’.

Some have suggested that if a person alerted then tests negative, the self-isolation period should come to a halt to help struggling workplaces with low staff due to others self-isolating.

Asked about the suggestion, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “We are asking people who are contacted by the app to continue to isolate, that’s what we’ve asked people to do since the app was launched.

“The reason for that is not just to protect themselves but also to try and break the chain of transmission to other people that they may come into contact with.”

On the rise in cases of people being sent alerts by the app, a spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke about the fact that we are seeing case numbers increase, and obviously as a result you would expect to see the numbers of people being notified to self-isolate increase also.”

Recent reports have shown that there are some cases where neighbours are being ‘pinged’ through the walls of their house, but Downing Street said it was “highly unlikely” this would account for “large numbers” of people.

The spokesperson continued: “We’re confident that that is not contributing to large numbers of individuals being asked to self-isolate.

“The app uses low-energy Bluetooth and its signal strength is significantly reduced through things like brick walls, so therefore it is highly unlikely that through brick walls would lead to an alert.”

Asked whether there were plans to lessen the app’s sensitivity with so many users being sent alerts in recent weeks, the spokesman replied: “We keep things under review but the app is doing what it is designed to do.

“It is designed to detect people you’ve been in close proximity to, it is designed to flag to you if they have received a positive test result.

“That’s what it is designed to do, and that’s what it is doing.”