Coronavirus

[Barrington Womble]

55 minutes ago, Tony Moanero said:

There appears to be a big problem with supermarkets coping with the increase in online orders. It’s no good being told to stay at home if you’ve still got to go out to the shop. Not everyone has a supply of tinned and frozen food, nor does everyone have someone who can buy their groceries for them. 

I shop week to week, with the only exception being the missus does some big items (like toilet roll, washing powder, dog food) on subscribe and save with Amazon. Even if I wanted to stock up like a cunt, when I went shopping last weekend there was nothing to stock up with. You couldn't even buy a tin of peas. I went to 3 supermarkets on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, 1 on Monday before we were isolated. It's fucking mental. 

50 minutes ago, Bruce Spanner said:

Thats shit, of course, but this is unparalleled.

 

Once we get our collective shit together and our heads around this those with a social conscience will make sure this is as good, or as close to, as can be.

 

We’re not all cunts and we’ll figure this out, social media might finally become worthwhile and not an empty vacuous shitfest.

 

Supermarkets will, and are, just hiring more warehouse workers and delivery drivers. This is Christmas for them after a shit, er, Christmas. There aren’t and won’t be shortages for a while yet. Importantly, the factories won’t need to shut as modern working condition are ‘spaced isolation’, ironically, to increase productivity.
 

Just be at peace with isolation, your needs can be met, except social interaction. 

What do you mean there aren't any shortages? The shelves in the supermarkets have been stripped bare for over a week and if you don't queue up to shop before the supermarket opens you get fuck all. Me ma (who's 70) went to Sainsbury's this morning at 6.30, it opens at 7. She was so far back in the queue, by the time she got in there was no fresh meat left and the freezers were stripped bare, she managed to get the last pack of frozen chicken pieces. The supermarkets might be trying their best, but the behaviour of people has meant there just is shortages.  

[Dr Nowt]

3 minutes ago, MegadriveMan said:

and that's the last I will say on the matter"

If only, the cretinous fucking harridan.

[El Rojo]

10 minutes ago, Lizzie Birdsworths Wrinkled Chopper said:

He made me laugh. His match reports must have been written with quill and parchment.

A good post in full. 

[Bruce Spanner]

4 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

I shop week to week, with the only exception being the missus does some big items (like toilet roll, washing powder, dog food) on subscribe and save with Amazon. Even if I wanted to stock up like a cunt, when I went shopping last weekend there was nothing to stock up with. You couldn't even buy a tin of peas. I went to 3 supermarkets on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, 1 on Monday before we were isolated. It's fucking mental. 

What do you mean there aren't any shortages? The shelves in the supermarkets have been stripped bare for over a week and if you don't queue up to shop before the supermarket opens you get fuck all. Me ma (who's 70) went to Sainsbury's this morning at 6.30, it opens at 7. She was so far back in the queue, by the time she got in there was no fresh meat left and the freezers were stripped bare, she managed to get the last pack of frozen chicken pieces. The supermarkets might be trying their best, but the behaviour of people has meant there just is shortages.  

If people didn’t buy a weeks worth in a day there would be no shortages, I know it’s difficult as people are panicked, but once it calms down it’ll be normalised. There are only shortages in the the shops, not the supply chain. For now.

[Anubis]

2h ago 19:42

 

Patrick Collinson

 

There is mounting anger among the self employed over what they regard as insufficient support for them in the emergency measures announced this evening in the UK by chancellor Rishi Sunak.

 

The self employed will gain access to the equivalent of Statutory Sick Pay, and be given tax deferrals, but are not part of the 80% earnings pledge. 

The Federation of Small Business said: “The question at this point is – with firms beingforcedto close – why have the self-employed been excluded from the commitment to pay 80% of earnings?

 

“It cannot be right that an employee currently earning £25,000 a year could access £20,000 per annum through the new job retention scheme, while someone who’s self-employed earning the same sum might only access around £5,000 worth of support.”

 

Phillipa Childs of the Bectu union, which covers thousands of freelancers in the entertainment and media industry, added: “The Chancellor’s support package for workers will come as a devastating blow to freelance and self-employed workers who needed much more support than they are being given.

 

“He must urgently revise his income support plan to include these workers and not force them onto the welfare system and we will be making urgent representations to government to make sure all our members are protected during this crisis.”

[Lee909]

42 minutes ago, MegadriveMan said:

Does anyone know how this will affect national couriers such as Yodel, TNT etc. Are they still allowed to operate or are they on lock down also? 

Instead of knocking on your door quietly and dropping the box in the garden. They are now shouting parcel and throwing it over the fence

[Anubis]

New York sees 1,000% increase in unemployment claims

New York - now a major center of new Covid-19 infections - is cracking under the strain of people applying for unemployment benefits.

