The ‘pingdemic’ has led to a sharp slowdown in business activity just weeks after football fans gave the economy a boost by splashing out on food and drink.
Research group IHS Markit said its index of activity in the UK – where scores above 50 show growth – fell from 62.2 in June to 57.7 in July.
Anger: Workers who are ‘pinged’ after coming into contact with someone who has Covid are forced to quarantine, even if they are double vaccinated and healthy
That was the weakest performance since March and came as staff and raw material shortages due to the pandemic disrupted business.
The report came amid a mounting backlash as workers who are ‘pinged’ after coming into contact with someone who has Covid are forced to quarantine, even if they are double vaccinated and healthy.
The data overshadowed upbeat figures for June that showed retail sales rose by 0.5 per cent – leaving them 9.5 per cent higher than they were in February 2020 before the pandemic struck.
Food stores drove the increase in June with volumes rising by 4.2 per cent, helped by the start of Euro 2020, the Office for National Statistics said.
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