Supermarkets and Covid-19

[Hadders]

How about the home delivery pickers, who must be more in abundance at all times of day since the increase in slots for the vulnerable. I bet these get in the way too.

Home delivery is usually picked in the early hours of the morning, typically starting around 3am through to around 9am. Clearly it is taking longer in many stores at the moment due to volumes and sometimes staff availability due to isolating.

 

[cactustwirly]

How about the home delivery pickers, who must be more in abundance at all times of day since the increase in slots for the vulnerable. I bet these get in the way too.

Are these not picked from a warehouse?

 

[matt]

Are these not picked from a warehouse?

Some are, some are not.

 

[SteveM70]

How about the home delivery pickers, who must be more in abundance at all times of day since the increase in slots for the vulnerable. I bet these get in the way too.

Depends who you shop with and where you live. There are a fair number of “dark stores” which aren’t open to the public and are only for online order fulfilment.

 

[birchesgreen]

The self service checkouts have been going into the late 2019 and 2020 opening stores as far as I know but not refurbs yet.

Our one got self-service when it was refurbed a couple of years ago.

 

[trainophile]

Home delivery is usually picked in the early hours of the morning, typically starting around 3am through to around 9am. Clearly it is taking longer in many stores at the moment due to volumes and sometimes staff availability due to isolating.

Back in the old days I remember having to dodge around two or three pickers with their huge trolleys in Waitrose. I assumed my current orders (Iceland and Tesco when I can get a slot, which are like hen's teeth) were picked in store, as they do cross things off as unavailable that were available when I placed the order.

 

[_toommm_]

Are these not picked from a warehouse?

Back in the old days I remember having to dodge around two or three pickers with their huge trolleys in Waitrose. I assumed my current orders (Iceland and Tesco when I can get a slot, which are like hen's teeth) were picked in store, as they do cross things off as unavailable that were available when I placed the order.

Waitrose still has the big trolleys. Each crate is a part of a customer’s order so I could be picking for up to 8 customers at a time.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Scan and Go is a faff, might as well use a normal till. Handy though for knowing the running total, but I do that in my head.

Whoa! Did you not know using independent thought is something the latest guidelines advise strongly against?

I was in a small branch of Savers yesterday. I only wanted a bottle of Lucozade from the chiller cabinet. The store has 5 aisles, but the middle 3 are all blocked-off with small merchandise bins at the ends nearest the entrance of the shop. To get to the chiller, I had to turn left and wander down aisle 1, loop past the open ends of aisles 2-4, to get my drink in aisle 5. Ridiculous, especially as the layout actually forced me to pass close to the only other two customers.
I could and should have just gone right, grabbed the drink and paid. This is all beyond tiresome now...

 

[Darandio]

Morrisons have now announced they will ban shoppers who refuse to wear a mask. I've no issue with them banning people who openly say they are not exempt and are just flat out refusing to wear one, but I fear we are going to see further harrassment of those genuinely exempt when staff demand to see proof of exemption without requirement.

Covid: Morrisons and Sainsbury's ban maskless shoppers

People refusing to wear face coverings who are not medically exempt will not be allowed to shop inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

Morrisons will bar customers who refuse to wear face coverings from its shops amid rising coronavirus infections.
From Monday, shoppers who refuse to wear face masks offered by staff will not be allowed inside, unless they are medically exempt.
The announcement comes amid concerns that social distancing measures are not being adhered to in supermarkets.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government is "concerned" shops are not enforcing rules strictly enough.
"Ultimately, the most important thing to do now is to make sure that actually enforcement - and of course the compliance with the rules - when people are going into supermarkets are being adhered to," Mr Zahawi told Sky News.
"We need to make sure people actually wear masks and follow the one-way system," he said.

Morrisons said it had "introduced and consistently maintained thorough and robust safety measures in all our stores" since the start of the pandemic.
But it said: "From today we are further strengthening our policy on masks."
Security guards at the UK's fourth-biggest supermarket chain will be enforcing the new rules.

