Additional retailers to reopen from June 15th

[Llanigraham]

Our local bookshop will have compulsory use of hand sanitizer On entry to the shop.

tests have found that the virus can remain active on paper and card for up to 3 days after handling. Hence the requirements to quarantine handled stock for 3 days. The same will apply to library books when they can reopen.

Has it?
From what I have read it MAY be active for 24 hours on paper, but 72 hours on plastic.

 

[trebor79]

Fortunately, most people wouldn't delberately put others at risk, very few people would even do it by mistake.

I'd put that alongside someone deliberately coughing or breathing on someone. Potentially manslaughter if they died as a result. To the OP - don't.

That's a ludicrous statement. The only possible sanction would be being turfed out of the bookshop.
I mean, how many people must I have killed by routing through the broccoli and potatoes at Tesco? Oh and I put some expressive muesli back on the shelf. Add I think I sighed through a magazine before deciding but to buy it, so I put that back too.
Put me in cuffs!

 

[MikeWM]

Our local bookshop will have compulsory use of hand sanitizer On entry to the shop.

I have fairly severe allergies, so I refuse to use any old hand sanitiser in case I'm allergic to it. Am I never to be able to shop again?

 

[yorksrob]

Our local bookshop will have compulsory use of hand sanitizer On entry to the shop.

tests have found that the virus can remain active on paper and card for up to 3 days after handling. Hence the requirements to quarantine handled stock for 3 days. The same will apply to library books when they can reopen.

I heard it was one day for paper and cardboard, three days for hard, metal surfaces.

 

[philjo]

I heard it was one day for paper and cardboard, three days for hard, metal surfaces.

Yes, I think it is normally 24 hours for paper but the reports say It can be detectable for several days for some strains. It is 3 days for plastic hence the 72 hour requirement for library books as most are Covered in plastic

 

[NorthWestRover]

Oh and I put some expressive muesli back on the shelf.

I like the idea of expressive muesli.

 

[nedchester]

I am really worried how in such a short time we have become a nation so paranoid of everyday objects.

Where or when does it end?

 

[MikeWM]

I am really worried how in such a short time we have become a nation so paranoid of everyday objects.

Where or when does it end?

I agree entirely - we suddenly seem to believe that we can spend the remainder of our lives without touching things other people may have touched at some point. We can't, and even if somehow we could, we shouldn't. We're going to be a nation of paranoiacs and neurotics at this rate.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

It's all very well some retailers gleefully telling us how restrictive and unpleasant they intend to make the shopping experience but ultimately if, like Waterstones, they come up with ludicrously over-the-top safety measures, no-one's going to want to go in their shop and they won't make any money.

I'm not really a "shopping for leisure" kind of person but I do like browsing in bookshops, charity shops and outdoor gear outlets. As far as I'm concerned I will only be visiting shops which

* have no queue - my leisure time is limited and I don't want to waste it standing outside just because a shop has put in place an arbitrary "one in, one out" policy.
* leave me alone to browse at my leisure - no fussy jobsworths following me around checking which items I've picked up and put down
* have staff on hand in case I do need help. And if i need advice i expect to be able to talk to them face to face; not through a mask or a perspex screen!

I'm sure the paranoid on here will claim this might mean an increased risk of infection, but if the risk increases from 0.00001% to 0.00002% it's a risk I'd be willing to take. Ultimately shopping has to be an enjoyable experience, otherwise what's the point?

 

[Bantamzen]

It's all very well some retailers gleefully telling us how restrictive and unpleasant they intend to make the shopping experience but ultimately if, like Waterstones, they come up with ludicrously over-the-top safety measures, no-one's going to want to go in their shop and they won't make any money.

I'm not really a "shopping for leisure" kind of person but I do like browsing in bookshops, charity shops and outdoor gear outlets. As far as I'm concerned I will only be visiting shops which

* have no queue - my leisure time is limited and I don't want to waste it standing outside just because a shop has put in place an arbitrary "one in, one out" policy.
* leave me alone to browse at my leisure - no fussy jobsworths following me around checking which items I've picked up and put down
* have staff on hand in case I do need help. And if i need advice i expect to be able to talk to them face to face; not through a mask or a perspex screen!