 

As restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses close thousands are trying to get benefits in order to meet their bills.

 

The New York state labor department said it received 159,000 calls by noon on Thursday, compared with the average of 10,000 calls a day. In some parts of the state, the department said, there was a 1,000% increase in claims. The website is seeing a 400% increase above normal in logins each day.

[Tony Moanero]

14 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

I shop week to week, with the only exception being the missus does some big items (like toilet roll, washing powder, dog food) on subscribe and save with Amazon. Even if I wanted to stock up like a cunt, when I went shopping last weekend there was nothing to stock up with. You couldn't even buy a tin of peas. I went to 3 supermarkets on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, 1 on Monday before we were isolated. It's fucking mental. 

What do you mean there aren't any shortages? The shelves in the supermarkets have been stripped bare for over a week and if you don't queue up to shop before the supermarket opens you get fuck all. Me ma (who's 70) went to Sainsbury's this morning at 6.30, it opens at 7. She was so far back in the queue, by the time she got in there was no fresh meat left and the freezers were stripped bare, she managed to get the last pack of frozen chicken pieces. The supermarkets might be trying their best, but the behaviour of people has meant there just is shortages.  

We usually shop day to day and tend to have very little, if any, tinned food. We only have a small freezer box in the fridge. This week, the local Morrisons has had long queues of people waiting for it to open at 7am. Within an hour or so the shelves, fridges and freezers are bare.

[lifetime fan]

8 hours ago, lifetime fan said:

The Bird has just been in a conference call, the NHS are taking over Nuffield Hospitals on the 15th April and possibly sooner. 

Nuffield health clubs have been put on notice their sports halls could be used as temporary morgues. 

[sir roger]

Anybody on here know what exactly what is the situation required for employers to claim back the 80% wages from HMRC. My daughter owns a restaurant and takings have fallen off a cliff over the past few weeks but she has been subsidising the wages rather than sack anybody while waiting for the government response. Now following the enforced closure she will have no work for them , but some outlets are reporting this is aimed at people who have already been laid off.

[elvis]

3 hours ago, Mudface said:

I'm impressed with the wages guarantee, it's going much further than I expected and should hopefully mean that people aren't forcing themselves to work despite being ill.

Hmm I smell a rat , big bank shaped rat .

[Lee909]

Just now, Tony Moanero said:

We usually shop day to day and tend to have very little, if any, tinned food. We only have a small freezer box in the fridge. This week, the local Morrisons has had long queues of people waiting for it to open at 7am. Within an hour or so the shelves are bare.

Fucking nuts

I went to Asda on way home, got there 05:50 car parks full and queues to get in. Spoke to one of the trolley guys who said they were empty already. So ended up going to town, overpaying fir a few bits in M&S, was in Morrisons, Tesco the day before, both empty. So went to town to M&S, Sainsburys empty, Iceland restricted hours. In the end the only place I got stuff for my grandad and a little fir ourselves was bloody B&M and even then it was soup and packets noodles. 

 

Luckily I already had a few bits so I'm good for 7/10 days then it's nothing but Porridge and protein/replacement shakes

[Barrington Womble]

26 minutes ago, Bruce Spanner said:

If people didn’t buy a weeks worth in a day there would be no shortages, I know it’s difficult as people are panicked, but once it calms down it’ll be normalised. There are only shortages in the the shops, not the supply chain. For now.

People have to buy a week's food for many reasons.

 

1. because it's what most people do, so they don't have food otherwise. I shop weekly once per week. In the situation of social distancing that we live today, that is responsible behaviour. 

2. What choice do you have? If anyone develops a cough or a temperature in your house, you are expected to stay at home for 2 weeks, that includes not shopping. So you need 2 weeks of food in your house. 

3. The issue isn't people buying a week's worth of food, it's people buying a week's worth every day for about 2 weeks, buying extra chest freezers and freezing it all and stocking up like it's a nuclear war. 

 

And before this weekend the supermarkets let people run wild, which has caused panic with all kinds of people who shop more frequently than I do, somewhere they would normally buy food for a couple of days, they're buying for longer because basically there's never any food in the shops. 

 

This was telegraphed by what happened in Italy. If the supermarkets weren't quick enough to ratio themselves, the government should have stamped on it then. 

[Anubis]

6 minutes ago, sir roger said:

Anybody on here know what exactly what is the situation required for employers to claim back the 80% wages from HMRC. My daughter owns a restaurant and takings have fallen off a cliff over the past few weeks but she has been subsidising the wages rather than sack anybody while waiting for the government response. Now following the enforced closure she will have no work for them , but some outlets are reporting this is aimed at people who have already been laid off.

It can be backdated to 1st March so may allow some employers to reverse decisions to lay people off. Still applies to current employers like your daughter. No idea how you apply though.

