Good evening

Things must be more serious than we thought.

While most of us have been going out only to buy essential items like food, there is now new advice for those living in or close to areas where variants of Covid-19 have been found.

Health Minister Matt Hancock is asking people to forsake the weekly shop in favour of a deep dive into the freezer or the store cupboard.

This is probably good advice in general. Many of us will have more in our freezers than we will ever eat, including that packet of fish fingers which has been there for at least five years. And it’s the same for tinned items. In the before-Christmas clear out I found a tin of tomato soup which could well have made its way into a museum.

There has been much hilarity about the advice on social media, with the phrase ‘nanny state’ mentioned more than once.

But the reality is if we can get a grip of these variants before they spread more widely, we have a better chance of coming out of the pandemic more quickly.

And if you really can’t face freezer food, supermarkets do deliver these days!

Until next time, take care,

Gillian

Drop me a line at gillian.parkinson@jpimedia.co.uk with your views and please subscribe to support sustainable local journalism in your community. Click here to view our offers.

Here are some of today's top stories ...