Most pointless covid restrictions you’ve seen by an organisation or workplace?

[Lucidas]

Cordoning off every other toilet and sink in an attempt to enforce social distancing...meaning people are clustered tightly in a queue, chatting for longer

Just to give a positive though, DD needed some walking boots so we went to Go Outdoors, I nervously asked what the deal was with trying shoes on to be told to go ahead but leave them out to be sprayed, and then he told me that this did not mean I could try on every pair in the shop because that would be really mean.

When I went to vote, you had to stand in a specified spot outside the door before going in. Fine, except that the layout meant that you couldn't see the lady inside telling you it was your turn to go in. When I got to the head of the queue, I moved 2 feet closer to the (empty) doorway so that I could see when it was ok to go. But I got told off by the volunteer standing outside for moving 2 feet from my allocated position. Instead, said volunteer had to repeatedly squeeze past me in the narrow entrance to see whether it was ok for me to go in. So rather than trusting people to go in when the lady inside told them to, volunteer outside had to pass within 30cm of each and every voter to tell them whether inside lady was ready or not. I wonder if lady inside had special powers to pass on covid through the power of her gaze, meaning that only the sacrificial volunteer could look at her directly. Until of course you walked in the room and gave the deadly lady inside your voting card. Madness.

No signing in schools... not only pointless but damaging imo.

Cordoned off changing rooms

All rooms separate with its own door yet every other one out of bounds

The other day I was in a shopping complex that had down via the stairs, but up via lifts. Meant people queuing to get into enclosed lifts rather than just waking up the open stairway. We walked up the stairs, despite my child howling about breaking the rules. Stupid rules.

Also have to wear a mask while drying my hair at the gym, despite having just been breathing and sweating in a room or pool with 12 others.

The GP.

No one in there apart from a woman manning the door and the receptionist. Woman manning door in full PPE, receptionist behind closed perspex and wearing a mask and visor. Sit on allocated chair to wait. For 45 minutes past my appt time. No one came out of a clinic room, no one came in the front door. No one came within 5m of me. Dr came out in full covid PPE. I'd done a negative LFT before I went (not requested, but done anyway), I was going about a breast lump (not ill at all) and I know the GP personally, so she knows my deal.

Imo any "social distancing" measures which by their idiotic nature results in queues are the stupidest rules by far.

You dont want people stood around for ages even if they are 2m apart, you want people to get through areas as quickly as possible whenever possible.

@FlorenceWintle

We’re on a campsite and no visitors are allowed in. I mean, why? It’s mostly outside and we’re allowed to mix inside with one household anyway if we all inexplicably decided we wanted to sit inside the tent together.

This! Seems the most pointless rule ever. Last summer we went camping fairly locally and young adult DD who lives in the same house as us came to visit for a day. She was not allowed on site. I had to go and meet her in the local park.

So I was allowed to share a toilet block with strangers, the kids in the next tent were able to ask us to borrow washing up liquid/ soap/ a saucepan on a regular basis, but my own daughter was not allowed to come and sit and have a cup of tea in our own tent, basically outdoors, well away from anyone else.

There seems to be a lot of well intentioned social distancing efforts from businesses but it seems many don't understand what they're supposed to do or why they're doing it. My example: a barricaded one way system at a large, usually quiet garden centre forcing everyone to squeeze past each other in an otherwise empy space. I would never have been that close to a group of perfect strangers if it wasn't for social distancing!

I’m getting a bit pissed off being told I have to wait in my car. I don’t have one.

I’ve been a sensible, considerate and law-abiding citizen my whole life, following all rules to the letter while infection rates were high. Barely a day goes by now where I don’t take a bollocking of sorts. I actually found lockdown easier than this current set-up.

some people say 'we shouldn't relax any restrictions further on 21st June because we can do most things most things normally and should just wait a few more weeks...'

they should consider all the crazy batshit stuff on this thread and realise that we still living in a far from normal state. Sooner we get rid of nonsense like taping off toilet cubicles the better

Local barber.
Every man must have a hair wash no dry cuts because of covid health and safety restrictions. Sounds more risky not less but also more profitable...

