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  • 2 months ago
Panorama 2020 E12
Transcript
00:00The UK economy is closing down.
00:09We just can't keep paying wages every week when we have no orders coming in the other
00:12end.
00:13So, you know, we have to make, you know, some very, very harsh decisions.
00:19The disease that threatens our families is destroying our livelihoods.
00:24Cafes, pubs, restaurants must close from Friday night except takeaway food to tackle coronavirus.
00:30We are with those trying to keep us going.
00:35I have three kids, seven, five and one, and, you know, that's the stress, younger.
00:48The minimum wage heroes who are putting their lives on the line.
00:54I do worry about being exposed and I do get concerned about being amongst the crowds that
00:59we're in amongst at the moment.
01:03And the people who have no idea how they're going to survive in lockdown UK.
01:10It didn't quite hit me up until walking out of work and that's when, obviously, I got
01:15myself upset.
01:30Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others.
01:38You should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues.
01:47In just a fortnight, everything has changed.
01:51The UK's economy went into freefall on St Patrick's Day.
01:59It's normally one of Belfast's busiest nights, but John's bookings are nearly all gone.
02:06I was shocked.
02:08He hasn't turned around and said, you know, for me to shut the doors.
02:12So he hasn't.
02:13So, I mean, what sort of position does that put me in?
02:16So if I shut the doors myself, I'm still going to pay all the wages out.
02:24What was it like to hear him say that?
02:26It's devastating.
02:27It is absolutely devastating.
02:29You know, I never thought I would have came this year.
02:37The government hasn't ordered pubs and restaurants to shut.
02:41It's just told people not to go into them.
02:45And that means many businesses have no customers but can't claim on the insurance for lost trade.
02:54I've got 17 members of staff, so I have, you know, I still have to make sure that they're
02:58all getting paid their wages.
03:00How long can you go on for?
03:02Well, until the bank account's out.
03:05You will go until the money's gone?
03:07I will.
03:08I will keep going.
03:09Keep going.
03:10Until the money's gone, yeah.
03:11But then that's the business gone?
03:13That's business gone, yeah.
03:14Some pubs stay open, but most people have stayed away.
03:30It's 11 o'clock at night in Belfast city centre on St Patrick's Day.
03:36This place should be full of people, all these bars should be open and busy, but coronavirus
03:42has closed everything down.
03:51So with no customers, Belfast's nightlife falls silent.
03:58And some owners don't know when they'll open again.
04:02My son's Fergal helped create this.
04:06It's just a place that we're very proud of.
04:13How does this make you feel, that you're in this bar and it's empty?
04:17It makes me feel very sad, I don't really want to go.
04:23And I mean, to be honest, I find it difficult.
04:28There's a big lot of work, a big lot of effort, a lot of, not me, you know, the guys who work
04:33The guys have been here right from the start.
04:38And they, you know, I don't know, I don't know what I'm going to do, you know, I don't
04:42know what I'm going to do with them, they don't know what we're going to do.
04:52Millions of jobs are now on the line.
04:56Everywhere is trying to deal with the effects of coronavirus, but if a big employer goes
05:00in a small place, that can have a massive impact.
05:03I'm on my way to Straban, which is in the western part of Northern Ireland.
05:11And there, one of the main employers is doing his best to keep the factory open.
05:26750 people work here.
05:30They make sports kit.
05:33But sport has stopped, and so have the orders.
05:39You know, we just can't keep paying wages every week when we have no orders coming in
05:42the other end.
05:43Just tell us what's happened today then, because since I've arrived, I can tell that, you know,
05:46your mind's all over the place.
05:48What's happening now?
05:49We've put our staff, our 750 staff, and noticed that from next Monday that we were going to
05:53work two days a week.
05:56So half the staff are going on Monday, Tuesday, and the other half are going on Wednesday
05:59and Thursday.
06:00So that's the plan for next Monday.
06:04How stressful for you is this?
06:05It's very, very stressful.
06:06I mean, as I say, this is unprecedented times, but if it comes to the worst, where we have
06:11to actually cease production.
06:14If we close for two months, can we sustain that?
06:16But if it's longer, what happens then?
