Supermarket supply chains are "starting to fail" because the "pingdemic" is sending thousands of workers into self-isolation, food industry leaders warned on Wednesday night.
Shop shelves in some areas were empty of basic supplies, while petrol stations ran out of fuel as the NHS Test and Trace app threatened to bring parts of the economy to a standstill.
MPs and industry leaders urged the Government to ease the growing crisis by including supermarket staff, lorry drivers and other frontline workers on a list of those exempted from automatic self-isolation when 'pinged' by the app as a contact of someone with Covid.
The Government has yet to publish guidance on which industries would benefit from any exemption scheme. A list was expected on Wednesday but no announcement came.
@nabob @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @renatew5😺🐶 @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹 @Flossy 🧁🧁🧁 @Flotson @harryflatters @Tanith @margaret.s @roz @duchess and anyone interested.
Our water is ok down here @Happygirl @harryflatters we always have tap water. It may be a faff, but you could always boil water then cool it down, that may help with the taste @Happygirl .
If supermarkets don't want ppl to stock pile, then the easiest solution it to put a limit on things ppl buy, just like before. Don't get this panic buy anyway @Happygirl some stuff will only last so long.
Certainly, the local Lidl we now use (Newhaven) has been pretty poor, stock wise. Suspect this is as much to do with how it's being run (badly) rather than shortage of supply. Lewes Tesco appears fully operational at present. Why oh why is it, that people need to buy bottled water? No one has ever satisfactorily explained that to me, especially since we already pay quite a bit to our local water company to ensure that the wonderful stuff that come out of our taps is pure and good for us!! Bottled water, on the other hand, is frequently not!! Depending on the brand, many contain bad 'stuff' and are very high in sodium (salt) content which is not good at all!! Some seem even incapable of visiting the shops without trailing a bottle of water!! They must think they will dehydrate in the time it takes them!! Stupid!! Even worse are the back packers! Who on earth needs to have one of those already packed to the gunwales to go round the supermarket? Do they think they are trekking over the Brecon Beacons and need survival gear?? All they do is knock little old ladies over when they suddenly turn round without warning!! I'm waiting for the next one that catches me with it!😡
Lidl says situation is 'becoming increasingly difficult' as more staff self-isolate
The budget supermarket has joined Sainsbury's in expressing concerns about the impact of staff self-isolating.
"Like all other retailers, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult as we have more and more colleagues having to self-isolate after being notified by the Track and Trace system," it said in a statement.
"Whilst this is starting to have an impact on our operations, our teams are working hard to minimise any disruption to customers."
Shoppers urged not to stockpile as supermarkets warn of shortages
You'll likely remember the scenes last March when shoppers began panic buying, meaning many of us struggled to get hold of essentials like toilet roll, soap and pasta.
Clearly keen to avoid a similar situation, Iceland's managing director has warned the public against stockpiling and said it is not necessary.
"We are urging people to avoid stockpiling and to shop responsibly – the industry is working hard to resolve the issue and panic buying will only increase pressure on retail workers who have worked tirelessly to feed the nation throughout the pandemic," said Richard Walker.
He acknowledged the supermarket is seeing "some stock shortages across stores" but it has increased online capacity to 400% and is launching a drive to recruit more workers.
Also Iceland and The Co op are saying on the news that they are now experiencing some shortages
Co-op 'running low on some products' as it is impacted by 'patchy disruption' to deliveries
Another supermarket has said it's having some issues due to the number of people self-isolating.
"We are sorry that we are running low on some products. Like many retailers, we are impacted by some patchy disruption to our deliveries and store operations but we are working closely with our suppliers to get re-stocked quickly," it said.
Earlier, Sainsbury's said customers might not be able to find all the products they want while Lidl said the situation is becoming "increasingly difficult".
@nabob @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @renatew5😺🐶 @harryflatters @Tanith @margaret.s @roz @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹 @theotherflossy and anyone else interested
Oh dear, I could be smug and say why don't you, if you can, grow your own. Little Dinky is a good example. A good growing medium, pots, window boxes and the seeds of your choice, preferably for container & hanging basket growing. Any pot or plastic bucket will do and even in a small place or balcony you can grow lettuces/salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes and other things like strawberries.
Since the heatwave started I have not been out. Last Friday was my last visit to Lidl to stock up. Fruit and veg were on the shelves in abundance. Small shortages were visible in the freezer area and beverages. Water was short and ice-cream, low stock on chips of all kind and pizzas. In the meat/butchery section there was what I thought, an overbearing amount of dunked/marinated beef, pork, lamb and chicken specifically for burning on the BBQ.
Weather permitting, I will venture out either tomorrow or Saturday. Still plenty stuff in the freezer. May be able to even pick the first cherry toms, plenty of salad leaves to cut and I even picked the first cucumber last evening and the next one will be ready by tonight. They are mini cucumbers best picked when 6 inches long.
Like I mentioned to @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹, if you lived on either side of me or a little way down the road I would be asking if you wanted the surplus of beans, peas and courgettes at present. Other veg like carrots, beetroot, butternut and spinach are not quite ready. @Flossy 🧁🧁🧁 @Happygirl @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @Tanith @roz @nabob
Looks like I'll be starting that diet after all. Boo
So far I haven't noticed anything different @Happygirl, thank you for the heads up tho, nowadays you just don't know what ppl buy, wether it's panic or BBQ buy hehe
We do not actully know when those photographs were taken. They are probably 'stock' photos.
Why is it that we hear this type of news and, when I go to the supermarkets, there is no change. Everything is normal.
Also, this type of news tends to panic people so that they buy more than they need.
I DISAGREE with some of the above..............Take the water shelves, they are near empty due to the really hot weather and in our order from Asda on Tuesday then they didn't have any water to give us at all but i think it is down to the really hot weather, also things like ice lollies too.
AND
The children are off school as from next week and so i reckon many families are already stocking up for their children with things like treats, lollies, etc etc so i do not think we need to panic at all.
Asda had hardly any meat too and Salads but that is due to people having BBQ's, well that is what i think at any rate.