[sir roger]

Cheers Anubis , I think the accountant will sort the claim out but not sure how you prove you would have laid them off except for goodwill,  or if you would have been pushed to do it by today's announcement or does she have to sack them and reinstate them ?

[Lee909]

2 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

 

3. The issue isn't people buying a week's worth of food, it's people buying a week's worth every day for about 2 weeks, buying extra chest freezers and freezing it all and stocking up like it's a nuclear war. 

 

 

 

 

Agree with this

People often buy a weeks worth of food. Also you want people buying for a week or so, then they can stay in and not keep going back. 

 

Its the greedy bastards buying far more than they'll use in 2/3 weeks causing the shit

[Bruce Spanner]

4 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

People have to buy a week's food for many reasons.

 

1. because it's what most people do, so they don't have food otherwise. I shop weekly once per week. In the situation of social distancing that we live today, that is responsible behaviour. 

2. What choice do you have? If anyone develops a cough or a temperature in your house, you are expected to stay at home for 2 weeks, that includes not shopping. So you need 2 weeks of food in your house. 

3. The issue isn't people buying a week's worth of food, it's people buying a week's worth every day for about 2 weeks, buying extra chest freezers and freezing it all and stocking up like it's a nuclear war. 

 

And before this weekend the supermarkets let people run wild, which has caused panic with all kinds of people who shop more frequently than I do, somewhere they would normally buy food for a couple of days, they're buying for longer because basically there's never any food in the shops. 

 

This was telegraphed by what happened in Italy. If the supermarkets weren't quick enough to ration themselves, the government should have stamped on it then. 

I agree with all of that and as I said once all the hoarding calms down, rightly or wrongly, normal supply will happen.

[Anubis]

4 minutes ago, sir roger said:

Cheers Anubis , I think the accountant will sort the claim out but not sure how you prove you would have laid them off except for goodwill,  or if you would have been pushed to do it by today's announcement or does she have to sack them and reinstate them ?

Have her take a look here. I’m sure there’ll be details on there somewhere.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

[Numero Veinticinco]

The good stuff is insane. Like... insane. It just doesn’t need to be like this. 

[Barrington Womble]

11 minutes ago, Bruce Spanner said:

I agree with all of that and as I said once all the hoarding calms down, rightly or wrongly, normal supply will happen.

Well yes, if people didn't hoard there would be plenty of food because it would be no different to last week. I'm assuming aside from Italy our food imports and domestic production are little different to normal. But the point I was making you said there's not a shortage, but there is. People are cunts and unless you stop them being cunts, they will carry. Apparently there's loads on social media bragging and showing video clips of all they've stored. 

[Anubis]

Argentina’s authorities are trying hard to enforce the nationwide mandatory quarantine imposed Friday by President Alberto Fernández, with great difficulty in some cases.

 

In the northern city of Jujuy, police in white full-body sanitary suits tried to arrest a group of youngsters who defied the quarantine, in a dramatic chase captured by an onlooker around San Martín park Friday morning (ART).

 

 

 

[elvis]

"Decided not to listen to government advice or 111, because Sandra on Facebook who lives next door turns out to be microbiologist, national economical expert, housing advisor, mortgage guru, GP and national pandemic specialist .... who’d have thought? Only last week she was a full time mummy selling bath bombs on Facebook! ... goes to show, never judge a book by its cover."
 Facebook 2020

[Mudface]

22 minutes ago, elvis said:

Hmm I smell a rat , big bank shaped rat .

How so?

 

I'd be very surprised if it was a bait and switch. We need to see the details, obviously, but there are going to be a lot of businesses and workers feeling massively relieved tonight. Pulling the rug from under them would tank confidence and likely cause unrest after today's announcement. This isn't a PR game any more, the UK's economic survival depends on this.

[elvis]

1 minute ago, Mudface said:

How so?

 

I'd be very surprised if it was a bait and switch. We need to see the details, obviously, but there are going to be a lot of businesses and workers feeling massively relieved tonight. Pulling the rug from under them would tank confidence and likely cause unrest after today's announcement. This isn't a PR game any more, the UK's economic survival depends on this.

You probably know a lot more than me mate - but when a tory government starts handing out fucking huge amounts of cash to workers I assume that they are more worried about their chums long term needs than ours . But I'm no expert , obviously 

[Mudface]

2 minutes ago, elvis said:

You probably know a lot more than me mate - but when a tory government starts handing out fucking huge amounts of cash to workers I assume that they are more worried about their chums long term needs than ours . But I'm no expert , obviously 

I know what you mean, but I think in this case there's simply no choice. They either do this, or you end up with 10 million unemployed and thousands of people trying to carry on working and making the situation worse.