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Asda, Aldi, Tesco and others give important lockdown update to customers about in-store rules

All the new rules you need to know during lockdown

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As England is plunged into a third lockdown, there are a number of rules shoppers must be aware of in supermarkets.

Supermarkets will remain open throughout the lockdown as before as they fall into the essential shop category.

However, there are a number of safety measures that have been put in place across the biggest players in the market that shoppers need to be aware of.

Many supermarkets are encouraging shoppers to go solo to reduce the number of people inside, and you might find some strict shopping rules such as limits on items you can buy in some stores.

Here’s what to expect in each store…

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Asda

You can now expect marshals in busy parts of larger stores to help ease the flow of people and ensure social distancing remains as we all gather around the milk.

Asda will be using an automatic counting technology system that will manage the number of people in the store. Some stores will also see trials of a new queueing app that will ask you to wait in your car until your allotted time to shop. 

You will find a layer of antimicrobial material on trollies and baskets to help stop the spread of bacteria, as well as an increase in sanitation stations. 

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Aldi

You will still find Specialbuys in Aldi as per the government guidelines, and as of yet Aldi has confirmed they will not be putting ‘unnecessary’ limits on the number of products you can buy.

Shop alone if you can and avoid the busiest time which Aldi explains is 12-3pm. On Mondays and Saturdays stores will open 30 minutes earlier to provide priority opening times for the elderly and vulnerable. NHS workers can do this on Sundays. 

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Lidl

Some managers can bring in limits to specific stores if panic buying starts again so be aware of this. Rather unhelpfully, Lidl confirms their busiest times are between 8am and 11pm and advise people to avoid these (somehow). 

Tesco

Mixed retail sections are not required to be sectioned off in this lockdown but where there is a clear and more substantial standalone section within a supermarket, selling for instance clothes, this should close. 

Fully sanitised umbrellas are being provided to shoppers when they have to queue outside in the rain, as well as face coverings available where you enter the store in case you forget yours.

There is priority access to NHS staff, emergency services and care workers as well as dedicated shopping hours for vulnerable customers.

Restrictions are in place on some items such as one-item limits on toilet roll and three-item limits on flour, dried pasta, eggs, rice, baby wipes, soap and anti-bacterial wipes. 

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Morrisons

NHS staff get priority access between 6am and 7am from Monday to Saturday and an hour before opening (usually around 9am) on a Sunday.

Shoppers can expect perspex screens at tills and marshals on the doors.

Sainsbury’s

Priority access is between 7:30am and 8am Monday to Saturday for NHS and care workers. Elderly, vulnerable or less-abled shoppers have a priority entry between 8am and 9am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Sainsbury’s are asking shoppers to shop alone where possible and to avoid busy times. 

Marks and Spencer

You can expect staff on the doors managing the number of people in-store as well as clothes and homeware blocked off. 

You can use the mobile pay and go app which requires you to scan your shopping (as long as it is below £30 and you have a Sparks card) instead of using a checkout. You can also ‘book and shop’ to pre-book a 30-minute slot so you can avoid queues.  

 

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Train fares set to increase again in ‘biggest hike’ for a decade

Bad news for commuters…

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Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.

It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.

The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.

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And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.  

This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.

Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.

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A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.

“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”

This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.

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Comedian Sean Lock has died aged 58

Awful news just in

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Channel 4

Comedian Sean Lock has passed away at the age of fifty-eight after a battle with cancer, his agent has confirmed today.

A statement from his agent from Off The Kerb Productions said: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock. He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family.

“Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy.

“Sean was also a cherished husband and father to three children. Sean will be sorely missed by all that knew him. We kindly request that the privacy of his family and children is respected at this difficult time.”

Fellow comedians have been posting their own tribute messages since the news was announced. Ricky Gervais wrote: “Such sad news. RIP the great Sean Lock. One of the funniest, most influential comedians of a generation. A lovely man.”

John Bishop posted: “I am shocked and saddened at the news of the loss of Sean Lock. He was a brilliant comedian but more importantly he was a great person on so many levels . He will be missed hugely.”

Sean was best known for his role on Channel 4’s comedy panel show, 8 Out of 10 Cats, where he was panel captain. He appeared on the first eighteen series, opposite team captains including Jason Manford and Jon Richardson.

He also appeared on QI, The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

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UK to welcome more than 20,000 refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan

Reports claim that a number of these refugees will be housed in hotels near Manchester Airport

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The UK is set to welcome more than 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that 5,000 people will be eligible to be resettled in Britain during the first year of the program, with women and girls given priority status, with the rest to be admitted in the ‘long term’.

Those deemed to be at the highest risk of human rights abuses and dehumanising treatment by the Taliban will also be given priority for settlement. 

The Prime Minister, who will address MPs today on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last twenty years.

“Many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help. I am proud that the UK has been able to put in place this route to help them and their families live safely in the UK.”

Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese added that planes carrying people from Afghanistan are expected to land here in Manchester ‘at any moment.’

He said: “They’re on their way. We’re expecting planes to be landing at any moment. We’re certainly not going to turn our back on those people.

“But what we are going to do is to continue to make the case that actually, if we’re really a caring country, we need to make sure we put the proper resources and systems in to be able to support these people very quickly, get them out of hotels and get them into homes.

“We’re definitely not going to be refusing to take people, but we will continue to make the case for proper support.”

Following the departure of American troops on Sunday, the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul, almost two decades after they were initially defeated by the US. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, abandoning the presidential palace to Taliban fighters.

Under the Taliban’s rule, Sharia Law, women and girls are stripped of most basic human rights, including the right to have an education, work, and leave the house without a male relative. While the Taliban have promised to take a more modern approach to their ruling, concern for the safety and wellbeing of Afghan women and girls is still rife.

For more information on how you can help the refugees fleeing Afghanistan, visit the following links:

British Red Cross
UNICEF
AllWeCan.org
United Nation Refugee Agency 
Refugee Council

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