Why are takeaways the new target?

[Mylittlesandwich]

Not a TAAT but I've noticed a few people seeming quite sure that takeaways will be the next to close. Why have they become the new target? As far as I'm aware they haven't been linked to high transmissions. They're the only way a lot of restaurants and cafes have been able to survive. I admit I have a vested interest as I'm delivering takeaway to pick up some extra money.

Is this actually likely?

I live on the edge of a town centre. The numbers of deliveroo drivers just churning round is unbelievable. This time last year the streets were quiet at night for cars - now the flow is pretty constant (its a 1 way system) They come in from an area with much higher cv19 than here, it has been the case since the summer.

took my dog out this morning, large groups of people with takeaway picnics and coffees meeting in the snow (outside but 1 group was 13 adults- all hugging each other as they came out of the coffee shop)

Because the plebs having a takeaway is the reason we are IN THIS MESS!

Carry on with your ocado deliveries though.

I don't think takeaways are a class issue. Genuinely.

Oh apart from the proper twatty toffs

I think McDonald's and the coffee shops should be closed. Takeaways doing proper meals should stay open.,

@mutantNinjiaCovid do you really think those 13 ppl wont meet just because coffee shop is closed?

Deliveries fine. People picking up a takeaway at a set time fine.

People turning up, ordering a coffee/sandwich etc, hanging around chatting with their mate while the coffee is made - more of an issue.

Also having takeaway drinks available encourages people to meet “for a coffee and a walk” which is not quite the same as meeting to exercise and often ends up with standing around chatting.

As per the first post you received OP

Along with parks and public playgrounds

"Of course, we haven't let Tabitha and Jocasta exercise out of our own grounds since the first lockdown. Naturally, it gets a little boring exploring the same woodland and finite selection of topiary mazes over and over again; and tennis, polo and swimming 100m lengths soon loses its shine - but at least we aren't like those nasty granny-killers in the town high-rise flats who use the public parks and playgrounds with merry abandon. They should just close those virus-hotbeds outright - and put a knife through all of their footballs too, just in case. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but we're ALL in this together and we ALL need to make sacrifices."

Businesses need some way to stay afloat or there’ll be nothing left. So I don’t think this should or will happen.

Well to be fair, my sleepy little village was like a ghost town this morning (nipped down to get medication from the chemist) except for the independent coffee house, which had at least 15 people queuing to collect their takeaway.

In one sense, I feel awful for the industry. On the other hand, nobody can say coffee and takeaway is essential.

3 takeaways in my town have closed because covid absolutely ripped through them. One owner died from it. They should be closed for collection, open for delivery..

[quote kingat]@mutantNinjiaCovid do you really think those 13 ppl wont meet just because coffee shop is closed?[/quote]
It is an artisan food shop. The coffee is a covid side line.

I think at least 2 of them met by accident in the shop as I heard the conversation. The shop sells takeaway food in little boxes and drinks- very much picnic in the snow today.

I think they spent the time together today because the coffee place was available as a meet up.

please tell me if I'm being thick (I'm sure someone will.....) but what is the issue with queuing for a costa if the queue is outside and socially distanced?

There has been a problem in my area with crowds of people gathering outside coffee shops and cafes in scenic locations, buying a coffee and then standing nearby to drink it - and guess what, bumping into a friend or neighbour doing the same! That's not really a takeaway, neither is it essential.
I think food takeaways are slightly different as some people do rely on them for a hot meal; but perhaps they should be delivery only, or at the very least, you should have to wait outside until your order is ready.

I think McDonald's and the coffee shops should be closed. Takeaways doing proper meals should stay open

McDonalds do do "proper meals" though.
Even if it's not "your type" of proper meal.

I hope they don't close takeaways and move to delivery only - delivery is really expensive these days. On Just Eat the prices are all hiked for individual items anyway plus of course you have the delivery fee ( plus the tip if you do that.) I feel people sometimes forget there are price implications for closing certain places. There's a lot of sneery-ness everywhere about queues outside Primark when non essential stores are open. Well that's because Primark is the only place you can buy really cheap clothes, but you have to go in person, you can't buy online. They accept cash too which a lot of mid and high range clothing stores now don't. Same with B and M and Poundland; lots of moaning about people waiting outside to get in. Yes they are, because it's cheap. These people aren't there to mooch about for something to do, a lot of people buy EVERYTHING from poundland, food, glasses, medicine, household, because it's the only place they can afford to do so. I hope we're not going to go down the route of banning everything that's cheaper or more affordable simply because it's an easy target for tightening restrictions. I don't see people moaning about the equally large queues outside M and S; it's only the cheapie shops.

@Starsnores

please tell me if I'm being thick (I'm sure someone will.....) but what is the issue with queuing for a costa if the queue is outside and socially distanced?

Because people are rubbish at measuring 2 metres in their heads. Because people can't be bothered to move up the line properly, so the bunch up. Because people have an instinct to chat when they're queuing. It isn't as risky as face to face indoors, but it is an unnecessary risk in a national lockdown, and the figures are showing that these measures aren't working, so we need to look at where changes can be made.

Of course McDonald's shouldn't be closed, it's a bloody drive thru!

Probably because they're one of the only things left open for people to complain about.

We've had a few nice take aways from restaurants, in future I'd like them to continue take away if it's viable.

Some really do want there to be no economic activity at all other than supermarkets don’t they. Unbelievable.

@StatisticalSense

It's the target because many middle class twats think they're the preserve of working class people and think it's such people who should be punished while they should be allowed to do what they want.

Umm I live in a very middle class area and all of our takeaways are thriving! And playground and parks are super busy too.

@StatisticalSense

It's the target because many middle class twats think they're the preserve of working class people and think it's such people who should be punished while they should be allowed to do what they want.

Hey, I'm a middle class twat and we have at least one takeaway a week!

Everyone wants the next change to be something that doesn’t affect them, mostly.

This may well have a grain of truth in it, but unfortunately I am running out of things to stop doing, so any further changes are likely to impact on other people rather than me.

I love a coffee shop and am very far from being a clean freak but even before lockdown I tried not to dwell too much on the way staff used their fingers to press the lids down on the coffee cups.

I feel very mixed about this. On one hand, small businesses in particular need to survive and people who work in them need jobs, but it worries me when I see groups of 6-15 people queuing/congregating/chatting outside coffee shops.

It didn't a month or so ago, but as rates and deaths are increasingly so scarily, it seems that anything that encourages more social gatherings even outside adds to transmission risk.

I'm not a killjoy, I just want this virus to so spreading so ferociously.