How was your ‘big shop’ this week? I ask because mine was a little problematic to say the least.

There were significant gaps on the shelves in my supermarket of choice.

Salad was at a premium and bottled water was almost non-existent (and yes I am aware we had had a heatwave and the demand for water had increased dramatically).

Anyway, I asked a shop assistant what the problem was and was told that delivery of supplies to restock the shelves was ‘patchy’ although she couldn’t tell me why.

Of course, the easy answer is to blame the ‘pingdemic’ with so many people being advised to self-isolate.

I’m sure that’s having an effect but I’m also certain it’s not the complete answer.

Frankly, what we’ve been handed is another coronavirus shambles on the part of the government.

If people’s health and wellbeing wasn’t at stake, it would be funny just how inept it is.

So where are we up to? I think we can now all accept that the Government’s pandemic policy now is to go for hybrid herd immunity – older people thanks to vaccinations while allowing the young to become guinea pigs in a ‘herd immunity by infection’ policy.

Cross your fingers and strap yourself in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Make no mistake, this is a massive gamble, as evidenced by the huge increase in the number of infections.

Being completely honest, at the time of writing, the rate of infections had appeared to have stabilised but the effects of so-called Freedom Day were still to be reflected in the data so who knows what’s to come?

Which brings me back to the ‘pingdemic’.

I find it truly remarkable that somehow the blame for the number of people being ‘pinged’ has been laid fairly and squarely at the door of the NHS Covid app.

Let’s be completely clear, and for the avoidance of any doubt, the app is not to blame, it is simply doing the job it was designed to do.

Yes, there has been a massive increase in the number of people being contacted by the app and advised to self-isolate but this is a direct result of the massive increase in the number of infections, not because of any problems with the app.

Quite simply, if the Government put policies in place to cut the number of infections you would relatively quickly see the corresponding reduction in the number of ‘pings’. It really is that simple.

Frankly, after the government abdicated all responsibility for managing the pandemic in England, the NHS Covid app is the only tool it has left in its box and to somehow reduce its sensitivity would be the final admission that the government has lost control.

But there is another reason why we are starting to see shortages of some things in our shops and that’s the effects of Brexit.

I make no party political point here, it’s just a simple statement of fact.

As the BBC reported earlier this month: freight companies are reporting a ‘massive’ shortage of lorry drivers, which is pushing up wages, and will increase prices of goods in the shops.

It is partly because of the pandemic, which delayed 30,000 tests for new drivers but transport companies also blame Brexit, pointing out that 15,000 European truck drivers left the UK in the last year.

Other estimates I have seen say the shortage of drivers is closer to 100,000 of which 30,000 were from the European Union who have now gone home (or more likely to work in Germany) and never to return here.

And another problem caused by Brexit is the shortage of seasonal migrant workers who have declined to come to the UK this year.

And yes, I know the pandemic has had an effect on this as well.

Nevertheless, there have been reports of fruit and vegetables being left to rot in the fields across the country because there aren’t enough migrant workers to harvest them.

It strikes me that while Covid-19 has undoubtedly had a serious and ongoing effect on our ability to trade, it is also a convenient mask for the government to hide behind.

Sooner or later, the pandemic will be under control and perhaps only then we will be able to see the true extent of the damage Brexit has done to our economy.