Food industry leaders have warned the surge of Omicron cases in the UK could lead to staff shortages, cancelled deliveries and store closures during the crucial Christmas and new year trading period.
The rapid spread of the Covid-19 variant has fuelled concerns that reduced staffing numbers as a result of people isolating will impact operations in the coming weeks. One boss told The Mail on Sunday that it was “a race to see which gets there first – Omicron or Christmas”.
Retail bosses are monitoring the rise in the number of cases among staff, with hopes that stores and deliveries can continue to function as normal in the final countdown to Christmas.
Fears are mounting that delivery services could be placed under further pressure as an increasing number of shoppers are forced to isolate, although staff cases are currently manageable.
One executive said: “The biggest worry now is how fast the numbers go up. This is a very fine line.
“There is already a very well publicised shortage of delivery drivers and lorry drivers, so even a small drop in the number showing up for work of 5% or 10% would begin to have a noticeable impact.”
Although further restrictions have not been introduced by the government since last Monday, grocery bosses are preparing for increased footfall in stores in the coming days as consumers cancel plans to eat out.
Some supermarkets reportedly registered spikes in sales of up to 20% last week as consumers cancelled restaurant bookings and stayed in to try to avoid the virus.
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