Water bottles were just some of the products supermarkets were struggling to stock up on following a lack of deliveries.

This was the scene at the Tesco Blackburn store yesterday (Saturday July 24) as retailers dealt with delivery issues.

Supermarkets have reassured customers there is no need to panic buy following pictures of half-empty shelves and reports of temporary shortages.

This week the British Retail Consortium (BRC) spoke on behalf of the UK’s supermarkets warning that staff shortages, caused by huge numbers of healthy workers self-isolating after being pinged by NHS Test and Trace, was “putting increasing pressure on retailers’ ability to maintain opening hours and keep shelves stocked”.

Staff shortages are being felt in factories, bakeries and meat processing plants. The British Meat Processors’ Association said a shortage of workers has seen some factories struggling to fill one in six roles even before the ‘pingdemic’, which had now forced between 5% and 10% of their workforce to self-isolate.

Exacerbating supply issues for supermarkets is a shortage of haulage drivers in the UK, with experts warning a “perfect storm” is brewing due to several factors.

Lancashire Telegraph:

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) believes there is a shortfall of about 60,000 drivers after around 30,000 HGV driving tests did not take place last year due to the pandemic.

Retailers have started to recruit thousands of temporary staff for the summer. The Government has said certain industries will be able to apply for staff exemptions, but it has yet to publish its guidance.

It has also announced a consultation to allow drivers to take one test to drive articulated and rigid lorries to speed up the process of attaining licences for all types of HGVs.

A Government minister said more than 10,000 critical workers in the food sector would now be given an exemption to self-isolation rules amid major staff shortages.

Around 500 firms in the food supply chain have been contacted directly by the Government to use a scheme, Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News on Friday.

Food bosses said there is still significant confusion over whether they will be contacted over exemptions, which workers will be eligible and whether they should apply directly.

Richard Harrow, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, told the PA news agency there is uncertainty among firms over whether daily workplace testing will be involved to allow people to continue working if they are “pinged”.

He also said there are concerns that more workers may be freed up in some areas of the supply chain but not others such as in supermarkets.

He added: “The Government announcement last night that parts of the supply chain will be allowed to test and release workers that are pinged by Track and Trace only goes part of the way.

“It shows that yet again Government does not understand how connected the food supply chain is. Only opening part is unlikely to solve the overall issue. Plus, who is in and who is out, who decides and how do they decide?

“Confusion continues to pervade and I have been advised no list until Monday. This is worse than useless.”