The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in some apps that governments asked citizens to put on their phones. In July 2021, the UK National Health Service “pinged” many devices with self-isolation orders, causing a “pingdemic” (ping + epidemic/pandemic).
   
“HR 265! Live PING! podcast.Only 100 hrs left! Lets start a PINGDEMIC!” was posted on Twitter by MandyHearle on July 12, 2015.
     
“The PINGDEMIC: what, if anything, should be done about the app? 16,000 pings in the last week of May. A THIRD OF A MILLION in the last week of June. The Department of Health now says: ‘The app is, and has always been, advisory.’ And Grant Shapps says…” was posted on Twitter by Chris Mason on July 9, 2021. “#pingdemic” was posted on Twitter by Francis Mason-Hornby later on July 9, 2021. “@ChrisMasonBBC #pingdemic brilliant!” was posted on Twitter by Alicia M on July 12, 2021. “Paging @tonythorne007. ‘Pingdemic’ #coronaspeak.Courtesy of @ChrisMasonBBC this morning on #r4today” was posted on Twitter by Clive Mitchell on July 12, 2021.
   
         
Wikipedia: ping (networking utility)
Ping is a computer network administration software utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. It is available for virtually all operating systems that have networking capability, including most embedded network administration software.
     
Wikipedia: COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020.
         
Twitter
MandyHearle
@MandyforMSF
HR 265! Live PING! podcast.Only 100 hrs left!
Lets start a PINGDEMIC! https://facebook.com/MandyHforMSF
https://youtu.be/wDFunUFFV64
8:48 AM · Jul 12, 2015·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Chris Mason
@ChrisMasonBBC
The PINGDEMIC: what, if anything, should be done about the app? 16,000 pings in the last week of May. A THIRD OF A MILLION in the last week of June. The Department of Health now says: ‘The app is, and has always been, advisory.’ And Grant Shapps says…
NHS Covid app may change as rules change, Grant Shapps says
The transport secretary says the app’s sensitivity may need to be reduced as restrictions change.
bbc.co.uk
4:57 AM · Jul 9, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
Francis Mason-Hornby
@MasonHornby
#pingdemic
Quote Tweet
Chris Mason
@ChrisMasonBBC
· Jul 9
The PINGDEMIC: what, if anything, should be done about the app? 16,000 pings in the last week of May. A THIRD OF A MILLION in the last week of June. The Department of Health now says: ‘The app is, and has always been, advisory.’ And Grant Shapps says… https://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57772515
12:30 PM · Jul 9, 2021 from North West, England·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
Joshua Garfield
@JoshuaGarfield
I’m just trying to survive the pingdemic so I can watch the final in the pub
6:23 AM · Jul 10, 2021 from Stratford, London·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
Alicia M
@BBCAlicia
.@ChrisMasonBBC #pingdemic brilliant!
1:42 AM · Jul 12, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
Clive Mitchell
@clivemitchell1
Paging @tonythorne007. “Pingdemic” #coronaspeak.Courtesy of @ChrisMasonBBC this morning on #r4today.
1:46 AM · Jul 12, 2021·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
Sent from my ZX Spectrum 48k
@IOweYouNathan
Pingdemic is definitely my word of the day from @ChrisMasonBBC on #r4today this morning.
6:31 AM · Jul 12, 2021·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
LivDose
@livdose
‘Pingdemic’ triggers train cancellations across Britain
‘Pingdemic’ triggers train cancellations across Britain
livdose.com
12:28 PM · Jul 12, 2021·WordPress.com
   
Twitter
David “The Chair Man” Sheraton ♫
@davidsheraton
Two new words yesterday: staycating and pingdemic #neologisms
1:19 AM · Jul 13, 2021·Twitter Web App
 
Daily Mail (London, UK)   
The pingdemic debacle is lockdown by the back door, writes PROFESSOR DAVID PATON, the choice of terrified ministers with no courage…it must end
By PROFESSOR DAVID PATON FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 17:11 EDT, 16 July 2021 | UPDATED: 19:04 EDT, 16 July 2021
(...)
By that I mean they are victims of the ‘pingdemic’ and have, in recent weeks, been ‘pinged’ by the NHS Covid-19 app.
 
As a result they must isolate for ten days because they are deemed at risk of infection having come in to contact with a known infected individual. But what is isolation but lockdown by any other name?
 
The irony is that the many of those now stuck at home are healthy. 
 
The Star (Sheffield, UK)
Nearly 7,000 ‘pinged’ by test and trace in Sheffield in record week amid concerns of ‘pingdemic’
More people in Sheffield than ever were ‘pinged’ by the NHS Test and Trace App at the start of July, officials have revealed.
By David Kessen
Friday, 16th July 2021, 6:05 pm
Updated Friday, 16th July 2021, 6:05 pm
A record 6,757 alerts were sent through the app in the seven days to July 7, raising fears of a lockdown by stealth as businesses and transport being brought to a standstill by a ‘pingdemic’ next week.
 
Evening Standard (London, UK)
Coronavirus UK live: ‘Pingdemic’ could lead to food shortages
By Leah Sinclair Lizzie Edmonds@lizzieedmo
July 17, 2021
The number of people getting “pinged” on the NHS Test and Trace has caused confusion and could lead to food shortages, one of the UK’s biggest port company boss’s has said.
 
Tim Morris, chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, called what has been dubbed the “pingdemic” as the most “significant threat to ports’ resilience we have seen yet”.
 
Daily Mail (London, UK)
How the ‘pingdemic’ will cripple Britain without action: Food shortages, shops forced to close early, bins not emptied for 10 WEEKS and a £4bn hit to the economy
. Marks and Spencer said it will be forced to reduce its opening hours and because of staff in self-isolation
. Staff shortages at ports and in the meat industry mean supermarket shelves could be left without food
. Jeremy Hunt says a quarter of junior doctors are in self-isolation and adds the app needs to be changed
By JOE DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:54 EDT, 17 July 2021 | UPDATED: 06:34 EDT, 17 July 2021
 
Twitter
H_Poirot
@HPoirot20
The ‘pingdemic’ IS on course to paralyse England: Up to SIX MILLION people could be told to stay at home every week by end of July as cases grow 75% every seven days - as bosses say a fifth of their workers are ALREADY being notified by app
The ‘pingdemic’ IS on course to paralyse England: Up to SIX MILLION people could be told to stay at…
Nissan in Sunderland was among businesses that have flagged serious issues with app affected 900 workers Unite’s Steve Bush: ‘I beli…
scoopyweb.com
4:49 PM · Jul 17, 2021·Twitter Web App