Supermarket slots 'booking up fast' amid fears of second lockdown

UK supermarkets have warned customers that delivery slots are booking up fast amid fears of a second lockdown.

Online supermarkets Ocado and Tesco have warnings on their websites to alert their customers that they are experiencing high demand for deliveries.

It comes after coronavirus cases surged by 4,422 and Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that ministers will have to roll out national measures if the public does not follow Covid-19 regulations.

Ocado's posted a notice to its website stating: "Delivery slots are selling out faster than usual. If you can't find a slot now, please use the 'Next 3 days' button to see available slots further in advance."

A notice on Tescos delivery slots page warned: "We are releasing slots as and when they become available, but they are filling up quickly.

"We ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, to help us prioritise slots for more vulnerable customers."

Some found that Sainsbury's delivery service was fully booked until Wednesday.

Panic-buying shoppers made an extra 42 million visits to supermarkets in just four days during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

Supermarkets were overwhelmed as panic-buying and stockpiling saw shelves stripped of many basic items from toilet rolls to milk and pasta.

The latest warning from supermarkets about a high demand for delivery slots came after Boris Johnson told reporters the UK is “now seeing a second wave coming in”.

The UK R rate, which represents the number of people an infected person will pass the virus to, has risen to between 1.1 and 1.4, meaning cases can rise very quickly, according to Sage.

Public Health England (PHE) warned that data published on Friday could be a sign of “far worse things to come”, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said cases are thought to have almost doubled in a week to 6,000-a-day in England.

During a visit to the Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre construction site near Oxford, Mr Johnson told broadcasters: “Obviously, we’re looking very carefully at the spread of the pandemic as it evolves over the last few days and there’s no question, as I’ve said for several weeks now, that we could expect (and) are now seeing a second wave coming in.

Meanwhile Mr Hancock told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme he was “very worried” about the second wave of the virus now emerging in the UK.

“We have a choice," he said. "Either everybody follows the rules – the rule of six and the need to self-isolate if you have a positive test or if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace – or we will have to take more measures.

“I don’t want to see more measures, more restrictive measures, but if people don’t follow the rules that is how the virus spreads.”

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