Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Jobs and outlets at risk after sales loss
Cases: 292,950 (up 1,541) Deaths: 41,481 (up 202) Cases:7,672,477 Deaths: 426,059 Sanitiser, pop socks and even measures to keep us all apart on escalators Economic crash ‘is worst for 300 yrs’
with a focus on escalator handrails and lift buttons.
At the tills the usual line that snakes around on itself, encouraging people to buy things like socks, tights and confectionary, will be no more.
Now customers will form a line along more blue circles and be invited to a till by a marshal. Every between two and 10 times the risk of the current two metres. New infections are halving every fortnight. In England, the daily figure fell to 4,500 between May 25 to June 7.
The news came as SAGE published its first regional “R” infection rates, showing the figure could be above one in the South West. The figure is 0.8-1.1 compared to 0.8-1 in the North
WHEN department store John Lewis opens its doors on Monday, excited shoppers will have to use the hand sanitiser station at the entrance before filing in.
A “host” will greet them as they stream past in an orderly manner, and an app will do a head count with a maximum 270 allowed in at any one time.
With numbers averaging 800 on a pre-lockdown day at the chain’s store in Kingston, South-west London, the airy, well-lit floors will feel spacious but look odd.
From the floor markers urging shoppers to “keep two metres apart” and signs asking them to “wash your hands, keep your distance” to marshals in high-vis vests to help with questions and directions, it will be a different John Lewis.
Even the escalators have been marked out with eight steps between each shopper, while only one person or family at a time can use a lift.
I was given a preview of how it will feel to finally go shopping for clothes and accessories, and I found one of the biggest differences is in the shoe department.
There’s no jostling for space to try on shoes as benches made for eight have “do not use this seat” stickers on them allowing only two to sit at either end.
I am asked to use the hand sanitiser and second till will be closed, so staff – behind screens – are spaced apart.
Contactless payments are encouraged and the limit has been upped to £45 but cash is permitted.
But what happens should huge numbers descend on stores?
Mrs Nibbs says: “We do have a contingency in place for each store and additional security.
“We’re just so excited to be able to open. In terms of numbers, we’ll review if necessary and always keep in line with government guidelines.”
West, the South East, London and the Midlands. In the North East and Yorkshire it was 0.7-1 and in the East of England 0.7-0.9.
The overall R – the average number each case infects – is 0.8-1.
SAGE’S Prof Matt Keeling said: “This means we haven’t got much wiggle room on social distancing.” then help myself to a pair of pop socks from a box and put them on over my tights before I am allowed to try on any shoes.
There’s no chance of pocketing the pop socks as, under the watchful eye of an assistant, I have to bin them and move on while a staff member cleans the seat.
Customer services director Berangere Michel said: “Free, disposable pop socks mean that we don’t have to quarantine shoes. You have used sanitiser and new pop socks so there is no risk.”
With fitting rooms closed, clothes will inevitably be returned and quarantined for three days while items like electricals and crockery can be cleaned and put back out.
The chain’s clearance sale coincides with reopening and shoppers are in for fashion bargains, with prices slashed by up to 70%. It has taken John Lewis two months of preparation and cost millions in safety measures to get ready to reopen.
Ms Michel said: “When we had to close, there were a lot of tears. Now there is a sense of excitement but we’re not rushing it and are reopening in phases.”
Only the Kingston and Poole stores will reopen on Monday, followed by Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn on Thursday.
EIGHT out of 10 retailers are considering axing staff because of lost sales, a poll found.
Just under half of non-food retailers said they could close stores in the future, according to the survey from consultants Retail Economics and law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
Industry leaders say the public’s backing is vital from Monday after two months of lockdown.
Retail Economics chief executive Richard Lim said: “The survival of so many retailers will hinge on the success of reopening stores.”
THE devastating economic impact of the lockdown was laid bare yesterday as figures show output shrank by a quarter.
Industry saw its biggest fall since records began, as the UK was mired in the deepest recession for 300 years.
The economy contracted as gross domestic product plunged by 20.4% in April – the first full month of lockdown, the Office for National Statistics announced.
Coupled with figures for March, which included just a week of shutdown, the economy under Chancellor Rishi Sunak dropped by a quarter. ONS deputy national statistician Jonathan Athow said: “The biggest fall we have seen before was just over 2%. Virtually every sector has been shrinking.”
But he added: “It is highly likely April will be the low point.”
The figures came as the UK death toll hit 41,481, up 202.
Boris Johnson admitted the Government had “always been in no doubt this was going to be a very serious public health crisis but would also have big, big economic knock-on effects”.
Following the GDP statistics, he said: “I’m afraid I’m not surprised. The UK is heavily dependent on services and we have been very badly hit by this.”
The figures renewed calls for the Government to ease the two-metre social distancing rule.
Three-quarters of pubs, restaurants and hotels could go bust unless the Government’s rule is scrapped, MPS warned.
The PM believes an economic resurgence will come later in the summer, with a fresh easing of restrictions tipped for July 4. Mr Johnson said: “From Monday it is shops; a lot more on hospitality from the beginning of next month. I think slowly confidence will return and you will see a bounce back in the UK.”
TUC General Secretary Frances O’grady said: “The recovery plan must prioritise protecting and creating jobs. The more people in work, the faster we will work our way out of recession.”
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds described the figures as”deeply worrying”.
The Resolution Foundation living standards think-tank said: “Looking ahead, policy can shape how much lasting damage is done and this underscores the need for different, bold measures in the months ahead.”