Coronavirus. What Is The Longterm Plan?

[allenlondon]

What is expected to happen in (say) six months? All back to normal?

It all seems a bit vague.

Allen

[steg]

//Tesco are now restricting purchases of any item to 3.//
[Email from Tesco ]
From Thursday 19 March we will start to implement the following changes:



To ensure more people have access to everyday essentials, we are introducing a storewide restriction of only 3 items per customer on every product line, and removing multi-buy promotions.
In order to allow Tesco colleagues to focus on stocking shelves, helping to provide the essential groceries you are looking for and to avoid waste, we will close all meat, fish, deli counters and salad bars.
To be able to ensure our stores are clean, that we can replenish stock, and allow our colleagues to rest, we will change our trading hours with all stores closing at 10pm.
To ensure we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infection for both our customers and colleagues, we will be introducing some distancing measures at the checkout and, to make it swifter, invite customers who can, to pay by card.
To help free up slots for the more vulnerable, such as our elderly customers and those who are self-isolating, we are encouraging customers who shop online or choose Click+Collect for their grocery home shopping, to prioritise shopping in-store where possible.
To ensure our more vulnerable and elderly customers can shop in-store, we will prioritise one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning between 9-10am (except in our Express stores) and ask that you respect this.


Tesco store colleagues can't work from home and a good number of them will need to respond to personal or family challenges connected with dealing with COVID-19. So we would please ask that you understand the challenging environment in which we are all working. If you do go in-store and want to say thank you, then I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

So, if you could help us by limiting demand of essential items and allowing us to focus on the core needs of our customers – we are confident that we can continue to feed the nation. We are delivering food daily to our stores, but this is a very challenging time and we will only get through this if we work together.



Thank you for your support.


Dave Lewis


Tesco CEO

[Tilly2]

I don't think there is a long term plan. It all seems to be damage limitation at the moment.

[grumpy01]

Saw those measures in practice at our local Tesco Express this morning Steg,seems to work OK.

[woofgang]

There is no reason to believe that the virus will die out and I don't think anyone will expect it to. Medium to long term I believe that it will slowly move through the not at risk population conferring at least temporary immunity as it goes. Immunity not only protects the holder, it denies the virus a breeding place so that the person with immunity is also much less likely to pass it on PROVIDED THEY HAND WASH and so on as we all should be doing anyway all the time. Alongside this a vaccine is being developed, also antiviral treatments and antibody testing. This last will identify people who are the most safe to be around vulnerable people. I think right now it IS vague. As well as taking the best scientific and medical advice, countries are learning from each other a bit but what helps one place may not help another. New Zealand for instance seems to be getting away lightly but it is a huge country with a comparatively small population. Even the big conurbations are much quieter than here. China took steps that our government would...well I won't say never consider....but we'd have to be in the zombie apocalypse for them to do so.

[maggiebee]

The current situation aside, I think there are natural hoarders. Friend
has always bought extra when "special offers" such as 3 for 2 were on. Has a well stocked garage.

[Old_Geezer]

The long term plan is to get back to normal. Meanwhile the disease has to have blown itself out first. Difficult to know what to do to speed things up. A case of firefighting until it fades.

[woofgang]

maggie, that's not hoarding its good sense. I rarely buy stuff like coffee and loo rolls at full price. I haven't got a garage full but in the current circs, i can certainly leave what is on the shelves for others.

[jno]

the plan, not really a "plan", is to find a vaccine. It's the lack of one that makes this different from flu. The Chinese seem to think a Japanese flu vaccine is proving effective.

Till then, it's more about management. The rule seems to be act first, think about it later - it doesn't appear the government actually have a plan for schools, but it's going to be very disruptive if parents all have to stay home.

[TonyV]

Went to my local Co Op just now, lots of empty shelves. DIL said it was similar at Sainsbury's this morning.

[woofgang]

Jno, I think the keyworker list is going to be a long one.

[Peter Pedant]

// China - zero new cases yesterday, except for incoming passengers held. So six weeks to this stage.//

well not quite - first case 1 Dec 2019 and now virtually over 15 Mar - which is 3 1/2 m

which is why the govt threw a wobbler a few days ago

oh and we can conclude the answers to various related qq
Is there a reinfection rate - that is you can get it more than once - no or we would be seeing it in the earliest patients in WuHan

oh and one child died in wuhan from which we can conclude that it is not a killer for those under 10

[jno]

depends, PP, it looks as if being infected gives you immunity but nobody (understandably) has any idea if this lasts forever. However, lifetime immunity is the norm with coronaviruses.