[LaLaLand]

"Essential items" are totally subjective, especially if you're working from home/self-employed.

For example - I do freelance portrait commissions and have a few family and pet portrait deadlines coming up in the next few weeks in time for Christmas, so for me, essential items are pencils, paper, frames etc.

These items are deemed completely non-essential by the government and are (literally) being cordoned off in the shops. I understand that it's a way to stop browsing temptation and for people to just "get in and get out" as quickly as possible and I could order supplies online etc etc, but come on...

[Ammi]

...yeah, it’s the lack of thought and also the lack of considerations in determining essential/non essential, LaLa...well there doesn’t appear to be any considerations, it just seems to be a ‘blanket’ thing, so absent from any considerations...for you, writing materials are your income and an income is an essential...?..there are some people with communication difficulties who would have a reliance on writing materials also...in her early times of Alzheimer’s, writing different things down as memory aids and communication forms etc was essential to my mum, I know these things can be purchased in other ways but not everyone is so comfortable purchasing online and doesn’t always have easy access to do so either...the obvious thing would be, in areas where ‘non essential’ retail are being closed down for a period, then the community is given consideration in what their needs may be and envelopes that in the essentials..children/baby clothes and warm bedding for instance being non essential...but alcohol being essential...?...I’m not suggesting that the alcohol not be ‘essential’, just that it seems like a very narrow window and judgement being made which doesn’t accommodate a community with their essentials at all....

[Cherie]

Birthday cards non essential? Good luck to anyone celebrating over the next 17 days then

Moonpig will be busy

So instead of saving the high street these extreme measures will drive even more people online

[bots]

The very real danger is that after this 2 weeks, the numbers wont have gone down at all (which i'm fully expecting to be the case) and that it will make the population more restriction averse. It could conceivably end up a massive backfire

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

The very real danger is that after this 2 weeks, the numbers wont have gone down at all (which i'm fully expecting to be the case) and that it will make the population more restriction averse. It could conceivably end up a massive backfire

There is no exit strategy in place either so its quite possible the ‘17’ days could extend all in the name if ‘having as normal a Christmas’ as possible, Christmas will not be normal and time would be better spent educating people how to social distance in their day to day lives rather than offering false hope

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by LaLaLand

"Essential items" are totally subjective, especially if you're working from home/self-employed.

For example - I do freelance portrait commissions and have a few family and pet portrait deadlines coming up in the next few weeks in time for Christmas, so for me, essential items are pencils, paper, frames etc.

These items are deemed completely non-essential by the government and are (literally) being cordoned off in the shops. I understand that it's a way to stop browsing temptation and for people to just "get in and get out" as quickly as possible and I could order supplies online etc etc, but come on...

Then do it, order online what's the problem? Since when did they sell professional grade artistry equipment at tesco anyway? Essential items means perishables and other essential items such as nappies and cleaning products.