Supermarkets and Covid-19

[Mojo]

According to local media, Tesco’s have reopened mezzanine levels that they closed “following customer backlash” (Journalist’s words, not mine or that of the shop).

 

[Hadders]

According to local media, Tesco’s have reopened mezzanine levels that they closed “following customer backlash” (Journalist’s words, not mine or that of the shop).

Tesco re-opened their mezzanine level floors last weekend, I understand that the law is so inconsistent that it is unenforceable. Here's a report from The Grocer magazine.

Tesco reopens non-essential areas after shopper backlash

Government guidance is that supermarkets must cordon off 'non-essential' areas selling homeware and clothing

www.thegrocer.co.uk

Tesco has reopened standalone “non-essential” sections of stores across England, after a furious backlash from shoppers angry at lockdown measures which saw them closed off.

The retailer removed barriers to the areas on Saturday, a week after closing its separate mezzanine levels featuring the likes of F&F clothing and other non-food items, in response to government guidance.

Retailers were told by ministers to shut down separate mezzanine floors, standalone neighbouring buildings and concessions selling items such as homeware, clothing and electronics.

However, the move was met with anger and confusion, with other supermarkets including Asda and Sainsbury’s deciding not to follow government guidance and instead keep their standalone non-food areas open.

A raft of other non-food stores including Wilko, The Range, Carpetright and Ryman also decided to keep their stores open, despite the government telling retailers it would use local environmental health teams and if necessary the police to enforce its guidance.

Tesco had been inundated with responses from shoppers on social media, with claims its move had made it impossible for them to buy products such as children’s clothing.

A spokeswoman said: “Our mezzanine levels are now open again for customers in all our stores.”

Tesco’s move came as more than 60 retail CEOs wrote an open letter to The Times this weekend to voice concerns about the impact of the forced closure of “non-essential” retailers during lockdown.

“With less than two weeks to go until the chancellor’s spending review it is vital that retailers get the clarity they need over the future. Christmas is fast approaching, and half of retail has been forced to shut – depriving these stores of around £2bn per week in sales.

“A continued period of retail closure will see more shuttered high streets and many more job losses at the heart of the festive season.”

“The closure of thousands of retailers is compounding the challenges facing our high streets,” said BRC CEO Helen Dickinson. “Rents continue to mount, and the business rates cliff-edge is looming. All the while, government reports show the impact of closures on Covid transmission is low.”

 

[Class 33]

Why are supermarkets still saying to keep 2 metres apart, when face masks must be worn? Since July the 2 metre rule was downgraded to "1 metre+", when if wearing a face mask the rule is to stay 1 metre apart not 2 metres!

 

[adc82140]

Why are supermarkets still saying to keep 2 metres apart, when face masks must be worn? Since July the 2 metre rule was downgraded to "1 metre+", when if wearing a face mask the rule is to stay 1 metre apart not 2 metres!

Since masks were mandated, social distancing has broken down. You can't blame them for trying to get people to stay apart. If you say 2 metres, you may have a fighting chance of getting people to stay 1 metre apart.

 

[Jamesrob637]

1 metre seems to be adhered to most places I go. Should have been adhered to pre-COVID and I think most people will be a bit more mindful post-COVID.

 

[trainophile]

How many people shopping in a supermarket are going to be close to someone not in their household for long enough to risk infection? I thought they reckoned 15 minutes close proximity would be the length of time to risk becoming infected. Most shoppers just pass eachother briefly. Even queuing for the check-outs is unlikely to take 15 minutes - well not until Christmas Eve anyway!

 

[island]

How many people shopping in a supermarket are going to be close to someone not in their household for long enough to risk infection? I thought they reckoned 15 minutes close proximity would be the length of time to risk becoming infected. Most shoppers just pass eachother briefly. Even queuing for the check-outs is unlikely to take 15 minutes - well not until Christmas Eve anyway!

The last thing I read says 15 minutes within 1-2 metres or any time face to face within 1 metre.

 

[Bikeman78]

How many people shopping in a supermarket are going to be close to someone not in their household for long enough to risk infection? I thought they reckoned 15 minutes close proximity would be the length of time to risk becoming infected. Most shoppers just pass eachother briefly. Even queuing for the check-outs is unlikely to take 15 minutes - well not until Christmas Eve anyway!