06:24As some businesses cut back, others are swamped.
06:30Paul's pharmacy in Belfast is under pressure.
06:34He's built this barrier to protect staff.
06:37It's been surreal, I have to say.
06:40It's an understatement of surreal, really.
06:42This was a beautiful, well-laid-out pharmacy, lots of space, well-organised workflow patterns,
06:48and then, really, I think since Friday, it's been pandemonium.
06:56Some doctors' surgeries have been shut, and customers are struggling to get their regular
07:01prescriptions.
07:04Paul says he may have to break the law to keep his patients safe.
07:10It's illegal for us to hand out medicines without prescriptions.
07:13We're put in a position whereby, do we break the law?
07:16Do we not break the law?
07:17Do we let the patient get their medicines?
07:18You will have pharmacies, pharmacists like me, I will be giving the medicine out.
07:23I shouldn't.
07:24And somebody from the pharmaceutical side, they might come and say, well, you're breaking
07:27the law.
07:28How does it feel?
07:29It's traumatic.
07:30You know, it is traumatic.
07:33His staff have never seen anything like this.
07:37You know, just because we're healthcare professionals doesn't mean that we're not worried as well.
07:41But, you know, we're kind of like that scene in, like, Titanic.
07:45You know, we're still playing away and everyone's panicking.
07:54GPs are writing prescriptions to keep people going longer.
08:01Paul's driver, Tommy, is picking them up from the surgeries.
08:05The last couple of days I've been starting early to try and get around because the surgeries
08:13are...
08:14It's like Shaun of the Dead.
08:17Every surgery's got different rules and things in place.
08:20Customers aren't getting into the surgeries.
08:22A lot of patients are looking for scripts.
08:24They're queuing up outside.
08:26They're inundated themselves.
08:27I think people are panicking and ordering as much as they can.
08:32If you see my list, my list's normally, like, a few pages, but I've got, like, ten pages
08:36worth of names.
08:39So I'll park up here and have a go.
08:43Right, wish me luck.
08:48Bingo.
08:49Look at that.
08:50That's more than I'd pick up in one day, in one surgery.
08:53It's...
08:54I'm seeing...
09:00Families are getting, like, piles of scripts, I think.
09:02They're just panicking.
09:06And that would be, like, a week's worth.
09:08It's mad.
09:13Back at the pharmacy, Paul is worried about a shortage of some drugs.
09:19The supply of over-the-counter paracetamol is an issue.
09:22We have reasonable supplies of packs of 100,
09:25but we're breaking them down so that...
09:27and splitting them and selling them in 32s.
09:30It's potentially illegal to do that.
09:32We're running out of other products.
09:34Some of those branded generics, you can't get.
09:37Some of the inhaler products, you can't get.
09:39Can you phone Rainbow and see what...?
09:41Over the last couple of days, I've been a pharmacist,
09:44I've been an electrician, I've been a telephone engineer.
09:47I've been a shoulder to cry on.
09:49I've been the person doing the crying.
09:53Yeah, so...
09:55We'll get through it.
09:56For millions, the supermarket has become the most important place.
10:03They keep us going, but essential items are disappearing.
10:09This is an independent supermarket in Shrewsbury,
10:12which has been running for over 30 years.
10:15It's a place where you can shop,
10:17and it's a place where you can buy things,
10:19and it's a place where you can buy things,
10:21and it's a place where you can buy things,
10:23This is an independent supermarket in Shropshire.
10:31It's been owned by Harry's family for four generations.
10:38Have you ever seen anything like this before?
10:40No, no, absolutely not.
10:44I met Harry before social distancing became part of our lives.
10:48Your traditional loaves, they...
10:50You know, that's all pretty much gone.
10:53So your sliced loaf, which is obviously your most popular,
10:56bread is gone.
10:57So this over here, these are the empty shelves?
10:59So here and here.
11:04Wow.
11:05That is where toilet rolls normally go.
11:07Not any more, so...
11:09There's nothing.
11:10Is it been hard trying to get food? Have you been worried about it?
11:13Yeah, I've got a family of five.
11:15How much food have you got?
11:17Not a lot.
