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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Sophie Law

John Lewis suspends click and collect services in Scotland amid fears over virus safety

John Lewis is the first major retailer in Scotland to suspend its click and collect services amid a shopping crackdown.

The high street giant said it was responding to a "clear change in tone and emphasis" from the government as millions are urged to stay at home.

John Lewis will no longer allow shoppers to collect items in department stores as coronavirus infections soar.

It comes as Nicola Sturgeon warned services like click and collect, takeaways and the construction industry could be restricted.

John Lewis will no longer allow shoppers to collect items in department stores (AFP via Getty Images)

The First Minister said Scotland could follow in the footsteps of Northern Ireland, which recently introduced a similar ban to reduce people travelling outdoors.

Supermarkets across Scotland have tightened their rules this week on a major crackdown on rule breakers amid calls for restrictions to be tightened.

Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Waitrose have banned shoppers who refuse to wear a mask in stores, with some hiring extra security to turn away those not following the rules.

John Lewis Partnership said it was "conscious of the increased need to remove reasons for non-essential travel during the current lockdown".

Click and collect orders from department stores were "switched off to new orders" from Tuesday.

However, its sister retailer Waitrose will still allow shoppers to get click and collect orders.

John Lewis is the first major retailer in Scotland to suspend its click and collect services (AFP via Getty Images)

It is hoped that the measures will help to curb the spread of coronavirus in the supermarkets as Scotland enters into its second week of stay at home lockdown restrictions.

NHS Test and Trace data from south of the border in November last year revealed that supermarkets were the most common place to catch coronavirus.

The research found that 18.3% of people with Covid-19 caught it while they were out grocery shopping.

It is currently illegal to enter a supermarket without a face covering in Scotland, unless you have a medical exemption.

Scots face a fine of £60 for a first time breach of the rules, which is then doubled on every repeat offence up to a maximum value of £960.

Nicola Sturgeon praised supermarkets for their decision to clamp down on people breaking the law on face coverings.

During the Scottish Government press briefing on Tuesday, the First Minister said: “I welcome some of the announcements and commitments made by some supermarkets yesterday to make sure that they’re playing their part in helping encourage the use of face coverings.”

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