My cafe was allowed to remain open for takeaways, with me and other staff touching food that people would eat yet my hand car wash had to close, people could've remained in their vehicle, contactless payment at the window...it made me so mad I had to actively work hard to not think about it. We have lost tens of thousands this year for absolutely no reason

Oh, and closed off toilets, ridiculous. Went somewhere 3 times today, 2 out of 4 toilets open. 5 family members together, no one else at all, so the last visit I just opened one of the closed loos and used it, so so absurd

Carvery, the chef plates up your food and leaves it at the end, you can’t pick it up, a waiter/waitress brings it to you table for you! 🤷‍♀️

bluebird's reminded of my local Tesco Metro. March/April/May 2020.

They were utterly paranoid. And out of their depth.

There was a 2m queue outside. Every other time, the queue-master 😉 stood outside the shop (all under a deep awning) watching people leave and allowing people in. All fine.

This day, the in-charge person chose to stand inside the shop, tucked away, hidden behind a 6' ice cream cooler, so effectively 'not there' to all intents and purposes. Certainly not on any way being able to direct the comings and going's.

So people in the queue were taking their cue by gauging who left, in order to enter. She sprang upon them all, (no one on the queue could actually see her until they'd decided to enter the store as a family had just left...)- ordering people back out, straight back into the queue that had moved forward one spot; her blocking the egress of the departing customers.

It was fucking ridiculous, and the only time, in my almost 60 years, I have written a complaint about a shop worker.

Her paranoia (she would have been far better standing well outside the shop like all her colleagues managed, in order to control the queue in via people out), but chose the hidden tiger method, angering and embarrassing people, already hyped by the escalation of Covid- and in doing so, suddenly forced SD people closely together, the 'miscreant' being thrown back into the now-advanced queue; the egressing people suddenly confronted, 12" in front of them in a constricted space, by a howling 'colleague', blocking the exit in her hysterical attempt to eject some poor sod who used their common sense to enter the shop, seeing as no one was apparently controlling entry.

Now, if I were tbf, I'd recognise that they were amateurs; that they could possibly not know how fucking annoying it was to have to circumnavigate such ineptitude, and be humiliated by them- given that some of us by that stage were already doing 'Full Ebola PPE' in our workplaces actually dealing with Covid patients, up close and personal.

At work (in a hybrid working office which is only ever half full) we have to wear masks at our desks (which are spaced out)unless we are on a video call...as evidently Covid knows when you have your web cam on.

@lanbro

My cafe was allowed to remain open for takeaways, with me and other staff touching food that people would eat yet my hand car wash had to close, people could've remained in their vehicle, contactless payment at the window...it made me so mad I had to actively work hard to not think about it. We have lost tens of thousands this year for absolutely no reason

My local supermarket based car wash (ABC?) went all Covid, but their prices didn't.

You were paying for services you weren't getting, like the external scrub of wheels, bumper, etc.

How tge fuck they thought they could justify if from 'safety grounds' escapes me.

However, the piece de resistance has to be Eurostar shutting down WiFi to all but its first class customers due to 'Coronavirus concerns'... Google it.

Thieving bastards.

God so many....

But my winner is - Argos in Sainsbury's.

Cashier desk had perspex screen, then about two metres in front of it was the line where you had to stand. I was so far away from the cashier neither of us could hear a word the other was saying. It was farcical.

I was also shouted at twice on that occasion like a naughty toddler. Once for not realising the line was where I had to stand and once for taking my mask off so she could bloody hear my order number.

Just why???

At the dentist I had to place all my belongings into a plastic box at the door which seemed a bit over the top considering the dentist was then face to face to me whilst carrying out a check up

Oh also the assault course laid out in McDonalds at Bowburn service station. I'm sure it makes sense when there are lots of customers to line up but trying to get from my table to the collection point for an ice cream got my heart rate up to 136! And to get to your table after collecting your order you had to leave then come back in again with your food. Also no trays so you are carrying potentially a meal for four plus drinks in your hands. Mental.

H&M forcing shoppers in and out the same entrance.

A bouncer on the door of TK Maxx

Massive clearance store, a warehouse place, making everyone queue outside still, demaning you use their hand sanitiser. Enter shop, hardly anyone inside as everyone mingling outside. Nuts.

Wearing a mask to stand in a pub/restaurant.

Best one was a cocktail bar not able to make crushed ice, because of Covid.

Oh, my local Council didn't answer for 45 mins. I said "what about the email I sent instead?"
The reply: "it's hard for our tto email, due to Covid"

This was a month ago.

team

NC for this as very outing. My place of work put this foolishness up last year. When shown to (at the time) 12 year old DS said "So people who are sitting down or in wheelchairs don't get covid?" Just about sums it up really