All of you up in arms over people taking key worker places?

[Wontdothisagain]

Do you also think that non essential businesses should be closed? Or do you think that they don't contribute to spread?

For example Greggs, McDonald's, Burger King are all open.

I have family who work in factories and warehouses in crowded conditions making and packing very non essential goods.

B&Q is open and today is busy and full of family groups.

No doubt The Range is the same.

Do you feel as angry about all of this than for example, an NHS admin worker using a key worker space?

Exactly. I work in manufacturing. Not a "critical worker" but it's a job you can't do from home. DS's dad is a critical worker out of the home and I am also out of the home so we have no choice but to send DS to school.

If you want to carry on buying non essential items online then factories have to be open to supply them.

Yes, they should all be closed. Pharmacies and supermarkets only.

Yes I think places like B&Q should be closed for anything non essential, so maybe just staying open for urgent things that tradesmen may need for urgent repairs.
Not sure about fast food outlets, but I do think that when there are so many restrictions in place, people do need things to boost morale nd for many teenagers that will be having the odd Mc Donalds. I am the mum of four teens and to be honest it's pretty hard to try to keep moral up, they have had lots taken away from them - job opportunities, school friends, social activities. To deprive them of the odd treat in the form of a take away that has minimal risk seems harsh. However my eldest ds at Uni does work at McDonalds and I do worry about him although he has already had covid ( not caught at work ). I think I would be more worried if he had not already had it, although he seems to think adequate precautions are taken.

@SendHelp30

Yes, they should all be closed. Pharmacies and supermarkets only.

What about online shopping though? Should that be restricted to essential items only? The factory I work in produces non essential items, none of the retail stores are open but people are buying online so we still have to work.

I've just been for a walk locally from my door ...passed the posh off licence to find it open !??!????

@Waxonwaxoff0
Yes. Its not essential therefore not required. It’s a short term lockdown, people will have to get a grip and wait.

@Wontdothisagain
I would argue that take-aways aren't non-essential businesses in any sense of the word as many people rely on them and similar businesses in order to get a hot meal (and others use them in order to eat during long shifts in essential jobs). It is also essential that as much of the economy as physically possible stays open as a proportion of businesses forced to shut will never be able to reopen so the country is saying goodbye to jobs every time economic restrictions are tightened.
While education is certainly important the quality should be the same in the classroom and through remote learning so if a parent is at home there is no reason why the child shouldn't also be at home.

I feel sorry for the people who have jobs that can't be closed such as packing, but can't get school places so will lose their jobs. I'm angry at those who demanded school closures and now take their kids to B&M every day.

I’m perhaps biased because my 34 year old cousins funeral was yesterday. She died of Covid. My friends 7 year old daughter is in ITU with covid. People really need to get a grip. There’s thousands of people dying.

[quote SendHelp30]@Waxonwaxoff0
Yes. Its not essential therefore not required. It’s a short term lockdown, people will have to get a grip and wait.[/quote]
That's down to the government to enforce then. They are encouraging manufacturing to carry on. So I've had to take up a school place as DS's dad is a key worker out of the home and I can't work from home either.

I wasn’t suggesting it was your fault. I know it’s been told to continue, was just giving me opinion that I personally don’t feel they should be open. Government will never enforce it. Nobody sticks to anything in this country we’re all far too selfish

@SendHelp30
It really isn't that simple and realistically there is very little that isn't essentially to some. Unfortunately things like fridges, microwaves and toilets break and having functioning examples of these items is almost certainly as essential as having access to food so it has to be possible to replace and repair these items. If people are asked to stay at home they need to be able to communicate in other ways so they need access to technology to do so. Clothes can also break and essential workers can hardly go to work naked or without suitable footwear so again these can be essential items.

I know it isn’t simple and realistic I never said it was. I was giving my opinion that yes, I do feel they add to the spread. Like the OP asked

@Lulu1919
Off licences are certainly essential, both for alcoholics who would be putting further pressure on the NHS if they were unable to obtain alcohol, and for the other services (such as gas and electric top ups) they often provide.

I think all non essential shops should be closed. There should be more focus on protecting key workers especially frontline workers. These people are forced from the safety of their homes with little choice to keep things going. Many will be forced through no choice to put their children in school while being told that also isn’t safe.

Well I suspect that some of the people frothing at the mouth over school places still want their Amazon and other deliveries, stationery to homeschool, birthday presents.

Then there are the jobs that people don't consider 'key' but are on the list. Who do you think repairs the supermarket fridges? Cleans the hospitals, Processes the nurses salaries, maintains equipment in factories where food and medical equipment is produced, empties your bins, delivers the post.

All those saying parents should just take unpaid leave or give up their jobs. It isn't always as easy as you might think to recruit into the positions.

I don’t think anyone should be forced to give up their jobs or be forced to take unpaid leave. There needs to be more support for families home schooling.

Hospital cleaners and therefore NHS staff are essential.
NHS payroll (which i used to do) you can do from home. The system can be set to run monthly. NHSSBS who process payroll and pensions for the majority of trusts already did home working pre covid. I worked from home for them in 2014.
Postal workers and refuge workers are essential workers.

You can buy stationary and presents in supermarkets.

Seriously, it’s a short term lock down not 4 years with no McDonald’s or JD sports

I am annoyed about the people using them. I am furious with the government for having such a broad list of key workers and for not forcing employers to allow people to work from home and to keep their children at home wherever possible. So many people are pressured by their employers (private AND public sector) into taking a place when it is not strictly necessary.

It needs to be much, much easier for people to refuse to go into work or refuse to send their children to school if it is not necessary.

Oops. That should say I am NOT annoyed at the people who are using them.

I’m a key worker. Children are at home despite this. Yes, I think places like McDonald’s etc should close.

There are a lot of children in school who don’t need to be there but there are a lot of selfish people in the world so it’s to be expected. It’s just unfortunate that everyone is being bundled into that selfish category when some children do need to be in school right now.

@SendHelp30
We cannot as a country expect people to go without a hot meal for weeks on end. For many McDonalds is the only access they have to hot food for various reasons and forcing takeaways to close will cause people to go hungry. It is one thing to close garden centres and places of worship that nobody would suffer without but completely another to cut off access to food for many vulnerable members of society.

@SendHelp30
Your ageist and classist attitudes are also very noticeable when you specifically mention JD and McDonalds. I wonder if you have the same objections to John Lewis offering the exact same services as JD?