More clarity on WHY we need to be more careful with social distancing and even need to self-isolate.

[PMRpro]

Much as we don't want to admit that we are older, we are. And it has a major effect on how we will cope with any infection - sepsis and Covid-19 included.

vox.com/2020/3/12/21173783/...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I will leave replying on for a while if anyone has questions or comments.

[Pongo13]

Huge thanks for all the info - you have been busy - what a great team you are at HU.

[Hoofprints]

I am new to posting and have tried posting an update about how disabled can get priority for home shopping. Moderator has asked me to repost on covid thread but I am new to posting and don't know exactly which thread iseant. So I will post again now in the hope someone can copy it and post it on the appropriate place. Thanks.

Hi all.

I hope you are all holding up during this period of mayhem.

My partner received an email from Sainsbury's early today setting out measures to help those over 70, those with chronic illness/disability and those having to self-isolate. It's a longish email bit please note that starting from tomorrow, the first hour of opening will be reserved for elderly and vulnerable customers.

From next Monday 23rd March, home delivery slots will be given to the over 70s and those with a disability. And for those who can travel to the store to collect shopping, the online click and collect service is being expanded.

I have not checked what other stores are doing, but hopefully something similar.

Best wishes all 💐

Email reads as follows:

I wrote to you last week to tell you about some of the steps we are taking to support increased demand for food and other essential items.

After I wrote to you last week, many of you replied. You wrote to share your concerns about our elderly and vulnerable customers and to ask if we can do more to restrict the number of items each person can buy. I have listened to feedback from you and from Sainsbury's colleagues across the country and wanted to share some of the extra steps we are taking to make sure everyone has access to the items that they need:

A number of you suggested that we reserve an hour in stores for elderly and vulnerable customers. In response to this request, we will set aside the first hour in every supermarket this Thursday 19th March, for elderly and vulnerable customers. I hope that you can respect this decision and will work with us as we try our best to help those that need it the most. If you or an elderly family member, friend or neighbour would like to shop during this hour, please check online for your local supermarket opening hours.

We will also help elderly and vulnerable customers access food online. From Monday 23rd March, our online customers who are over 70 years of age or have a disability will have priority access to online delivery slots. We will contact these customers in the coming days with more details.

For any online customer who can travel to our stores, from Monday 23rd March, we will operate an expanded 'click and collect' service. We are significantly increasing the number of collection sites across the country over the coming days in preparation for this. Customers can place their order online as usual and pick it up from a collection point in the store car park. We believe this will also work for people who are self-isolating.

As we work to feed the nation, we are also focusing all of our efforts on getting as much food and other essential items from our suppliers, into our warehouses and onto shelves as we possibly can. We still have enough food for everyone - if we all just buy what we need for us and our families.

To help us get more essential items onto the shelves, from this Thursday 19th March, we will be closing our cafes and our meat, fish and pizza counters in supermarkets. This means we can free up warehouse and lorry capacity for products that customers really need. It will also free up time for our store colleagues to focus on keeping the shelves as well stocked as possible.

I mentioned last week that we had put limits on a very small number of products. Following feedback from our customers and from our store colleagues, we have decided to put restrictions on a larger number of products. From tomorrow, Wednesday 18th March, customers will be able to buy a maximum of three of any grocery product and a maximum of two on the most popular products including toilet paper, soap and UHT milk. We have enough food coming into the system, but are limiting sales so that it stays on shelves for longer and can be bought by a larger numbers of customers.

Finally, I wanted to end by saying a huge thank you to Sainsbury's colleagues across the business. Everyone is working flat out in difficult circumstances to do their best to serve our customers. If you're able to say thank you to them when you see them, I know they would hugely appreciate it.

Best wishes

Mike

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hoofprints]

She meant on the Covid Thread of the day - but I think it also needs a thread of its own as useful information and it is also open for replies at the moment - that may change. I will probably leave it there and delete this if that's OK.

I saw your post on Lupus and posted it here myself just as you did - such a useful post.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

This is nothing to do with the subject but all your posts cannot be read very easily on my iPad which they used to be. Is it that you have changed your technological wizard?

[Hidden in reply to piglette]

In what sense piglette....is it not loading or is it the nesting?

[piglette in reply to Hidden]

It is in portrait and in phone format rather than landscape tablet/computer format

[Hidden in reply to piglette]

Weird. Have you checked if your software updated...

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Or accidentally turned rotate screen off.

[piglette in reply to Hidden]

It is in smart phone format but only for one or two posts. Most are fine. PMRPro’s have only recently started doing this.

[Hidden in reply to piglette]

Funny....see what happens.

[piglette in reply to Hidden]

It is true on two machines. Most posts are fine it is just one or two items that have the problem.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

I have changed nothing. I don't know if HU have.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

Strange

[Hidden in reply to piglette]

2 iphones and an ipad....mmm

Either posts are too big or have Apple updated?.

[piglette in reply to Hidden]

No, two iPads, an iPhone, a Samsung, an Apple and a PC.

[HeronNS in reply to Hoofprints]

Your link is actually now on the list at the beginning of the daily Covid thread. I have been trying to add new threads. It is making the list really long and unwieldy but I hope by adding key words from the subject line that people can scroll down and see threads old or new which may interest them.

[Hoofprints in reply to HeronNS]

Thank you. I'm very new to this game so please excuse me if I mess up in terms of where and how I post, and please feel free to repost for me as sure everyone here is far more competent at doing it than I am !😀💐

[HeronNS in reply to Hoofprints]

I've been trying to catch all the new covid posts, whether the educational ones by the moderators or the useful ones like yours. Thank you for providing the information about Sainsbury's policy!

[Hoofprints in reply to HeronNS]

Your most welcome. Thank you for your help reposting

[Pixix in reply to Hoofprints]

I received that email but it doesn’t tell you how to get a slot, and you just can’t get one! My doctor rang and drummed it into me. Not a single shop! You will not survive (I have more health issues not just PMR) delivery just been but nobody knows how you can book a slot and the poor delivery lady just said it’s chaos and you go to pick an order and there’s nothing on the shelves. Stay sane, S x

[Hoofprints in reply to Pixix]

You are right- seems booked up. Think the email said they would be writing further about this. Don't know how they will know who to address- can't see a way yet of registering as disabled/chronically ill. Don't know if proof needed, and if so what that will consist of. Hope no imposters use it! People will do all sorts in a panic. Losing the ability to think clearly as so tired but I will try and call tomorrow to get more information. Thinking the government needs to start rationing food parcels per household in as non-draconian way as possible. If not centrally administered soon, how can we tell who is not getting enough and who too much? Just a thought. Red cross should be good at this kind of logistics. In the meantime, I wish you all some peace of mind and the best night's sleep you can get 💐

[Pixix in reply to Hoofprints]

No point in announcing a system without being able to use it. All slots booked in Tesco and Sainsburys until 8 April. I don’t see how they are going to know who is priority and sadly some people may just lie in order to get their goods I fear! I booked slots three weeks ago and gave Sainsburys next week but then had to switch to Tesco the week after! Good luck, S x

[diana1998 in reply to Hoofprints]

What time is the first hour? My brother goes to Waitrose at 7am to avoid crowds but that's far too early for me... M