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Mike Hosking: In 18 months, we have learned nothing

Author
Mike Hosking,
Publish Date
Thu, 26 Aug 2021, 9:51AM
(Photo / Getty Images)
(Photo / Getty Images)

Mike Hosking: In 18 months, we have learned nothing

Author
Mike Hosking,
Publish Date
Thu, 26 Aug 2021, 9:51AM

I assume most of us got the same e-mail; the supermarkets aren't coping.

The promises are not coming to pass, deliveries are off, you need to go in person, and queue for God knows how long. If you're old, sick, infirm, or alone you can apply, like a lot of third world countries, for a dispensation. If you're one of the lucky ones you can have your groceries delivered to you. 

This is not to blame the supermarkets, any more than it is to blame the ships that aren't arriving at the ports with the things for the shelves. It's to highlight the lack of planning from last time. 

Because we were here last time, we are here again, and nowhere in the ensuing 18 months was any sort of plan developed. 

There was no need then, as there is no need now, to be as maniacal about outlets that supply basics, especially when the outlets that do the supplying simply can't cope. 

In fact, last time was slightly better, given I clearly remember having our groceries delivered. So, the fact that things have clearly gone backwards is a further indictment on our inability to see anything beyond the end of the week. 

Trouble with last time, half the stuff you ordered never turned up anyway, so maybe queuing for a couple of hours is the better option? What's changed this time, of course, is staff. They're at home self-isolating; in that is the danger. 

It's the danger Britain saw before they had Freedom Day and got on with life. The "ping-demic" was crippling British business. Too many were told to go home and wait 14 days, where for virtually all of them nothing would happen, except a case of boredom. 

We are now suffering the same fate from supermarket workers to nurses. Stuff is not getting done, even those open can't do their job. 

Eventfully, everything grinds to a halt. Operations cancelled, orders not delivered, and businesses short of staff. 

This is what you get with one of the worst vaccine rollouts in the world, and no option but to lock down. 

You are trapped. Even the most basic of services are suffocated off and we aren't even halfway through the second week of who knows how many. 

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