I'm sure the paranoid on here will claim this might mean an increased risk of infection, but if the risk increases from 0.00001% to 0.00002% it's a risk I'd be willing to take. Ultimately shopping has to be an enjoyable experience, otherwise what's the point?

I'm going to call it as it is, extreme virtue signalling (I'm probably going to use this phrase at lot in the near future, so beware all! ). There is no reason for putting anything into a 72 hour quarantine simply because a human being dared to have touched it. Ye gods imagine if that happened in supermarkets? There would be nothing there!

This daft policy will convince me not to frequent any Waterstones shop until they re-engage their brain cells into operating at common sense mode. A hand sanitiser is more than enough to be effective, and given that there is a minute risk of contagion from books (especially given that the vast majority of people won't even have the blumming virus!) this is the ultimate in overkill.

What next, you have to book (see what I did there) a browse of a book so that Waterstones can track, trace and quarantine...

Honestly if this is the kind of decision making that is going to dominate this country's way forward, someone better get on with building the Ark 'B' for us....

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm sure the paranoid on here will claim this might mean an increased risk of infection, but if the risk increases from 0.00001% to 0.00002% it's a risk I'd be willing to take. Ultimately shopping has to be an enjoyable experience, otherwise what's the point?

Er, the acquisition of "stuff", which will contribute to your life in some way for a far longer period than the few minutes taken to choose and purchase it?

For instance a novel will contribute positively to your life for at least a few days compared with the small amount of time taken to select and purchase. An item of clothing for months or potentially more. A laptop, TV or car several years.

 

[MikeWM]

I wonder if the Waterstones thing, in particular, is a reaction to the way they tried to keep open right up to the lockdown (and if I remember correctly, arguing they should stay open afterwards), a strategy that quickly failed as it appeared the staff revolted.

 

[Bikeman78]

It's all very well some retailers gleefully telling us how restrictive and unpleasant they intend to make the shopping experience but ultimately if, like Waterstones, they come up with ludicrously over-the-top safety measures, no-one's going to want to go in their shop and they won't make any money.

I'm not really a "shopping for leisure" kind of person but I do like browsing in bookshops, charity shops and outdoor gear outlets. As far as I'm concerned I will only be visiting shops which

* have no queue - my leisure time is limited and I don't want to waste it standing outside just because a shop has put in place an arbitrary "one in, one out" policy.
* leave me alone to browse at my leisure - no fussy jobsworths following me around checking which items I've picked up and put down
* have staff on hand in case I do need help. And if i need advice i expect to be able to talk to them face to face; not through a mask or a perspex screen!

I'm sure the paranoid on here will claim this might mean an increased risk of infection, but if the risk increases from 0.00001% to 0.00002% it's a risk I'd be willing to take. Ultimately shopping has to be an enjoyable experience, otherwise what's the point?

Agreed. I suspect that many so called leisure activities will become so tedious that I simply won't bother. We went to a garden centre yesterday. We had to queue to get in but once we were in it was just the same as before. Plenty of people closer than two metres. Had the six people in the queue just gone straight in, it would have made no real difference. It's all just for show.

 

[Ianno87]

I agree entirely - we suddenly seem to believe that we can spend the remainder of our lives without touching things other people may have touched at some point. We can't, and even if somehow we could, we shouldn't. We're going to be a nation of paranoiacs and neurotics at this rate.

We're going to have to end social distancing *eventually*.

Otherwise how do people form new sexual relationships and procreate with each other (which involves physical intimacy with someone who, atsome point in your life, you had never met before) to continue the human race?

 

[DelayRepay]

Maybe a silly question, but how do the books get back on to the shelf from the quarantine box? Presumably someone will handle them. Presumably with the same hand that they will touch other books on the shelf, and the box, and other things. Unless they are going to wear a clean pair of gloves to put each item on the shelf then it's completely pointless.

Pre-covid we didn't worry about these things, but you only needed to spend a few minutes in a public toilet to realise that about half the population never washed their hands. Yet nobody worried that these people were then spreading bacteria around by picking up books.

On a related note, it has come to my notice that a person I know has been quarantining their newspaper for three days in case the paperboy had Covid. This person would rather read news that's three days out of date than take the tiny, tiny risk of catching Covid from a newspaper.

 

[philjo]

I see some of our local shops have announced they will be open 10-4 Monday to Friday with half hour closing at Lunchtime for cleaning. Initially they will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.

