Why are all the toilets closed 'because of covid'?

[NoEffingWay]

In homebase today, and the sign on the toilets said 'closed because of covid-19'. It's the same in lidl, b&q, and lots of other shops.
I was in london the other week and resorted to asking a church to let me in (must have looked desperate as despite the signs saying not for public use, the verger let me in!).
It's no good opening cafes and selling me drinks, it has to come out somewhere.
When will these places start using sense and opening up again? Today, I didn't need a pee, fwiw, but if it had been another day, or my period had been more insistent what would I have done? I had to drive home from the shops a few months ago or I would have wet myself.

My dentists toilets aren't open due to covid, I was chuckling behind my mask. Surely in a dentist surgery the most least likely place to catch/spread covid is the toilet?

Are loos open on trains? I haven't been on one recently.

It was the same at the mechanics, a flimsy bit of perspex will protect me, but a toilet is the epicentre of infection??

I was in an M and S the other day, their toilets were open. See if you can find one next time!

This is becoming vital information

Apparently it’s far more dangerous to use the toilet at my dentist than my local supermarket. I’m just grateful to have a dentist appointment though, they’re currently running 14 months behind!

I don't know why but it is crazy.

Our local leisure centre has closed all but one of the toilet cubicles and all but one of the sinks to wash your hands so that when everyone leaves the swimming pool to get changed there is a scrum for the single toilet and sink. There are actually seven available but all cordoned off 'because COVID'.

There is no logic whatsoever to this.

One of the worst things about COVID IMHO has been all the silly rules. I'm getting sick of being told off like a child by my peers for misunderstanding the rules/standing in the wrong place/walking in the wrong direction.

I was in Chester today and almost wet myself trying to find a loo.

It's because they don't want to pay to clean the loos

We had this at a campsite last summer - apparently they had closed their main toilet block 'because of covid' and therefore the entire campsite had to queue to use two grotty cubicles that never seemed to be cleaned. Some places are just using covid as an excuse for poor service.

Toilets on the GWR line to Paddington are open. I've used one recently.
Also toilets in shopping centres round here. Not sure about anywhere else, but I haven't specifically noticed any that are closed, and I rely on toilets a lot

Supermarkets seem to be a good bet at the moment. Petrol stations and cafes too, they all seem to have loos open.

www.lockdownloo.com/

I think it's being used as an excuse for rubbish service.

Generally, so many idiots people have taken it upon themselves to extend or interpret the covid guidelines to mean something else, usually something stupid and nonsensical.

Am absolutely sick of all of this shit now.

I've been surprised at how many public toilets have remained open during the pandemic, which is a relief for me as never venture far without needed the toilet.

Nothing to do with covid and everything to do with having an excuse not to pay staff to clean them. It's a disgrace and a breach of the Equality Act and public sector equality duty as not having toilets available disproportionately affects women and the disabled,

@tulips27

Are loos open on trains? I haven't been on one recently.

they are at the stations, I haven't tried to go on a train

Marks and Spencers were open and IKEA last summer so I assume now too.

Also our main multi storey has them open and v clean.

Most have finally reopened but last year it was a nightmare. We went to a nearby seaside town where usually there’s spotless public toilets with half-dozen cubicles in the Ladies, doors and windows always open. Well in their wisdom they were closed until further notice with a dirty portaloo in their place!

Agree with PP it's totally a money exercise. Parked at a National Trust beauty spot last week for a walk. Car park open and staff collecting payment; cafe open for takeaway and doing a roaring trade; toilets closed because Covid.

It’s so nonsensical isn’t it! I currently have a medical condition that makes me need to go urgently and it’s so stressful not knowing if there will be any facilities open when I am out and about!

Our local Tesco toilets have been open throughout, even when the cafe was shut. Same with the shopping arcade.

It's nonsense, I own a coffee shop and my toilets are open but the community centre along the road won't let anyone use their loos. I am a very regular pee-er and would hate to not be able to use a toilet anywhere, the Hermes guy and the postman are regular visitors! Having said that, Ikea had theirs open the other day, haven't really been anywhere else shop wise as I hate shopping

This really grinds my gears.

Some of the silly rules made enough sense in the first wave when we first locked down and it really was hunker down and lets try and get back in control of this thing.

But the real silliness seems to have happened as we open up again.

Last year when they said we could travel to exercise, stupid local councils thought it would actually put people off driving for an hour or so to an area of interest to walk if they closed the loos. So they did. And then scratched their stupid bald heads in amazement when people started shitting in bushes.

There's a charity I help out where the treasurer has said she wants to change it to bank transfer only because she can't be arsed to take the cash to the bank. She said "lets just use Covid as an excuse". I pointed out that it would be a shame if we ended up taking less because of it - I know for many people a bank transfer is easier but just as many probably like shoving a fiver in an envelope and won't be bothered otherwise.

But if that's not bad enough, new NHS guidance has instructed GP's to embed a system of "total triage" meaning that anyone seeking a GP appointment must first have a discussion online or by telephone.. Doctors are instructed to "avoid directly booking patients who telephone the practice into an appointment" to prevent disincentivising use of the online system, apparently, which the Royal College of GP's have said is a step too far so lets hope this doesn't become the norm.

I'm all for triage and not wasting doctors time etc and actually I'm all for an online appointment for something like a medication review or whatever but if you have to do the absolute bullshit ring up at 8am and sit in a queue to maybe secure a telephone appointment, only to be told that you then do need to see a doctor and ring up again the next day, when you could have told them all along that this is the kind of thing that the bloody doctor needs to see, then all I can say is what a load of utter bullshit.

Grr.