Hundreds more people were told to self-isolate by Test and Trace in Cumbria in the latest week, figures show.

Department for Health and Social Care data shows 5,293 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 3,628 the week before, and means 8,921 people have been told to isolate in the latest 14 days alone.

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 show 5,930 people who came into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in Cumbria were transferred to Test and Trace in the week to July 14. It means 637 contacts were not reached by the service.

The figures do not include those told to isolate in specific settings such as schools and prisons.

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.

Richard Walker, managing director of supermarket giant Iceland, said the firm was having to hire 2,000 temporary workers to prepare.