Has anyone been to a supermarket over the weekend?  If so, are the majority of people wearing masks now?  (I know it's not mandatory until Friday)

Also, for anyone that doesn't know, some supermarkets have quietly dropped the priority hours.  My local Tesco stores now only have priority on Sunday and Wednesday from 9-10am.  And the Extra is now open from 6am until midnight each day except Sunday.

 

Lots of change.  I don't like change.  I'd only just settled into this new routine!  

Not looking forward to tomorrows shop as I don't know whether to wear a mask or not.  I don't know whether to go back to my old time of 9am or whether that'll be packed with elderlies that don't know the priority has been dropped.  Or even if it'll just be busy at that time as the majority of people still aren't doing 9-5s or school runs now.

I've just tried to get a delivery slot instead...I didn't expect one tomorrow...but there's currently only 3 left for the whole week and they're next Saturday!  So I've got to physically go tomorrow at some point afterall.

I've kept pretty quite on this thread as I've been signed off immune supposed and asthmatic [emoji23]. I've started to go back to shops in the past week or so. Maybe 5 percent of people are wearing masks it's ***** mad. I've got masks for obvious reasons.

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25 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Has anyone been to a supermarket over the weekend?  If so, are the majority of people wearing masks now?  (I know it's not mandatory until Friday)

99.9% up here where it is mandatory. Even a long time before that quite a high percentage of people were wearing masks, more so in the shops that are in the posher areas.

If anyone thinks they will look silly wearing a mask then that is nothing compared to how silly they will look lying on a hospital bed with a nappy on and tubes either up their nose or down their throat, and not just when they are sedated but for a long time afterwards when they are recovering.

34 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Has anyone been to a supermarket over the weekend?  If so, are the majority of people wearing masks now?  (I know it's not mandatory until 

At my local Tesco last week it was reassuring to see at least 50 -75% of people including staff already wearing masks. Dead easy shopping really ,very well organised. I am on the Gov danger list but decided life's to short to stay away from everything. Just get out there and be sensible.

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At my local Tesco last week it was reassuring to see at least 50 -75% of people including staff already wearing masks. Dead easy shopping really ,very well organised. I am on the Gov danger list but decided life's to short to stay away from everything. Just get out there and be sensible.

This is how I feel. I've got to go back to work in two weeks and get in and out of people's cars all day. Can't lock myself up forever.

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15 minutes ago, bashbarnard said:

This is how I feel. I've got to go back to work in two weeks and get in and out of people's cars all day. Can't lock myself up forever.

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As long as you keep changing gloves and don't lick the steering wheels you should be fairly safe.  I'm sure there's much worse festering in most car interiors!  

Dad had his MOT done at your old work a couple of weeks ago (think he forgets you don't work there any more lol) but said it all felt pretty safe as a customer.  Also said they sanitized the car before returning it, must take ages having to sanitize each car after every job!

 

I've had the same experience as you in shops so far, only 5% or less wearing masks, but I have only been early morning when there weren't many people about so easy to keep distance.  Might be a regional thing given the other replies though!

It's easy to think it's ***** about this virus! Majority of the people will just get a common cold signs then just live normal lives. So many of you just don't know if you have had it or not. Lovely, but then you go out with it and pass it on to some in general. You don't know if you have or haven't? Next You pass it to a older relative and you watch them suffer. OH no it wasn't Me. You don't know till You are tested. Then how will You feel? What happens when or if they died. What about the people you've infected you don't know? I'll tell you what, if you don't believe! Go to a hospital, don't put any PPE on and walk into the ward were they are working on the patients with covid 19 and take over from the nurses that are dead on their feet. I bet you don't even think about doing that! Tell it to all the nurses and carer workers out there and the families of the dead. If you are over 50 you are at a higher risk of getting it or have underlining health issues. If you are younger and go out shopping, think of this as you walk passed a older person. Also the same goes for older people walking passed young people, even with a mask on. 2 metres is a must, 1 metre is for the brave BUT 1\2 metre is for the idiots who want to die or kill. Which 1 are YOU?

As long as you keep changing gloves and don't lick the steering wheels you should be fairly safe.  I'm sure there's much worse festering in most car interiors!  
Dad had his MOT done at your old work a couple of weeks ago (think he forgets you don't work there any more lol) but said it all felt pretty safe as a customer.  Also said they sanitized the car before returning it, must take ages having to sanitize each car after every job!
 
I've had the same experience as you in shops so far, only 5% or less wearing masks, but I have only been early morning when there weren't many people about so easy to keep distance.  Might be a regional thing given the other replies though!

Purlings sorted my mot put as well recently. I'm friends with all of them there and tbh would work there again in a heartbeat now I'm back in the area so to speak. They actually value Thier customers as you've probably realised by now.

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If you are worried about sanitizing your car, there is a Fogger you can buy on eBay or the web called Fog-it. It works butthenice smell goes after 20min.

If you don't want to spend the money for their machine, look on eBay for a disco smoke machine. They are the same.

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Has anyone been to a supermarket over the weekend?  

