What sort of country is this?

Its hard to believe some of the stories about the panic buying, they are so awful.

Even to the point of abusing shop staff - spitting or coughing on them when they try to enforce restrictions on multiple buys.

However, I've made up my mind turn to the amazing stuff. I mentioned to a couple of people a story about going to the chemist last week to pick up prescription and a box of paracetomol. They both immediately offered me paracetomol from their own supplies - they thought I was going to say I couldn't get any. One lives at a distance meaning a round trip of over an hour.

If you're on any sort of social media - facebook, whats app etc, go on and look for local community groups/sites.

If you can't see anything about local stores delivering, or volunteers offering to pick up shopping, then post your problem. Since I joined local Facebook group 2 days ago, I've been amazed at people offering support, tips, recommendations etc etc

Good luck

Whilst we all fully appreciate and applaud the selfless work being undertaken by all those who work in the NHS can we also acknowledge supermarket workers who are also putting their lives at risk in trying to ensure that the population is fed and watered.  The essential role of the food supply chain has been identified by the Government as a key service, but what is being done to protect supermarket workers?

My sister works for a well known supermarket and is facing untold abuse from customers. A few examples are:

1. Customers ignoring the shop's social distancing rules and swearing at staff when they are told to comply.
2. Customers taking things off the shelf and putting them back, thereby potentially contaminating them and spreading the virus. When challenged by my sister she was verbally assaulted.
3. Customers accusing staff, quite vociferously, of stock piling items in the warehouse for their own use. Staff are not allowed to put items to one side.
4. Customers coughing in close proximity of staff. Note that staff are not issued with masks.
5. Customers, again quite vociferously, claiming that it is OK for the staff they can get whatever they want. In reality staff are not allowed to do their own shopping until after their shifts finish.
6. A shop worker elsewhere was spat at by a customer attempting to bulk buy toilet paper and others have also been physically assaulted.
7. and on it goes.

My sister is also disabled with OA in her knee yet continues to work as this is the only way that she can earn money, if she went into self-isolation she would only get 2 weeks sick pay as she is not in the high risk group. Many of the married staff where she works have supposedly gone into self-isolation thereby putting extra pressure on the existing staff. The way in which supermarket staff are being constantly abused at work, albeit by a minority of the customers, is absolutely appalling and causes unnecessary stress, anxiety and depression.