to think that I won't be able to self isolate if I have to

[polarfrogs]

I have nobody to do the shopping for me or my elderly parents so I will have to carry on with that. I have tried to get a delivery slot today but they are either all fully booked or cost money which is beyond my budget so I will have to go shopping at some point. I don't have other family or friends to call on - parents have dementia, PILs are deceased and parents and us live in a different country to the rest of the family.

I need to go and get medication for both my parents and can't get more yet because their surgery only prescribe a month at a time; they have a week left in stock and the surgery won't authorise a request for another week.

We're on a low income and so can't do a bulk shop in advance.

This was posted in our local group for people to use. One person responded as is she didn’t have enought to worry about which I didn’t think was very nice

And before someone says use food banks our local one has said they are now short of items as people have stopped donating due to their own stockpiling...!

Our food bank does a large delivery of food hampers to our school every holiday for our families on a low income. We are due to get the food just before Easter holidays but I’m now worried our school will be closed by then.

On our local facebook group volunteers have already been rounded up

Unfortunately, lots of vulnerable people dont want the help. Elderly people just keep thinking their adult children will be able to help.

But I think as more people go into isolation more will acceptable the help. We also have a food bank involved and all have slots where we will deliver for them.

It's not going to easy for anyone.

I agree about community groups.
Our local area have set one up and the number of people posting pick up support is heartwarming- many many people are offering help to pick up shopping, prescriptions etc.
If there is no local group then set one up. You wil be helping others in a similar situation too.

I get you OP. We’re all in a mess and those rolling eyes and tutting just can’t see the level of privilege.

A sports team local to me posted on FB that they will be helping with shopping & errands like you describe - maybe you could reach out and suggest something similar? Don’t be too proud to ask for help.

If you have Nextdoor in your area there are people on there volunteering to get shopping etc for those who need it.

It's a blinking minefield. I have problems because my elderly mum lives 200 miles away and had been socially isolating herself for 15 years! If she is unable to go out, I did think about appealing on their local fb group for help. But who knows who might respond to that? What do I say " elderly, vulnerable woman with no local family needs help?" With any luck, nice neighbours might contact me, but who knows?. Been trying to get her to move for the last 2 years, this might be the thing that works.

I totally understand that it will be very, very difficult for some households. But to call self-isolation a 'privilege' is stupid.

Self-isolation is critical if we're to prevent people from dying. Have a read of this excellent post that I've copied from another thread:

For anyone wondering if it's practical or necessary for them to follow the latest UK control measures for COVID-19, here is the rationale and the reasons why it is very, very important that they do.

1. The government has rightly recognised that it's neither practical nor effective to continue testing everyone. Even with the very best test turnaround times possible, you can't delay self-isolating and risk infecting someone until you know the result.

1. Given the above, they've instead identified the key symptoms that will catch most people with Covid-19 - fever (37.8C or more) or a persisting cough (you might have both, but one is enough to be a possible case).

1. If you have the symptoms mentioned in #2, they advise that you are infectious from the onset of symptoms for a period of seven days. This is why you need to isolate for 7 days rather than going back out after you feel a bit better, like we would normally do.

1. If you self-isolate (and if you don't live alone you need to be distant from the rest of your family/flatmates too) at the first sign of fever or cough for the 7 days YOU WILL NOT INFECT ANYONE ELSE. Really obvious but remember this the key reason to do this.

1. If you don't infect anyone else and everyone else infected takes the same measures, the rate of infection will slow down and ultimately the overall number infected should drop - this is the "flattening the epidemic curve" which is mentioned so often.

1. By flattening the epidemic curve, critically ill cases don't all flood the NHS at the same time but are a bit more staggered. This in turn gives these patients a better chance of there being available ICU care which will save their lives.

1. If we don't follow this stringently we will be in the same position as Italy where the death rate is shooting up because the overwhelmed health services are unble to treat everyone - people who would have survived the infection two weeks ago when supportive treatment was available, are now dying.