Morrisons' chief executive, David Potts, said: "Those who are offered a face covering and decline to wear one won't be allowed to shop at Morrisons unless they are medically exempt.
"Our store colleagues are working hard to feed you and your family, please be kind."
Earlier on Monday, Mr Zahawi stopped short of saying that supermarket staff should be responsible for enforcing rules on face masks.
Enforcement of face coverings is the responsibility of the police not retailers. Wearing face masks in supermarkets and shops is compulsory across the UK.
In England, the police can issue a £200 fine to someone breaking the face covering rules. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, a £60 fine can be imposed. Repeat offenders face bigger fines.

 

[nedchester]

Morrisons have now announced they will ban shoppers who refuse to wear a mask. I've no issue with them banning people who openly say they are not exempt and are just flat out refusing to wear one, but I fear we are going to see further harrassment of those genuinely exempt when staff demand to see proof of exemption without requirement.

Covid: Morrisons and Sainsbury's ban maskless shoppers

People refusing to wear face coverings who are not medically exempt will not be allowed to shop inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

I think the vast majority of those that are genuinely except are happy to carry some sort of explanation certificate / sunflower lanyard etc.

Those that “kick off” and make a fuss are almost certainly mask refusers. They can shop elsewhere....

 

[initiation]

Morrisons have now announced they will ban shoppers who refuse to wear a mask. I've no issue with them banning people who openly say they are not exempt and are just flat out refusing to wear one, but I fear we are going to see further harrassment of those genuinely exempt when staff demand to see proof of exemption without requirement.

Covid: Morrisons and Sainsbury's ban maskless shoppers

People refusing to wear face coverings who are not medically exempt will not be allowed to shop inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

So basically no difference to what it is now...just a headline that will get the maskavists excited that will unfortunately lead to people being harassed.

If you want to see red then read some of the comments on the BBC article.

Covid: Morrisons and Sainsbury's ban maskless shoppers

People refusing to wear face coverings who are not medically exempt will not be allowed to shop inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[devon_metro]

So basically no difference to what it is now...just a headline that will get the maskavists excited that will unfortunately lead to people being harassed.

If you want to see red then read some of the comments on the BBC article.

Covid: Morrisons and Sainsbury's ban maskless shoppers

People refusing to wear face coverings who are not medically exempt will not be allowed to shop inside.

www.bbc.co.uk

It's amazing how many people think masks are such a magic bullet. Unless we all wear medical grade masks, I remain convinced wearing masks in supermarkets is counter productive due to the effective abandoning of social distancing. I don't remember the lack of masks in the first wave being a large contributor to transmission.

 

[initiation]

I don’t think they are a “magic bullet” but they do help and supermarkets are a high infection location according to ONS Stats.

Genuine question, do you have a link to this ONS report? The tracking i'm aware of is from PHE who do not list supermarkets, retail or shops. Despite all this time the top location are care homes.

(page 21)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950424/Weekly_Flu_and_COVID-19_report_w1_FINAL.PDF

 

[MikeWM]

So basically no difference to what it is now...just a headline that will get the maskavists excited that will unfortunately lead to people being harassed.

Yes. Morrisons have seemed keener on enforcement than the other supermarkets all along anyway. The only time I've been challenged by staff about not wearing a mask in a supermarket (so far) was the only time I've been in a Morrisons since July. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.

If you want to see red then read some of the comments on the BBC article.

That's been true on pretty much any subject for many years now! I remember reading spEak You're bRanes many years ago, which compiled some of the 'best' BBC news comments.

 

[devon_metro]

I don’t think they are a “magic bullet” but they do help and supermarkets are a high infection location according to ONS Stats.

I would be interested to see a study between supermarkets "pre-mask" (numbers severely limited, very quiet inside, ample space to social distance, genuine fear of catching the virus) versus the situation now where masks make people complacent. I went in some seriously busy shops before Christmas and given the limitations of hospitality at the time, would say that was a serious reason for the surge in cases (the new variant doesn't help).

 

[greyman42]

Are supermarkets suffering with large numbers of staff being absent through covid?

 

[duncanp]

Meanwhile, from the Sky News live feed:-

You'd be right to be concerned about being infected with the new variant while picking up dinner in the supermarket, writes Sky's science correspondent Thomas Moore.

It's one of the few places that we should have indoor contact with people outside our household bubble.

