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Original poster

Supermarkets and Schools most common for catching covid

88 replies

Orangeblossom7777 · 19/11/2020 18:58

Supermarkets most common exposure setting for catching coronavirus in England
Supermarkets are the most frequent common exposure setting for those catching Covid-19 in England, new data from Public Health England suggests.

The data was collated using the Test and Trace app, and by analysing the contacts and retracing the steps of the 128,808 people who reported they had tested positive between November 9 and November 15, revealed the most frequent locations people with the virus had been prior to testing positive.

Supermarkets have remained open for shoppers during the lockdown in England, and the data suggests they are now the primary setting where those who had tested positive for the virus reported to have been.

The second most common location were secondary schools, followed by primary schools, and then hospitals and care homes.

  • seen in the news today. Interesting considering the recent lockdown
OP posts:
lockeddownandcrazy · 19/11/2020 19:59

supermarkets are the worse as there is no control and 50% arent wearing masks or wearing them under noses in our local lidl. at least at school they are trying to keep it under control

Emilyontmoor · 19/11/2020 19:59

No case has yet been tracked to definitely being caught from a surface, and that is worldwide (and in contrast to the 2003 SARS virus which from early on was demonstrably transmitted on lift buttons etc.) Cases are overwhelmingly related to being in close proximity (less than two metres) to another person for more than ten minutes, mainly in an unventilated indoor setting without masks.

I don’t know about you but whilst I do go to supermarkets I wear a mask and swerve people (especially ones with no mask or the mouth breathers who wear them under their noses) and certainly don’t stay near them for more than ten minutes. I caught it from my daughter in the home, who caught it in the pub.

All the other data in the places with huge incidence of cases suggests that it is being transmitted in schools and bought home to affect multi generational households.

islockdownoveryet · 19/11/2020 20:02

I've been saying this for bloody ages when people blaming pubs / restaurants/ hairdressers.
Everyone goes to a supermarket probably even when they feel ill .
They bring the whole family like it's a day out .
Social distancing gone out of the window , supermarkets aren't bothered about restricting the amount of people in a shop .
The amount of people that have been right behind me when I'm putting my stuff on the conveyer belt .
I don't know why it's so difficult
Meanwhile the hospitality industry is struggling but I'd love to see Asda's profits this year .
Obviously closely followed by schools but I thought it was interesting how many had caught it in a pub . Like pubs are some sort of covid hot spot when in fact most of them are extremely safe . They have followed all the government guidelines restricting customers telling them only the own households etc . Supermarkets it's like a cattle market at the weekend .

Waspnest · 19/11/2020 20:02

Yes, could we have a link please? If it's the same one as in the other thread running there are graphs suggesting that the data shows household and household visitors to be more implicated in spread than educational places (and supermarkets).

sailingclosetotheedge · 19/11/2020 20:03

I don't believe it for a second.
I call bullshit.
I've heard of entire workplaces in which the majority of the workforce have caught COVID (off each other)
I go to work and I go to the supermarket (once a week) there's no way I would catch it in a supermarket

JassyRadlett · 19/11/2020 20:03

I read that nearly everyone who tested positive had been in their homes multiple times in the week before testing positive.
Time to close homes?

Bollss · 19/11/2020 20:05

Do we really think people are being honest? They're not going to say oh yeah we had a family party round nans on Tuesday. Come to think of it our carol looked a bit off it.

They're gonna say oh yeah only place I've been is Asda and the kids have been at school.

MadameBlobby · 19/11/2020 20:06

Hardly a shock given everywhere else is closed

Vargas · 19/11/2020 20:07

@Randominternetbitch

They should definitely close all the supermarkets now, they’re not safe! No one needs shop brought food anyway, just get an allotment and a couple of Mumsnet chickens. Sorted.
Careful - there'll be people advocating this on MN soon. Grin
Bottomsupfizz · 19/11/2020 20:08

I don’t understand how people can catch it in a supermarket if everyone is wearing masks and distancing?