We cannot underestimate the horror of their situation and we will all lose people we love if we allow that to happen here.

It is definitely a big ask to expect everyone to stay home for a week for what for many will be just a common cold but if we don't do it and we are Covid19 cases then you can see from the above that we are responsible for indirectly killing thousands of people by putting excessive pressure on the NHS. So yes, there are massive financial, professional, personal etc pressures to be borne by all of us in following these measures, (and for some these will be extremely hard) but please, please look ahead to what we need to achieve for the protection of everyone vulnerable to COVID-19. Do the right thing and help all us get through this with as few casualties as possible.

Waitrose deliver for free.
And can people in low incomes afford to shop at Waitrose? I’m not on a low income and can’t afford Waitrose.

Our neighbourhood watch is setting up a community care type thing where people who need help can ask and people who can help can offer.
Do you have anything like that you could be part of?

Reading this makes me think we should all be organising help groups for our street/estate/village so that neighbours can keep in touch and help each other out.

daisypond I'm on UC and not working at all and therefore don't have lots of money. I don't drive so the free delivery is great for me, plus they can usually deliver the next day. Tesco can't do this. They also keep sending me vouchers for significant money off my shopping. Usually £15 off if I spend £100. I do my mums shopping at the same time to get up to the £100 and we share the voucher. I buy a lot of their essentials range with the occasional high price item. We are vegetarian though and I expect meat and fish are more expensive there. Cheese is more expensive so I get that from our local Asda along with other items that are cheaper.

Yes people on low incomes can afford Waitrose. They have their own 'essentials' range and plenty of stuff that all the other supermarkets sell, that isn't expensive. Take baked beans - Branston Baked Beans or their premium Duchy (organic) brand are both 65p a tin. A loaf of Essentials wholemeal sliced bread is 65p. Just two examples.

Ok, I take the point about the essentials range. But those on low incomes might not have internet access, so online anything is out of reach. I know someone who has to get the bus to the library for internet. Many elderly people don’t have internet at all either.

65p is expensive for beans if you’re on a low income when compared to Aldi or Lidl.

Again, people are living in a different world.

I am thankful that due to a change in circumstances I am no longer in the very low income category but there is no way I could have self isolated and done an online shop when I was. Even the delivery charge was more than I would have spent a day in food.

For reference, baked beans at Aldi are 22p a tin.

The Waitrose comment did tickle me

One thing I've learnt working in retail is that delivery is never free. They just make up the cost in other areas, so one way or another you do end up paying for it

Nextdoor site seem to be very proactive in setting up help for people in your situation OP.

Yes you can buy baked beans cheaper elsewhere! But that wasn't my point. @daisypond claimed that she couldn't afford Waitrose when she isn't on a low income.

It's undoubtedly going to be very hard for some people to self-isolate. But it's imperative that people do as much as they can, otherwise our death rate is going to soar, like it has done in Italy.

65p is expensive for beans or bread when you can get it for less than half that!
Some people live in a fucking bubble .

Read my post above @Mookie81!

What would you do if you were hospitalised or very ill in the normal non Covid 19 course of life...is there anyone who would be able to deliver something to your parents? I appreciate possibly not, it can be very hard to put plans in place. I am sure right now many people would be willing to help though.

@ ChocolateCakeMix we are in a similar situation. Partner and I have developed persistent coughs, we have a five year old and six month old. We can only self isolate from others, but not the kids. So we are doing the online deliveries and my five year old is off with us for the seven days as we can’t get him to school. If we do have it, both children have already been in extremely close contact with us over the preceding days anyway, so we couldn’t stop anything anyway - I’ve read children generally have milder symptoms, so I’m not massively concerned. It’s just hard being home with two kids!

Tesco doesn’t take the full payment of online shopping until the day they only take 1p or £1. Just order a few weeks in advance now. You can alter what’s in the delivery up til the night before