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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Masks and Social Distancing stay for now, say most agents

It may be ‘Freedom Day’ but it looks certain that many estate agents will still wear masks in offices today and into the near future at least.

The Guild of Property Professionals canvassed the opinions of many of its agents .

Katie Griffin, from Sawdye & Harris, states: “We have to keep our clients, staff and families safe and we as a firm, whilst relaxing the locked door policy, will be wearing masks for viewings and visitors to the office.  

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“Having sought opinion from our clients, both sellers and landlords, the majority are happy for masks to be worn for viewings.  Safety has to be at the forefront of all we do.”

Catherine Freeman, sales manager at James Estate Agents, says her office will also continue to keep certain precautions in place for now. “We will still be wearing masks and sanitising on viewings and market appraisals. We will also request visitors to the office wear masks for the time being too. The general feeling is that it is too soon to go from having restrictions in place to nothing overnight.”

Alex Britchfield, partner at Davis & Partners, says his company is continuing social distancing. 

“We’ve written to all our clients to inform them of this policy, and we have received nothing but support. Our policy for the protection of our staff, viewers and our clients is ‘no mask, no viewing’” he adds.

The valuation manager from Next Estate Agents, Debbie MacFarlane, comments: “Clients we have spoken to provide us with mixed messages with regards to the lifting of the restrictions, indeed no two client’s circumstances are the same.

“Our aim will be to make each client feel as comfortable as possible. We certainly do not wish for anyone to feel at risk or nervous and therefore we will be willing to adopt any or all of the previous hands, face, space guidelines to ensure our clients’ needs are met. In a public facing role this has to be priority.”

According to Edward Chelton Brown, director of Chelton Brown Lettings and Sales, his business will also still be very cautious.

“Monday morning and Friday afternoon Covid-19 tests have become the norm for those working in the office, and this will continue long after July 19 to ensure we are minimising any risk of spreading the virus.”

  • Roger  Mellie

    This seems like a sensible move to avoid, if anything, getting pinged by the app. Although, not quite the inconvenience it once was if as a business it's been set up for such situations.

  • edward apostolides

    I think this namby pamby attitude should stop. There is not a shred of scientific evidence that these masks work. It's simply another form of virtue signalling mixed with extreme ignorance, mostly pushed by our television news channels and an inept crooked Cabinet.  This idiotic Ministerial response to this virus is nonsensical, has been from the start, remember Witty in early March 2020, "if you get the deadly virus, go home, stay indoors for 14 days and you will be fine" that's an absurd contradiction in terms and you don't need a degree in English to see it?? Nothing but confusing idiotic advice has followed ever since, stand up mask up, sit down mask off, what juvenile idiocy! The psychological and physical damage their policies have done to the people of this country is huge! Almost 6 million on the waiting list for ops and diagnosis, tens of thousands dying from untreated cancer and heart issues, children's education destroyed with over 800.000 off school isolating for a disease they don't get ill from and not a shred of evidence asymptomatic people especially children even spread it, we've gone from protect the NHS to death numbers and now cases shoved down our throat. The death figures are skewed, the NHS was never under any more threat than usual, if it were they wouldn't of closed all the Nightingale hospitals that were never used by more than a few dozen patients, and cases mean nothing if people are not getting sick! 2020 along with most of this year to date have no significant spike in the number of deaths overall. SAGE who seem to be running the country are mainly made up of behavioural psychologists and mathematical models who always without fail present scenarios that never ever are even remotely corrects  and still these idiots and their modelling is used o terrify and destroy our lives!. The real Nobel Prize winning biologists and virologists, and the words leading experts on emerging infectious diseases have been effectively censored or deemed lunatics. We've listened to Matt Hancock refer to the Great Barrington Declaration authors as "so called fringe experts" who is he?  These people wrote the book on infectious disease. The government have milked this comprehensively and continue to do so, contract, many worth figures difficult to comprehend handed out to family, friends and ex associates! 

    They are all hypocrites and make it up as they go along, the G7 no rules, over 3500 EUFA cronies allowed in from green red and whatever silly colour they make up with no isolation, no injection and no testing because they are "important" people! So clearly your not affected by this if your important!? 


    Never mind stupid conspiracy theories and such rubbish you only have to look at the facts to realise we are turning into Little China, Lord Jonathan Sumption once (2 years ago) dubbed the cleverest legal brain in England has spoken out before being silenced that the law never required altering as we had laws in place for an emergency, health or otherwise, yet the government changed them because they didn't like having to produce evidence to Parliment. We are living under Ministerial Dictate for the first time in our history, his words and he's been deemed a conspiracy theorist ever since for taking the facts! 


    Decide for yourselves but look a little later deeper than iTV and BBC headlines and biased reporting. To quote Sir Desmond Swayne in his speech in the House of Commons months ago "there may very well be a virus one day that threatens our way of life...Bit this isn't it" !!I have had enough and I will NOT be wearing a 'mask'. 

    Vilesh Rew

    Please can you provide confirmation of what qualifications and/or experience you have when dealing with communicable diseases, or anything else flu or pandemic related, to allow us to judge whether or not to take your comments seriously? Many thanks.

     
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    It's always interesting to encounter someone who spends so much time saying so much, that is so wrong. Where to begin?
    - there is abundant evidence that masks work
    - a "deadly virus" does not have to be deadly to you specifically, to be deadly in general. If you catch it and pass it someone else, and recover yourself, and they die, then it's a deadly virus. And that's what sane people understood from that paraphrased remark
    - the NHS absolutely was under a threat unlike any it has ever faced, and any doctor in the country would have told you that
    - there is a clear and measurable spike in deaths beyond the usual norm
    - can you source a Nobel prize winning biologist or virologist who disagrees with continuing to contain and control the ongoing pandemic?

    There are some very good points here about the chaotic and incompetent government response. Cronyism, corruption and a failure in leadership have absolutely been rampant, but don't imply that the danger is not and has not been very real. It is callous and ignorant at best, and I can only assume you haven't lost any loved ones yourself. Don't forget that many tens of thousands have.

    And re masks - feel free to be a selfish specimen if you like, but don't be surprised if you can't enter any businesses for the next year or so!

     
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    You'll never convince the brainwashed. They think you need a degree i something scientific to have an opinion.

     
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    The PCR test swabs are sprayed with Ethelyn Oxide (EO) which is a class I carcinogen.

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    A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. It won't give you cancer in the same way having a glass of water with a banana won't make you burst into flames from potassium.

     
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    Plenty of medical equipment is sprayed with ethylene oxide - which I assume you meant - and it is not harmful to the eventual user when used appropriately.

    Please don't spread fear unnecessarily, it is counterproductive.

     
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    @Surrey One - That is very presumptuous of you, I am very knowledgeable.

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    @Vilesh Rew You don't need any medical or virology qualifications to have an opinion about the 'virus' just ask Bill Gates and Sajid Javid that same question. Critical thinking and research that does not include Google and main stream media. Twitter search #Nuremberg2 will be a good start.

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    You may not need qualifications to have an opinion on a complex topic, but don't be surprised if nobody takes you seriously.

    If you think one thing, and everyone with a medical degree or virology or epidemiology qualification thinks another thing - perhaps you'd best reconsider your sources.

    And if your criteria for "critical thinking and research" involves dismissing actual scientific research papers and embracing Twitter, you're too far gone to be helped.

     
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    @John Smith It is always good to hear an opinion from a Daily Mail reader.

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    • N W
    • 19 July 2021 15:43 PM

    as opposed to you a Sunday sport reader?

     
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