11:19But I work at school, so when going in after school,
11:22there isn't any food on the shelves for us to go and get.
11:27You need to stock up?
11:28Yeah.
11:30I'm going to go and get some food.
11:32I'm going to go and get some food.
11:34I'm going to go and get some food.
11:36I'm going to go and get some food.
11:38You need to stock up?
11:39Yeah.
11:43Across the country, we've spent an extra billion pounds on food.
11:49Harry's sales are three times their normal levels.
11:53He's rationing key products, but worries about what comes next.
12:01We're a fourth-generation family business
12:03and we're proudly independent.
12:05But if we close, we close.
12:07There's nothing then.
12:09And I think, yeah, you've just got to carry on whilst you can.
12:12And we've got a lot, you know, 70 staff to think about, you know.
12:24Kieran's bar in Belfast is still shut and he's trapped.
12:29Customers have been told to avoid pubs and clubs,
12:33but the venues haven't been officially ordered to close.
12:40Companies big and small, we will stand by you.
12:44Kieran hopes this government announcement will end the confusion.
12:49Avoid pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants,
12:53to work from home if at all possible.
12:55Avoid pubs, clubs, bars again, yeah, but don't close them.
12:59It is a make-or-break moment for Kieran's bar.
13:04Remember our joint objective to beat this virus.
13:10We are collectively telling,
13:13telling cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants
13:17to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can
13:22and not to open tomorrow.
13:26Oh, thank God.
13:28I'm getting texts through here saying,
13:30finally, at last, you know, for everybody's sake.
13:37That should have been done.
13:41This means now I can go to an insurance company
13:44and try and get some sort of a settlement out of them.
13:50Don't know if I'll get it, but it's a door open, thank God.
13:58Pubs, restaurants told to shut to fight virus as of midnight tonight.
14:05For Harry, the announcement that pubs are closing is a new problem.
14:10Everyone that's come in has just gone straight to the booze.
14:14Right, yeah.
14:16That could be interesting.
14:18I don't know whether we need to look at thinking what we do tonight.
14:22Put a limit on it, I think.
14:24Yeah.
14:25Otherwise it is all just going to disappear.
14:27Yeah, do that from now.
14:29Right, thank you, thank you.
14:34You say it's just increased really just now?
14:37Yes, one chap has just gone out with four in his trolley.
14:40Right.
14:41They're going to find out, they're going to go nuts,
14:43they're going to clean us out.
14:44Jesus Christ.
14:47Every supermarket in the land in the last half an hour
14:50would have just had people piling into the alcohol,
14:54piling into the alcohol section.
15:06For millions, the basics are disappearing.
15:13Sarah has just lost her job because of the crisis.
15:19She worked in the kitchen of a pub in Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester.
15:23Friday, they told me they'd have to let me off
15:26because I'd be shut in the kitchen.
15:28It didn't quite hit me up until walking out of work
15:31and that's when, obviously, I got myself upset
15:34because I knew that's probably the last time I could walk out
15:40or ever see the place again
15:42or ever see my managers and work colleagues.
15:48I feel lost.
15:50I feel lost and I feel empty.
15:52You can play with your kids and do this and do that
15:55but as soon as your kids go to bed at night time,
15:58it's like your brain's ticking over again
16:01and the constant worry and the constant feeling
16:04that you are on your own.
16:06Why do I have to shoot all the way over from there
16:08and you can shoot from there?
16:10Yay!
16:11Sarah was hoping the lay-off might be temporary
16:14but her boss says it's permanent.
16:16I just don't know where to go or what to do.
16:20I got told you can get help
16:22but when I went on to the government website,
16:24it doesn't tell you how you go,
16:27well, you know...
16:31It goes live tomorrow.
16:33Right.
16:35So it's still none the wiser, though.
16:38Bye-bye!
16:40I don't want to go down that route of universal credit.
16:43Go on.
16:45All right.
16:47Andrew, see you later.
16:49Bye. Bye-bye.
16:54That was my boss.
16:56She's none the wiser at the moment
16:58because they've had no response from no-one.
17:01I'm going to bed.
17:03I'm going to bed.