Just called in a large Co-op supermarket this morning, on our way back from a few days up the Dales in our caravan. No one was wearing a mask and tbh I could see no need, the store was very well laid out to permit distancing through the aisles and at checkouts and all customers and staff were keeping well over 2 metres.

Funnily enough, I've just finished emailing my MP on a related matter (he's not heard from me for a while, and I don't want him getting complacent!😀).

No seriously, just heard from my brother in law who is medically exempt (COPD and other issues). He's normally very law/rule abiding and had asked his GP how to get a letter/certificate/badge/whatever to prove his exemption and been told there isn't one. From a search on the web it looks like this is the case, though some transport bodies (e.g. TfL) seem to be issuing their own. So it seems the brother in law faces the potential embarrassment of having to explain his personal health issues if challenged in a shop or on a bus for not face covering. I don't think this is acceptable, hence email to our MP.

We've been having a good debate on here about face coverings, etc, on which opinions differ but the reality is the rule comes in for shops on Friday and I shall abide by it.

Saw something this morning though that really disturbed me. We are possibly on the verge of a vaccine which, if successful, could mean a return to what we used to regard as normality within a year. Apparently, though, up to 25% of those surveyed have said they would refuse to have it. 

What do you folks think? I'll be in there double quick!

 

14 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

What do you folks think?

I would put then all on an Island together and let them die off. I'm not cruel though, I would give them an adequate supply of Tin Foil  to put on the top of their heads.

1 minute ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

We've been having a good debate on here about face coverings, etc, on which opinions differ but the reality is the rule comes in for shops on Friday and I shall abide by it.

Saw something this morning though that really disturbed me. We are possibly on the verge of a vaccine which, if successful, could mean a return to what we used to regard as normality within a year. Apparently, though, up to 25% of those surveyed have said they would refuse to have it. 

What do you folks think? I'll be in there double quick!

 

Normality?  Cold, Flu & Noro season will start by the time they get a Corona vaccine out...I'll still keep socially distancing and obsessively washing my hands!   

On a serious note though, I'm terrified of needles...been dreading having to have the vaccine since it was first mentioned.  Last jab I was forced to have, I passed out walking out of the room and my head dropped 5ft to the public carpet covered in years of filth, narrowly missing a cast iron radiator and taking several layers off my face...my beard still doesn't grow properly there now!  Can't say that helped my fear of needles and I'm reminded of it every time I shave.  

I have heard there will be a non-needle option.  Not sure how that works, or if it will only be for people that medically need it (not just pansy snowflakes like me). 

I'd also be apprehensive about any side effects or the long term effects...realistically it hasn't been about long enough to know the real world long term effects.  Thalidomide and Asbestos were great when they first came out...

 

Regarding face coverings, I did try to wear one for my Tesco shop yesterday and was pretty unsuccessful.  Partly due to my own contamination fears (I'll end up putting more contaminants onto my face fitting a mask!) and partly due to the logistics of them not fitting properly, sliding up, fogging up my glasses and not being able to see anything on lower shelves.  I gave up yesterday as it wasn't mandatory yet, and the shop was even quieter than it had been previously.  It has caused me an interesting dilemma now though...not sure whether to try and persevere with it or whether to try online deliveries instead.  Neither is an ideal solution for me so will have to think about it over this week!

4 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I would put then all on an Island together and let them die off. I'm not cruel though, I would give them an adequate supply of Tin Foil  to put on the top of their heads.

They wouldn't all die off...you'd lose a few weak ones and the rest would benefit from herd immunity...  Exactly how natural selection would've worked before society decided that EVERY life is precious.  

26 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

..I'll still keep socially distancing and obsessively washing my hands!

Tbh I do that under "normal" circumstances anyway. My Mrs has always been more "touchy feely"- hugging friends on meeting etc - but she says she won't be going back to doing that in future whether vaccine succeeds or not.

27 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

..not sure whether to try and persevere with it or whether to try online deliveries instead.  Neither is an ideal solution for me so will have to think about it over this week!

A lot of people we know went 100% online back in March and once they got used to it, seem very happy with it. Most say they will probably continue with it, even after the current situation (hopefully) ends. They certainly have no intention of shopping in person while the face covering rule is in force. The Mrs and I can live with it - we only shop in person for essential items like beer, wine, newspaper and food, so are in and out pretty quickly anyway. (This morning I was in and out of the local shop for milk and paper in under 2 minutes!😃)

 

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

On a serious note though, I'm terrified of needles...been dreading having to have the vaccine since it was first mentioned.

I'm surprised that there is no therapy available for needle fear when there is for more minor fears, what a strange world we live in.

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Regarding face coverings,

It might be an idea to wear a mask in the house just to get used to it before you wear one outside. I have been using disposable gloves since before the lockdown and remove them first before removing my mask to avoid contamination.

1 hour ago, Tizer said:

I'm surprised that there is no therapy available for needle fear when there is for more minor fears, what a strange world we live in.

