'Pingdemic' grips Britain as fears of food shortages grow
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[July 22, 2021]
By Guy Faulconbridge and James Davey
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's supermarkets,
wholesalers and hauliers were struggling on Thursday to ensure stable
food and fuel supplies after an official health app told hundreds of
thousands of workers to isolate after contact with someone with
COVID-19.
Coronavirus cases in Britain have been broadly rising for a month, with
more than 44,000 recorded on Wednesday.
British newspapers carried front-page pictures of empty shelves in
supermarkets. Reuters reporters said food items were widely available in
London shops although there were some shortages of bottled water, soft
drinks, and some salad and meat products.
"We're very concerned about the situation," Business Secretary Kwasi
Kwarteng told Sky when asked about reports of empty supermarket shelves
in some areas. "We're monitoring the situation."
He said he did not recognise Sky's characterisation of "bare"
supermarket shelves.
Britain's second-largest supermarket group Sainsbury's said customers
would generally be able to find the products they want, though perhaps
not every brand.
"We are working hard to ensure customers can find what they need," said
a Sainsbury's spokesperson.
"While we might not always have the exact product a customer is looking
for in every store, large quantities of products are being delivered to
stores daily and our colleagues are focused on getting them onto the
shelves as quickly as they can."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's bet that he could reopen England's
economy because so many people have been vaccinated has been tarnished
by the "pingdemic" in which people have been told by the contact-tracing
app to isolate for 10 days.
The drastic reduction in staffing that has resulted has sown chaos
through sectors as diverse as food supplies, haulage, supermarkets,
hospitality, manufacturing and media. To avoid disruption, many have
simply deleted the app from their phones.
British ministers say the app plays an important role in countering the
spread of the virus and has allowed some workers in critical roles to
carry on working.
The country has the world's seventh-highest COVID-19 death toll and
record new infections are forecast following the July 19 lifting of
restrictions in England, characterised by Johnson as "freedom day".
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A man stands next to shelves empty of fresh meat in a supermarket,
as the number of worldwide coronavirus cases continues to grow, in
London, Britain, March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
But a rapid vaccination programme that has seen 87%
of adults receive one vaccine dose and more than 68% two doses
appears to have weakened the link between infections and deaths,
with daily fatalities remaining relatively low.
ON THE EDGE
Many businesses said the situation was becoming grave.
Britain's food supply chains are "right on the edge of failing" as
absence related to COVID-19 has aggravated a critical shortage of
labour, a meat industry body said on Wednesday.
Supermarket group Iceland said it has closed a number of stores due
to staff shortages.
"We have a structural issue with (a shortage of) HGV drivers for a
variety of different reasons, but of course the pingdemic has made
it even worse," Managing Director Richard Walker told ITV. "We are
starting to see some availability issues."
Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at industry lobby
group, the British Retail Consortium, said the government needed to
act swiftly.
"Retail workers and suppliers, who have played a vital role
throughout this pandemic, should be allowed to work provided they
are double vaccinated or can show a negative COVID test, to ensure
there is no disruption to the public's ability to get food and other
goods," he said.
BP said it had to temporarily close a handful of sites due to a lack
of fuel, with the shortage of HGV drivers being exacerbated by
COVID-19 isolations.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and James Davey; Editing by Kate
Holton and Catherine Evans)
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