Key parts of the food industry will be allowed to do daily Covid testing from Friday instead of asking staff to self-isolate.

The government said daily testing would be implemented at key sites, such as supermarket depots and food manufacturers.

Close to 10,000 staff at 500 sites in the UK will eventually be affected.

It comes as supermarket bosses warn of severe staff shortages after thousands received alerts to self-isolate.

The new daily contact testing measures will begin at 15 supermarket depots from Friday, followed by 150 depots next week, but it will not apply to supermarket store staff.

It will mean depot workers who are alerted by the app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace will be able to continue working if they test negative, whether or not they are vaccinated.

In a separate development, other key industries will also be allowed to deploy daily Covid testing instead of self-isolation for a limited number of essential workers who are fully vaccinated.

This scheme covers sectors including transport, emergency services, border control, energy, digital infrastructure, waste, the water industry, essential defence outputs and local government.

New Covid daily contact testing sites for workers at supermarket depots and food manufacturers won't begin operating until next week.

Supermarket depot workers and food manufacturers in England will be exempt from quarantine rules as the government tries to prevent food supply problems.

The government had initially promised to begin testing at 15 "crucial" supermarket depots on Friday.

But the BBC has learned that testing will be delayed until Monday 26 July.

I really don't get it. If certain workers are to be exempt, then what's the point of it in the first place? If someone at my work is pinged and decides to work as normal, they could potentially spread the virus to all other staff and customers. This is very weird.

I really don't get it. If certain workers are to be exempt, then what's the point of it in the first place? If someone at my work is pinged and decides to work as normal, they could potentially spread the virus to all other staff and customers. This is very weird.

I agree - but they all get tested each day, apparently so hopefully the ones who are infected will get sent home....! I don't fancy going into a shop knowing that someone could be sneezing all over my tomatoes

More shambles from BJ .....

More critical workers will be able to take daily tests rather than isolate when they are identified as a close contact of someone who has Covid.

Some 800 sites are already being set up for police, firefighters, supermarket depot staff and some other industries. The government said 1,200 extra sites would be established, with prisons, waste management and the armed forces among the sectors prioritised.

Daily testing for certain critical sectors in England was launched on Monday as an alternative to self-isolation for some workers. The government has not said how many sites are currently up-and-running but that it expected 500 would be set up this week.