The 'pingdemic' is forcing Greater Manchester hospitality venues to close every day because of isolating staff, the region's night time economy tsar Sacha Lord has warned.
In a statement addressing the continued problems surrounding the Track and Trace app for the hospitality sector, Mr Lord added businesses and the economy "cannot wait" until August 16 to resolve the issues.
The Government recently confirmed that close contacts who are double-jabbed will not have to isolate after August 16 in England.
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He has also called in the Government to introduce wide scale daily testing or a test-to-release system to help combat the 'pingdemic'.
His comments come after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged ministers to publish guidance of the planned introduction of vaccination passports for some hospitality venues.
Mr Lord said: "Every day, hospitality venues across Greater Manchester are being forced to close due to staff being asked to isolate, despite those same employees testing negative continuously across the ten-day quarantine period.
"From a business and economic perspective, we cannot wait until the 16 August to resolve these issues and I urge the Government to introduce wide scale daily testing or a test-to-release system.
"I am also concerned the test and trace system is camouflaging the general shortage of staff across the sector.
"In addition to the thousands who have moved to other roles outside of the industry, a huge percentage of hospitality staff were EU nationals who can no longer work within the UK due to Brexit regulations.
"Once the veil falls on the test and trace system, it will become clear that the introduction of salary-threshold visas post Brexit have resulted in severe recruitment issues and a shambolic own goal for the UK."
