Last night UK prime minister Boris Johnson took belatedly decisive action and ordered all non-essential UK retail to shut down, "including clothing and electronic stores." That means Game, Argos, and a bunch of additional stores will now be closed for at least three weeks (starting yesterday, March 23) as the UK government tries to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The news will undoubtedly be welcomed by employees as a quick scroll through Twitter reveals just how stressful many have found it with certain major companies continuing to put retail staff at risk by insisting that stores remain open until the last possible moment. Those open doors inspired people - many of whom were infected but asymptomatic (research is starting to show that a good portion of people are carrying the virus with little or no symptoms) - to do some last-minute shopping before the inevitable lockdown. However, now the only shops that can remain open are those deemed essential (including supermarkets and pharmacies).