17:05I'm going to bed.
17:07They've had no response from no-one.
17:09So she still doesn't know anything.
17:18The government says help's available
17:20but Sarah is struggling.
17:23You can go on the website and it'll tell you...
17:26It tells you that you'll get help if you've been laid off
17:31but it doesn't tell you how you go about it or who to phone.
17:36I haven't got a clue what my options are at all.
17:41I feel like all I've done is been looking on my phone,
17:44scrolling through...
17:47..but still none the wiser.
17:49I just feel like it's hitting me head against the brick wall.
17:53Well, no wonder I'm not sleeping at night
17:56cos I'm not getting the answers that I need.
18:06In the last week, the supply chain has faced its biggest test.
18:11The stock in our warehouses has taken a hit.
18:15It falls to truck drivers like Marco to restock the nation's larder.
18:21We've got frozen veg at minus 22
18:24and cauliflowers but there is also other stuff,
18:28peas and so on, a full load.
18:30Marco is one of the low-paid workers who are keeping the country going.
18:36Emergency regulations have extended the hours drivers can be on the road
18:40from nine to 11 hours a day.
18:44I came from Belgium. I've got 22 tonnes of frozen veg
18:47and we are going to a supermarket depot in the south-west of England
18:51where we're going to buy some frozen veg.
18:54I've got 22 tonnes of frozen veg
18:56and we are going to a supermarket depot in the south-west of England.
19:00I was there already yesterday.
19:02I went back to the same place, empty, and loaded again.
19:06It's been really busy.
19:08We've been going back and forth from this place in Belgium
19:11where we usually load five or six lorries a week.
19:14It's been 15, 20 so far.
19:19Food is important.
19:21If you see that all the borders are shut
19:24then us lorries are allowed everywhere without any checks
19:27so that shows how important we are.
19:31I'll be back there tomorrow most probably, empty.
19:34Going back empty and coming back loaded.
19:36It's been quite tiring.
19:51I think it's going to be quite hectic in here later,
19:55judging by the last few days.
20:01It's dawn and across the country supplies are arriving.
20:06Morning, driver.
20:08Morning.
20:09Another chaos day.
20:11Yeah, we are.
20:13Supermarket deliveries are being rationed as well.
20:18I'm death-scored for that one.
20:20I'm death-scored for that one.
20:24So some shelves will stay empty.
20:28So that always rolls, yeah.
20:30We had it last delivered on Wednesday
20:33and it was all sold by Wednesday evening.
20:36Sometimes you've just got a demand for it there and then
20:40and you're just handing it over before it makes the shelves.
20:45Pat is one of millions of minimum-wage heroes.
20:50We depend on them for our food.
20:52The shops are busy and that puts them at risk.
20:56I do worry about being exposed
20:58because I've got an elderly family
21:00and I've got young children that have got their health problems
21:04and I do get concerned about being amongst the crowds
21:07that we're in amongst at the moment
21:09and I do think it may get to the point
21:12where I will have to say I'm sorry,
21:14I need to isolate, I can't take the risk.
21:20Back in Belfast, Paul is making more changes to his pharmacy.
21:28We're setting up the drive-thru collection for the pharmacy.
21:31A lean-to at the rear and effectively a drive-thru hatch
21:35so the cars will come in and collect the prescription then.
21:39So if people are in their own cars
21:41and not having face-to-face contact with the pharmacy staff
21:44then hopefully that keeps the system working longer
21:48without staff going down.
21:51But also importantly that if staff had the infection
21:55and they're asymptomatic
21:57that they're not then passing that on to members of the public.
22:06The staff have just been amazing.
22:08We got them in, anybody who could work effectively
22:11to get the pharmacy set up
22:13because we don't know who's going to be standing in two weeks' time.
22:18Paul is paying for all these changes out of his own pocket.
22:24I am concerned with costs and finances and all that
22:27but we'll worry about that down the line.
22:33We can look back at two weeks
22:35but looking forward two weeks is the scary bit in all reality.
22:40It's certainly changed everybody's day-to-day life.
22:44There's definitely a difficult time ahead
22:47with people who will go through untold things
22:50but we cope with it.
