Supermarkets to waive plastic bag charge for shoppers amid coronavirus crisis
SUPERMARKETS are waiving the plastic bag charge amid the coronavirus crisis from today.
This afternoon Environment Secretary George Eustice announced the government has decided to pull the charge, as retailers struggle to cope with panic buyers.
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He urged people to “be responsible when you shop” and told them to think of NHS workers as he outlined measures to bolster the food supply chain.
The MP added: “We need people to calm down and buy only what they need and think of others while purchasing.
"We recognise that this is a challenging time and there is many things the government is asking the nation to do differently.
"Be responsible when you shop and think of other, buying more than you need means others may be left without and it is making life more difficult for our frontline workers who are working so hard under such difficult circumstances.
"So as you shop think of those who have just finished long shifts and need to pop to the shops."
Speaking at a Downing St press briefing, British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson added supplies were holding up, saying: “There is plenty of food in the supply chain.
"There is a billion pounds more food in people's houses than there was three weeks ago."
And added the industry was experiencing "a peak in demand "like Christmas... without the four-month build-up period".
It comes as:
- Boris Johnson unveiled a wage boost and tax cuts for workers hit by crisis
- Cases of Covid-19 across the world reached 200,000
- A man became the first to be arrested in the UK for not self-isolating
- Alarming images emerged from an Italian hospital where patients are treated with bubble helmets
- China and other Asian countries are facing a second wave of deadly coronavirus
- New test will be made available to hundreds of thousands of people ASAP
- Health secretary Matt Hancock warns of second coronavirus hotspot in the Midlands
NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis said panic buyers are depriving NHS staff of the supplies they need, adding: “Frankly we should all be ashamed.”
Around 1.4 million Brits are expected to be told to self-isolate on Monday due to coronavirus.
Experts say that older people and those with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to the , which has infected more than 5,000 and killed 233 people in the UK.
The Government is urging people to social distance - including steering clear of pubs and restaurants - in order to stop the spread of the bug.
But pictures have shown boozed-up Brits spilling out of clubs and bars in recent days - before PM Boris Johnson shut them down.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to use the nation's resources to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
He said: "The only way to think about this is a war, where we look at what the entire resources of the nation are and how we can best deploy those to save lives.
"We've got to think about how we bring all the resources of the country to get through this."
He added that everything possible was being done to avoid a peak in cases as Mr Johnson last night said he was "absolutely confident" the country could send coronavirus "packing" in 12 weeks.
Mr Johnson added British experts expect to start trials for a vaccine against Covid-19 within a month, although expectations are that a vaccine will take at least a year.
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The Queen is currently self-isolating in Windsor Castle having cancelled public events in Cheshire and Camden.
Her message to protect the most vulnerable comes as supermarkets were put under immense strain amid panic-buying Brits.
Yesterday, key workers who will play a role in fighting coronavirus were named including nurses, police officers and delivery drivers.