I can't speak for all supermarkets but at my local there aren't any queues for the tills. They make us queue outside instead! Around April they introduced the self scanners so that has cut down the queues as well. I quite enjoy using them to be honest and it means I know how much I'm spending before I get to the checkout.

 

[initiation]

1 metre seems to be adhered to most places I go.

Probably because in the majority of cases, keeping some distance from a stranger is common courtesy. A couple of feet is a fairly natural position to stand away from somebody. People don't go around standing 15cm from the next person in the queue.

 

[Greybeard33]

From the OP of this thread, back in April:

And supermarkets are benefiting hugely from business rates relief, on top of a big increase in turnover and improvement in margins (less discounting).

Eight months later, the big supermarkets have at last been shamed into repaying (some of) their windfall profits from business rates relief.

Asda joins rivals to pay back Covid rates relief

The UK's biggest supermarkets will return £1.7bn after facing criticism for taking state support.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MattA7]

Today in Asda I saw a woman wearing a huge lanyard stating she is medically exempt from wearing a mask however she was also carrying a oxygen cylinder around. Surely that alone would be enough to make it obvious she has a good reason not to wear a mask. Are the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

 

[greyman42]

Today in Asda I saw a woman wearing a huge lanyard stating she is medically exempt from wearing a mask however she was also carrying a oxygen cylinder around. Surely that alone would be enough to make it obvious she has a good reason not to wear a mask. Are the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

I would imagine that some are and some are not.

 

[221129]

the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

Yes. They really are.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Yes. They really are.

Har har, yes - why am I not surprised?

 

[yorkie]

Today in Asda I saw a woman wearing a huge lanyard stating she is medically exempt from wearing a mask however she was also carrying a oxygen cylinder around. Surely that alone would be enough to make it obvious she has a good reason not to wear a mask. Are the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

I can think of a lot of words for the pro-mask lobbyists but it may be best if I leave them up to the imagination

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Today in Asda I saw a woman wearing a huge lanyard stating she is medically exempt from wearing a mask however she was also carrying a oxygen cylinder around. Surely that alone would be enough to make it obvious she has a good reason not to wear a mask. Are the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

Some people think that those with an exemption should stay at home until further notice. Whether the exempt person shows an exemption certificate, wears a lanyard, or carts an oxygen bottle around with them makes no difference to that opinion.

They will be the same people that push to the front of the queue to get a vaccine, even if not in a priority category, and then very shoutily demand that the supermarkets rigidly enforce a 'no entry without a recent vaccination certificate' rule. Yet if they haven't themselves got such a certificate they will shoutily complain (grumpy face, arms folded and appearing on your local Reach website soon) about how ridiculous and unfair such a rule is.

 

[bramling]

Today in Asda I saw a woman wearing a huge lanyard stating she is medically exempt from wearing a mask however she was also carrying a oxygen cylinder around. Surely that alone would be enough to make it obvious she has a good reason not to wear a mask. Are the mask enforcement brigade really that stupid?

There’s plenty of comments on Facebook local to me along the lines that “these people” should stay at home because they’re a risk to the lives of others.

Evidently the lady concerned will have been on the receiving end of trouble, and that’s heartbreaking given how obvious her exemption should be.

 

[Mag_seven]

There’s plenty of comments on Facebook local to me along the lines that “these people” should stay at home because they’re a risk to the lives of others.

My answer to them would be "if you think an exempt person is a risk to you then you should stay at home, not the exempt person"

Getting back on topic, it was clear to me this morning that the separate entrance and exit policy that my local Morrisons instigated has broken down completely!

 

[Mojo]

There’s plenty of comments on Facebook local to me along the lines that “these people” should stay at home because they’re a risk to the lives of others.

The infuriating thing about this is that I was going out and about to work when there was actually significant mass transmission of this virus at a time when we were actively being told that muzzles do more harm than good.

During that time my company would not supply them because they were not recommended. Some organisations like the police had actively banned the wearing of masks when on duty even if the staff member had bought their own.