22:54It's not just work.
22:56Paul is worried about his family too.
23:00Car is seven, L is five
23:02and they still talk about coronavirus
23:04and they do understand there's something going on
23:07and they do understand that if they keep their distance
23:10they do understand.
23:13Maybe it's a sad way as well.
23:15They understand that certainly from their father
23:18that you don't come running up when he walks in from work
23:22when they would have done it all the time.
23:24So that's difficult.
23:26It's difficult for his parents and it's difficult for them as well.
23:32In Ashton-under-Lyne, Sarah is still trying to get help
23:36but she was made redundant hours before the government promised
23:40to pay 80% of wages
23:42so she'd only qualify if her employer reinstated her.
23:58Half a million applications for Universal Credit
24:01have been processed in two weeks.
24:10And then it does ring, it goes on to engage them.
24:19We don't know how many more people
24:21have tried and failed to get through.
24:24We're receiving a large number of calls
24:26and all our advisors are busy.
24:35For Sarah and her children, the money is running out.
24:40My head's spinning.
24:42My head is literally spinning with it all.
24:44Even though I've made all my phone calls today
24:47I'm still none the wiser on where to go.
24:53For this month, I'll be all right
24:55but after the end of this month, I don't know
24:59because I'm still not getting the answers.
25:01Obviously, I can claim housing benefit
25:04and get that sorted, so that's one thing.
25:07But on the aspect of paying my bills
25:09and getting shopping up until I know
25:12what the situation is with the money,
25:15I can't even answer that one.
25:20From this evening, I must give the British people
25:23a very simple instruction.
25:25You must stay at home
25:27because the critical thing we must do
25:30to stop the disease spreading between households...
25:37..is stay at home.
25:43There's been a big change at the sportswear factory.
25:46The workers are back in
25:48and they're now part of the fight against the virus.
25:55I got called in on Friday afternoon
25:57from the health trust
25:59and they asked us could we manufacture scrubs for them.
26:03We got an order for 50,000
26:05and the workers are all back on Wednesday
26:07making these scrubs for the health service,
26:09the front-line workers.
26:11It's keeping Kieran and his staff in business.
26:16Look, I mean, everybody's glad to be back.
26:18The health service are in bad, bad need
26:20and the front-line staff are in bad need of these garments.
26:28The whole country is now locked down
26:31and the government has effectively nationalised the payroll.
26:36There's supposed to be billions for workers and businesses
26:40but for most, the cash isn't there yet.
26:45Hi, Stuart. Listen, I got that spreadsheet
26:47with all the details of staff pay.
26:51So what's happening to the people we're following?
26:54Well, it's now safer if they film themselves.
26:58I'm looking out in the country
27:00a bit of a building site out here
27:02but there's fresh air around me.
27:05Kieran is still waiting for government help
27:08and like millions of others, he's in self-isolation.
27:13I have a bit of a cough. I've had it for ages.
27:15If I take out this wee video diary
27:17it could turn from a video diary into a video drama.
27:20Hopefully not.
27:23At the supermarket, supplies are improving
27:26but a fifth of the workforce is off.
27:29We're now 15 people down, which includes Pat.
27:32In the outside world, looking at the hard work
27:35that the NHS and other key worker services are doing
27:40because it encourages all of us, our family, the business,
27:45the staff to keep going
27:47because we realised there is a common goal at the end of all of this.
27:54It's chaos out there
27:56and I just think
27:59as a pharmacist trying to work through this crisis
28:03do the best for the public, patients, staff
28:09everybody else involved.
28:11It is so, so frustrating.
28:14And Sarah and her kids are still waiting for money or good news.
28:18Here's to hope because I think that's all we've got at the moment.
28:22There's no certainty.
28:24Everything's still uncertain.
28:26It's uncertain times.
28:29All I've got is hope
28:32that everyone can stick together and get through it
28:37and take care and be safe.
28:44Britain is on the brink.
28:46Shops, workplaces and streets are empty like never before.
28:53Millions of people don't know what happens next.
28:58How can the UK make a living if we're all locked down at home?
29:16For more information visit www.britishhealth.gov.uk