THE number of people told to self-isolate by Test and Trace in York has risen dramatically, the latest figures show.

Data from the Department for Health and Social Care shows 1,738 people were told to self-isolate after being in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to July 14 – the latest available data.

This was up from 1,506 the week before - and means 3,244 people have been told to isolate in the latest 14 days alone.

It comes after several York businesses were hit by the so-called 'pingdemic' due to high numbers of staff self-isolating.

Meanwhile one doctor has warned that York's NHS services are 'under extreme pressure'.

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

The figures also show 1,949 people who came into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in York were transferred to Test and Trace in the week to July 14.

Across England, more than 223,000 cases were transferred to the contact tracing system between July 8 and 14, with 475,500 people identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive.

The number of close contacts identified is now the highest observed since the week ending January 20.

Separate figures also show that 618,903 alerts were sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales telling them to self-isolate.