Vargas · 19/11/2020 20:08

@JassyRadlett

I read that nearly everyone who tested positive had been in their homes multiple times in the week before testing positive. Time to close homes?
Yes! And people should stop seeing people they know, they are the ones that are infecting them.... Grin
S00LA · 19/11/2020 20:08

@travailtotravel

This is a moment to reflect on the difference between correlation and causation.
This.
MyfavouritesareRoses · 19/11/2020 20:10

This

"The most frequent locations people had been, does not equate to the most common place for catching covid."

It doesn't mean they caught covid there! It just means that one of the places the people had been to was supermarkets and schools.....

Waspnest · 19/11/2020 20:10

I read that nearly everyone who tested positive had been in their homes multiple times in the week before testing positive.
Time to close homes?

That made me laugh, thank you!

JassyRadlett · 19/11/2020 20:11

I don’t understand how people can catch it in a supermarket if everyone is wearing masks and distancing?

Well, first, we don’t know that they are. It would be interesting to compare those figures with the most visited places by the general population since lockdown. I suspect there would be similarities.

And second, the ‘if’ in that sentence is doing a lot of hard work. It also doesn’t account for the fact that masks aren’t 100% effective, that many don’t wear them properly or at all, and people’s general hygiene can be a bit iffy.

JassyRadlett · 19/11/2020 20:11

That made me laugh, thank you!

You are extremely welcome! Goodness knows we can all use one right now. Grin

LethargicLumpOfLockdownLard · 19/11/2020 20:12

@Bellal

Correlation isn't causation. Just because a lot of people have been there doesn't mean they caught it there.
This. My first thought was, well yes, I go to the supermarket once or twice a week. If I wasn't at work it would be the main location I visit. Doesn't mean people are catching it there!
MyfavouritesareRoses · 19/11/2020 20:12

@JassyRadlett

I read that nearly everyone who tested positive had been in their homes multiple times in the week before testing positive. Time to close homes?
Brilliant....

Shows you how stupid some people are mixing up places that people that have tested positive have visited....and assuming that is where they caught it!

Chestnutacorns123 · 19/11/2020 20:13

@purplediasies, I suspect plenty of places. If people in lockdown didn't go anywhere then we'd have cracked this first time round. Trust me driving to work then felt like being in a post apocalyptic film where nearly everyone had died. That was until 11am when everyone got up and went for a walk/bike ride /trip to the beach or other area of beauty nearby 🤣

soozeymcfloozey · 19/11/2020 20:15

I find that very hard to believe. You're supposed to have to spend approximately 15 minutes with someone (and that's without taking masks into account. In a supermarket you're generally walking past each individual for a matter of seconds.

As others have pointed out, most people who've been in the supermarket have also been in contact with people in other places, so it's impossible to say who they caught it off.

megletthesecond · 19/11/2020 20:17

Our supermarkets are ghost towns at the end of the day. I pop in a few times a week after 6pm. Everyone has been in masks, no queues, in and out.

Now, if you're talking about other shops the Primark queue is a potential Petri dish.

Tangledtresses · 19/11/2020 20:18

All of 3 children in our secondary school caught it from their parent/s who had it before them
So I'm not buying it personally

Justajot · 19/11/2020 20:21

Yesterday the Daily Mail was reporting that people who had received a grocery delivery in the previous week were 95% more likely to be diagnosed with covid than those who hadn't. Obviously they reported this as "grocery deliveries double your chance of catching covid".

So grocery deliveries and the supermarket are deemed to be significant risks by the scientifically illiterate sector of the media.

I'm off to forage for nettles and we will be eating our pet rabbit. I assume rabbit works like a MN chicken.

ivykaty44 · 19/11/2020 20:21

that'll be because most people will have shopped in a supermarket during the week, it doesn't mean you catch cover in the supermarket, just that most people who test positive have been to a supermarket