 

[Silver Cobra]

It's interesting to see that a number of retailers who would normally be open for reduced hours on Boxing Day are choosing to be closed this year, as a 'thank you' to their staff for working throughout the pandemic. Of the big four supermarkets, only Asda have so far decided to do this, with Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys maintaining they'll keep their stores open on that day.

Tesco and Morrisons defy call to shut on Boxing Day

The supermarkets will open but Asda gives staff the day off for working during the pandemic.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tesco and Morrisons will open their shops on Boxing Day despite calls to give staff the day off.

Unions say supermarket staff should not have to go in on 26 December as a thank you for their work during the pandemic

Asda, Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home, and toy store The Entertainer have all said they will close.

But Tesco and Morrisons have joined Sainsbury's in saying they would open on Boxing Day for a limited number of hours.

 

[trainophile]

It's interesting to see that a number of retailers who would normally be open for reduced hours on Boxing Day are choosing to be closed this year, as a 'thank you' to their staff for working throughout the pandemic. Of the big four supermarkets, only Asda have so far decided to do this, with Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys maintaining they'll keep their stores open on that day.

Tesco and Morrisons defy call to shut on Boxing Day

The supermarkets will open but Asda gives staff the day off for working during the pandemic.

www.bbc.co.uk

Why don't they ask for volunteers at double or triple time? Some people might appreciate the extra money, and the chance to get away from the inlaws!

 

[Darandio]

Why don't they ask for volunteers at double or triple time? Some people might appreciate the extra money, and the chance to get away from the inlaws!

For reduced hours opening on Boxing Day? By the time they have been inducted and shown what to do it will be time to go home again.

 

[Mojo]

For reduced hours opening on Boxing Day? By the time they have been inducted and shown what to do it will be time to go home again.

I think she was talking about volunteers from existing staff rather than random people to work for free off the street.

 

[bramling]

It's interesting to see that a number of retailers who would normally be open for reduced hours on Boxing Day are choosing to be closed this year, as a 'thank you' to their staff for working throughout the pandemic. Of the big four supermarkets, only Asda have so far decided to do this, with Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys maintaining they'll keep their stores open on that day.

Tesco and Morrisons defy call to shut on Boxing Day

The supermarkets will open but Asda gives staff the day off for working during the pandemic.

www.bbc.co.uk

Can't help but be cynical about this. So we hear for several months about how desperate people are to have "a Christmas", then when it arrives we find them queuing out the door to get in to Tesco's. I suppose at least this will be refreshingly normal, as it happens every year.

 

[trainophile]

I think she was talking about volunteers from existing staff rather than random people to work for free off the street.

Haha yes that was what I meant!

 

[Hadders]

Why don't they ask for volunteers at double or triple time? Some people might appreciate the extra money, and the chance to get away from the inlaws!

In effect that's what happens.

 

[adc82140]

In effect that's what happens.

Correct. Once you read beyond the hysterical headlines, actually no one is being compelled to work. If a supermarket can be staffed based on volunteers for overtime, good luck to them. I cannot stand this bandwagon culture based on the ignorance of the public.

 

[DB]

Correct. Once you read beyond the hysterical headlines, actually no one is being compelled to work. If a supermarket can be staffed based on volunteers for overtime, good luck to them. I cannot stand this bandwagon culture based on the ignorance of the public.

I suspect the may get a fair number volunteering to work too, especially if they are offering enhanced payment - despite what the media tries to say, not everyone likes christmas and many single people particularly would prefer to work over it and have the time off when it suits them,

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Can't help but be cynical about this. So we hear for several months about how desperate people are to have "a Christmas", then when it arrives we find them queuing out the door to get in to Tesco's. I suppose at least this will be refreshingly normal, as it happens every year.

There is CCTV footage (not publicly available) of people banging on the doors of Intu Potteries on Christmas Day wanting to get in.

I won't be lobbying my local supermarket (Tesco as it happens) either way. Myself, I would not want or need to shop on Boxing Day for anything. I would not complain if shops were forced to close - as per Easter Sunday (shops over a certain size under the Sunday Trading laws).

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are the two days when shops at the Trafford Centre shopping complex near Manchester remain closed.