THOUSANDS of people across County Durham and Darlington have been self-isolating from Covid in the last week. 

More than 8,000 more people were told to self-isolate by Test and Trace, figures show. 

Department for Health and Social Care data shows 6,536 people were told to self-isolate in County Durham after being in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to July 14.

Although this was down from 6,904 people the week before, it means 13,440 people have been told to isolate in the latest 14 days alone.

The figures show 7,132 people who came into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in County Durham were transferred to Test and Trace in the week to July 14. It means 596 contacts were not reached by the service.

In Darlington, 1,613 people were told to self-isolate..

This was up from 1,206 the week before, and means 2,819 people have been told to isolate in the latest 14 days alone.

The figures show 1,716 people who came into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in Darlington were transferred to Test and Trace in the week to July 14. It means 103 contacts were not reached by the service. 

READ MORE: Full list: Workers exempt from self isolation Covid rules 

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.

Isolation is recommended but not mandatory, if someone is alerted by the app, while those contacted by Test and Trace have a legal duty to self-isolate.

The Government has come under fire after businesses revealed they were struggling to cope with increasing numbers of people being "pinged" by the app.

Pictures of empty supermarket shelves were widely shared online, suggesting the app was causing disruption to the sector.

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