Lol yes. We have 2 nurses at our GP practice - one of them manages to give you a jab almost without you noticing, with the other it always hurts like hell and you get a massive bruise. And a couple of years back I had bursitis in my knee and my GP administered a cortisone injection into it - the needle looked like it was meant for a horse and I could barely limp home afterwards. No wonder some people are scared of needles!

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Lol yes. We have 2 nurses at our GP practice - one of them manages to give you a jab almost without you noticing, with the other it always hurts like hell and you get a massive bruise. And a couple of years back I had bursitis in my knee and my GP administered a cortisone injection into it - the needle looked like it was meant for a horse and I could barely limp home afterwards. No wonder some people are scared of needles!

Thanks Roger, that's really eased my nerves. 😳 

 

In fairness, there is plenty of therapy about and it does work for some people but I've got so many other fears & phobias that I can't even get to a therapists office or speak to them on the phone.  My main fear is really my own body...or indeed anything having to enter or exit it, and no one seems to know how to tackle that.

16 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Thanks Roger, that's really eased my nerves. 😳 

Sorry, Tom. Actually I'm pretty scared of needles myself, I think it's just that I'm more afraid of appearing scared in front of the doctor or nurse, than I am of the needle, that keeps me going.

So, just looking at the latest statistics - 110 UK deaths today, sadly, attributed to coronavirus.

Wondering when the revised counting method will come into force. Until Matt Hancock ordered a review last week, it seems anyone in England who had ever tested positive for Covid-19, then died subsequently, even if from another cause, were being counted as coronavirus deaths. Silly example given was someone who tested positive in March, and either showed no symptoms or recovered, but was then run over in June, would have been counted as a coronavirus death. The rest of the UK have only been counting anyone who tested positive within 28 days before death, so this presumably is why the rates for England seem high in comparison to others.

This could have meant that anyone who had ever tested positive would have counted as a coronavirus death, whenever they died. So when, for example, Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson finally pass away (hopefully many years in the future), they would still have been included as coronavirus deaths under this methodology.

The other interesting thing I spotted is that you are now 3 times more likely to pass from flu or pneumonia than Covid-19.

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1 hour ago, V6 Lover said:

We are being lied to...dont trust goverment,

Well yes, of course we are. You are lied to all your life. What we have to try and decide is whether they are "good" or "bad" lies. For example, were your parents evil when you were told about Santa Claus? Have you never had a partner who reassured you that you were the best lover ever? 

There was a good example in a TV documentary the other day. Were the government wrong at the height of the cold war to give you a glimmer of hope of survival through it's "Protect and Survive" programme, or should they have given it to us straight as depicted in the film "Threads" (well worth a watch it you have a strong enough stomach) which graphically depicted the unbelievably horrific consequences of a nuclear clash?

I don't envy any government at the moment. They are, as they tell us, "following the science" but unfortunately "the science" at times appears to be going round in circles and into Hampton Court maze. When dealing with "experts" it's very difficult to tell whether they are incredibly clever or just wacko. And governments have to balance all this against the reality of trying not to totally trash the economy, not completely blight the lives of a generation of young people currently in education, and try and give reassurance to the many people who are genuinely afraid at the moment. To do all that, I'm sure, requires a little fib or two along the way.

This does not mean we should not maintain a healthy scepticism of course, keep their actions under review and let them know what our views are through the channel of our elected representatives. I certainly do that, as my MP's have learnt over the years.

Edit: coincidentally my email just pinged. It was a response from my MP to my latest missive about face coverings I mentioned earlier in this thread!

 

 

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

This could have meant that anyone who had ever tested positive would have counted as a coronavirus death, whenever they died. So when, for example, Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson finally pass away (hopefully many years in the future), they would still have been included as coronavirus deaths under this methodology.

The other interesting thing I spotted is that you are now 3 times more likely to pass from flu or pneumonia than Covid-19.

Quite - the statistics are all messed up, especially when comparing different countries. UK: 297,000 cases, 1400 recovered. Spain: 266,000 cases, 150,000 recovered. All we can determine from that is the way of measuring the infection, recovery and mortality rate of Covid-19 is very inconsistent.

One of the things I found interesting was the early research into the R rate, or rate of transmission. Coronavirus has an estimated natural R of 3, which means that on average 1 person will pass it to 3 others. Flu apparently has an R of 7. That's not to take away from the potential seriousness of coronavirus, but it does highlight that comparing it to outbreaks of other diseases is like comparing apples and oranges.

2 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

They are, as they tell us, "following the science" but unfortunately "the science" at times appears to be going round in circles and into Hampton Court maze.

As a former scientist, that's one of the things that always irks me about how the information is portrayed. Following the science should mean that you are constantly re-examining the evidence, and are prepared to change your views as new evidence comes to light. Unfortunately, the media, politicians and public opinion typically interpret science as a) an irrevocable fact; b) an opportunity to knock a smug know-it-all when new evidence comes to light that changes the original theory, and c) something they should now reject in favour of their own personal beliefs, because all the experts change their mind when new evidence appears.

Science is all about finding answers, but that's never a quick process.

Rant over 🙂