Now Professor Ashley Woodcock, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester, has urged supermarkets – and us – to redouble efforts to reduce the risk of cross-infection.

Inevitably there are lots of surfaces we all touch while shopping – not least food on the shelves.

Shoppers should be "discouraged" from examining sell-by dates and prodding avocados to check for ripeness, he suggests.

And checkout staff should be using alcohol gel between every customer because of the risk of handling so many goods and credit cards.

He also advises using alcohol gel on the way in and out of the supermarket.

Regarding the bit I underlined:-

So Professor, it's OK for us to get food poisoning because we are not allowed to examine the sell by dates on perishable food, and get indigestion because we are not allowed to check whether fruit is ripe.

It doesn't matter though, because it's not COVID.

This has got to be one of the more stupid suggestions I have heard.

 

[Scotrail12]

She's suggesting that checkout staff use alcohol gel between every customer? She must be trolling, surely? Imagine what that would do to their hands?

 

[Domh245]

I must have imagined the consensus move away from Covid being a touch-transmitted disease to being a predominantly airborne spread one, prodding avocados is fine so long as nobody else is near and you don't loiter!

The best advice (as per first lockdown) if you're suitably paranoid is to wash things like fruit that are likely to have been prodded in store before consuming them, and avoiding touching your face between finishing shopping and washing your hands

 

[birchesgreen]

She's suggesting that checkout staff use alcohol gel between every customer? She must be trolling, surely? Imagine what that would do to their hands?

I have seen quite a lot of staff do that already.

 

[trainophile]

I must have imagined the consensus move away from Covid being a touch-transmitted disease to being a predominantly airborne spread one, prodding avocados is fine so long as nobody else is near and you don't loiter!

The best advice (as per first lockdown) if you're suitably paranoid is to wash things like fruit that are likely to have been prodded in store before consuming them, and avoiding touching your face between finishing shopping and washing your hands

I noticed Hancock referred to the new variant being "an extremely contagious" virus, and I thought at the time that he's got that wrong, as to the best of my knowledge contagious means spread by contact.

 

[philjo]

She's suggesting that checkout staff use alcohol gel between every customer? She must be trolling, surely? Imagine what that would do to their hands?

Several of the checkout staff in our local Morrisons do use sanitizer between every customer. In the Nationwide building society they now also wipe the keypad and screen of the atm inside the branch after each customer.

 

[gaillark]

BBC is nothing but state propaganda.
All the people they broadcast on air all seem to demand more and more restrictions.

 

[kez19]

BBC is nothing but state propaganda.
All the people they broadcast on air all seem to demand more and more restrictions.

Not just them but them all is what I think

 

[Yew]

I think the vast majority of those that are genuinely except are happy to carry some sort of explanation certificate / sunflower lanyard etc.

Those that “kick off” and make a fuss are almost certainly mask refusers. They can shop elsewhere....

Oh yes, the mythical 'mask refuser'.

 

[SteveM70]

Are supermarkets suffering with large numbers of staff being absent through covid?

I work for one of the big supermarkets (not in a store) and we have about three times as many people off sick now compared to normal

 

[Freightmaster]

I work for one of the big supermarkets (not in a store) and we have about three times as many people off sick now compared to normal

But are they actually 'sick' or are most of them asymptomatic but isolating because of being 'pinged' by track and trace??





MARK

 

[SteveM70]

But are they actually 'sick' or are most of them asymptomatic but isolating because of being 'pinged' by track and trace??





MARK

Sorry, no idea, all I have access to is numbers not at work

 

[Bikeman78]

She's suggesting that checkout staff use alcohol gel between every customer? She must be trolling, surely? Imagine what that would do to their hands?

My daughter is in childcare during the week. On Friday afternoon her hands were bright red from all the hand washing.

 

[nedchester]

Oh yes, the mythical 'mask refuser'.

I was in Aldi the other week and there was a bloke walk round there with no mask on wearing a badge saying 'No to Masks' so no it's not a myth. The bloke was an idiot.

I hate masks I find them denumanising as I like to see people's faces BUT at the moment with the infection rate being high I think it wise to follow the rules as it probably won't be too long (with the vaccine on its way) before we head back towards normal.