Post a letter

Off you pop then, if its so un-scarey, Im sure theyre hiring at the moment!

notanan2 naturally I read the link. I saw nothing to support your rather excitable argument. Did you read the part that explained how they are continuing to deliver unsolicited mail (ie advertising flyers) as long as other mail is being delivered to the address. I don't remember reading that The Royal Mail is 'scared' - forgive me if I'm wrong.
Just to be clear - your sarcastic remark 'taking up a penpal hobby' refers to letters to my beloved grandchildren whom I cannot see at the moment. It seems that the concept of being kind is simply beyond the imagination of some on Gransnet.

Its not just one letter though. If there are lots of people thinking that their one letter isnt adding to the pressure thats a LOT of extra pressure on an already skeleton staff!

Be kind in this context would be about being kind and thinking twice about how your wants affect others, and maybe giving post staff and delivery staff a break. They are leaving their families so that essentials still get through not so GNers can take up a penpal hobby!

I don't think it's helping anybody getting irrate about sending one letter.

Be Kind didn't last long.

"as cases of coronavirus increase across the UK we, along with other organisations, are experiencing growing levels of employee absence due to illness and self-isolation.

Absence rates are currently double what we normally expect at this time of year"

Did you not read the post you shared yourself?
It says that sickness levels are really high so those at work are under extra pressure (on top of being scared). How on earth do you think that justifies sending EXTRA post?

This from Royal Mail who seem to be managing the situation very professionally and acknowledging their role in delivering to those who are isolated. Having been accused yesterday of being "horribly selfish" for sending a single envelope, I'm relieved to find that the Royal Mail are stepping up to the plate without hysteria
www.royalmail.com/d8/coronavirus-changes-service

My daughter has just delivered something to her father [who lives in the next village] with strict instructions not to touch it for three days. She is doing/coordinating support for the local community and is being given a lot of information regarding safety measures. Why are some of us being ridiculed for being extra cautious?

Oh no, I have just posted cards through letter boxes. I didnt know about this.

paddy anne, I don't know how old she is but you can send those "experience gifts" which she may enjoy after all this.

Adverts coming through our door now were ordered months ago. Nobody is ordering NEW junk mail to be sent out. It will tail off soon.

growstuff can stay alive, but the chances are very low, not does stay alive.

I had a letter delivered today but with it came the usual advertising leaflets, why are we still getting these,apart from extra things to contaminate they are adverts for shops we cannot go to.

Just like to say thank you to all the grans who have praised the posties, my son is a Postman so naturally like all mums I worry.
To all the the unsung hero’s doing there bit (NHS goes without saying) to keep the country running ❤️ ?

It is safe to recieve post yes. But anyone who is going to work is risking themselves and their families.

So using them for non essential deliveries, just because its safe for you and yours to send/recieve, is horribly selfish.

It has been confirmed that the infection stays live for about 24 hours on certain surfaces and longer on others. I hope postal workers have been issued with gloves. Otherwise they most certainly are in danger from letters and parcels, if they touch them or any surface which they have touched. It also stays live in the air, so any enclosed area could have Covid-19 particles. Like everybody else who is required to continue working, I hope they are able to keep 2 metres apart. An unknown number of postal workers is already most certainly infected and could pass the infection on to other workers or the public by contaminated mail.

We are not all safe by not touching our eyes, nose and mouth before washing our hands. Anybody who goes into a public place could pick it up on their hair, clothes, etc just by sitting on a park bench or brushing against a wall.

The postal staff are to be applauded as are anyone who keeps our services running. But they are in no danger of contracting the virus from touching the mail. They are only at risk through close contact with others (droplet infection in the air) or touching their eyes, nose and mouth before washing their hands. If they avoid those things they are quite safe, as we all are.

notanan2 I agree with you about posties.

I'm not driving myself nuts Sophiasnan. I'm doing what I can to prevent myself catching it and passing it on to others.

In the time from being infected with Covid-19, it's possible to infect a number of others, who will then do the same thing. It doesn't take long for thousands to be infected from a single source. A percentage of those thousands will die.

It's because people think they'll be OK, are willing to take a risk and find all sorts of loopholes to avoid the regulations because they think they're an exception that the whole thing has got out of control.

I have chosen not to be part of that, if I can possibly help it, and quarantining anything which comes into my house is no big deal.

notanan2; you're right. They are amongst the many brave people that are keeping this country running. We must only post or order things if it's absolutely necessary.

A friend of mine is a postie and I wondered if I should ask her if the service was still running normally.

I am sending frequent letters to my DGD.

How am I the only poster on 2 pages who mentions the post workers not just the recipient?

Postal workers are asking people not to. The way the post goes through sorting fills the air with particles.

Post essentials like signed forms only

The sense of reality is that we're in one hell of a mess. Years ago I didn't let my children drink milk for a while because of Chernobyl. Everyone laughed at me. A few weeks later a government minister said 'it is now safe to drink milk'. We were on holiday in Cornwall and there had been some sort of water contamination so we drank bottled water. Turned out that people in the area were ill for years afterwards because of it. I don't actually believe everything that I'm told and choose to safeguard me and mine in whichever way I think is best. Scientists re learning about this virus all the time but, at the moment they don't know everything. And as lock downs etc don't seem to be containing it 100% it must be being passed on in lots of ways.

MOnica, I agree. Some people will drive themselves nuts with this virus. Quarantining every thing you buy for 24 hours? I guess thats your choice. But listen to the experts and maintain a sense of reality.

Yes, what I choose to do is up to me but the WHO information is hard factual information that I had no input into. Whatever your choice that information remains.