The UK government has extended the exemption from self-isolation to around 10,000 “critical” workers amid scenes of empty supermarket shelves, fears of panic-buying, and disruption of public transport. The scheme will run until Aug. 16, when all double-jabbed people can use negative tests to avoid self-isolation, but pressure is mounting on the government to bring forward the date. Unions have criticised the government over its “piecemeal” approach to address the problems, saying the current proposals “don’t reflect the real world.” In an announcement late Thursday following mounting pressure from increasingly vexed retailers, the government outlined plans for daily COVID-19 testing of some food industry workers and “critical workers” in other key sectors and vital public services that will effectively allow those who test negative to continue working even if they have been notified on their phones to self-isolate due to contact with someone with the virus. Updated guidance said that “in the …