THOUSANDS of people across Braintree were contacted by the NHS Covid-19 app and told to isolate in the latest week, figures reveal.

NHS figures show 2,043 people in Braintree were "pinged" by the app in the week to July 21, the latest available data.

That was an increase from the 1,584 alerts sent out the week before.

The app warns people that they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

People contacted through the app are advised to isolate for up to ten days, although there is no legal obligation to do so.

But, anyone who is contacted and told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace service has a legal obligation to do so.

Across England and Wales, nearly 700,000 alerts were sent to Covid app users in the latest seven-day period – a record high and 11 per cent more than the previous week.

Separate Department for Health and Social Care figures, which cover larger council areas, show contact tracers told 15,611 people in Essex to self-isolate after being in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to July 21.

That was up from 10,924 the week before.

Contact tracers ask new patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started.