 

[al78]

I have fairly severe allergies, so I refuse to use any old hand sanitiser in case I'm allergic to it. Am I never to be able to shop again?

The logical solution would be to carry your own sanitiser with you, and explain to anyone who questions you that you have allergies.

 

[MikeWM]

Agreed. I suspect that many so called leisure activities will become so tedious that I simply won't bother.

Yep, as I mentioned near the start of this thread. The intention appears to make all public life as authoritarian and arbitrary as an airport security line. You put up with that, reluctantly, because you need to get on an airplane. You won't put up with it to buy a book, eat a meal or watch a film.

 

[adc82140]

When will a lot of people finally twig that inanimate objects do not spit out coronavirus? There is a very specific chain of events that have to happen to spread it by touch. Washing your hands is a guaranteed way to break that chain. It's that simple. And no, wearing marigolds out in public does not help you in any way.

 

[MikeWM]

We're going to have to end social distancing *eventually*.

Otherwise how do people form new sexual relationships and procreate with each other (which involves physical intimacy with someone who, atsome point in your life, you had never met before) to continue the human race?

Yep, I think extinction is a slight overreaction to a virus that, at worst, will kill 1 in 200 of us. Sadly I'm not sure everyone agrees :-/

(o/t, but in the meantime, I strongly suspect that the effective ban on being able to form new sexual relationships is a significant contributing factor to our current civil unrest.)

 

[adc82140]

To be fair, anyone prepared to go out and riot (not talking about peaceful protesters here) won't be taking much notice of the covid regulations.

 

[MikeWM]

The logical solution would be to carry your own sanitiser with you, and explain to anyone who questions you that you have allergies.

I agree, and I probaby will, but what a tedious world it is going to be when I have to continually explain my medical history in order to live a normal public life (no, I can't/won't wear a mask due to breathing issues; no, I can't/won't use any old hand sanitiser because of allergies...)

 

[nedchester]

I agree, and I probaby will, but what a tedious world it is going to be when I have to continually explain my medical history in order to live a normal public life (no, I can't/won't wear a mask due to breathing issues; no, I can't/won't use any old hand sanitiser because of allergies...)

I am pretty sure it would be a breach of confidentiality to have to explain your medical history to a stranger.

 

[MikeWM]

I am pretty sure it would be a breach of confidentiality to have to explain your medical history to a stranger.

But they may refuse to let me in the shop otherwise! (or on public transport for that matter)

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I see some of our local shops have announced they will be open 10-4 Monday to Friday with half hour closing at Lunchtime for cleaning. Initially they will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Manager: Time to shut up shop now for cleaning and desanitisation

Employee: But it's my lunch break (and I'm entitled to one)

Manager: Tough, you only have 1/2 hour to clean everything in sight before we let the punters come back in

Employee: (and calls sick the following day)

 

[Islineclear3_1]

And by using the same logic; if I went into HMV and touched a CD or vinyl record, would staff remove it for quarantine?

And... what happens to books when they are repeatedly handled? The edges become dogeared and show signs of wear. I certainly won't be buying a "new" book if I see one like that. One could argue then that the book is "second hand" and has to be sold at a discount

 

[nedchester]

But they may refuse to let me in the shop otherwise! (or on public transport for that matter)

Suspect that would be illegal.....

 

[Llanigraham]

Sorry to say, but it was announced locally yesterday that the Ticket Office on Newtown Station, run by an ex-member of this Forum, will not be re-opening following any lifting of C19 restrictions.

 

[Bishopstone]

I have reasonable confidence that the queuing and one way systems and book quarantining will be gone by mid-July.

The Government and retailers need to show they’re ‘doing something’ to make it safe to visit the high street again, but the measures aren’t commercially viable and the impact on footfall will be such that the industry bodies will lobby hard for a return to business as usual. The Government, with eyes on the unemployment count and opinion polls, will (correctly) abandon these measures.

 

[Llanigraham]

Chatting to the manager of one of the small supermarkets here this afternoon, whilst waiting to pick up a C19 Support Group delivery, he reckoned that the one way system they have introduced has INCREASED sales, since it has forced people to walk all the aisles, so they are making spontanious additional purchases, even if it is only a packet of sweets or a bar of chocolate.