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| Onetime Relic, Then Hipster Fad, Milkmen Embrace Flood of Clients | Onetime Relic, Then Hipster Fad, Milkmen Embrace Flood of Clients |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| LEEDS, England — The problem, for Peter Critchley, is that the phone just keeps ringing. At least 30 calls a day, every day. Then there is the online backlog: He has 100 more requests on his website to wade through every evening. He has already added some 600 new customers, and more just keep coming. | LEEDS, England — The problem, for Peter Critchley, is that the phone just keeps ringing. At least 30 calls a day, every day. Then there is the online backlog: He has 100 more requests on his website to wade through every evening. He has already added some 600 new customers, and more just keep coming. |
| Suddenly, it seems, everyone wants a milkman. | Suddenly, it seems, everyone wants a milkman. |
| The surge has been going on for a week or so, Mr. Critchley said. As the British government’s measures to slow the coronavirus’s spread have grown incrementally tighter, as towns and cities have fallen quiet, as shops have closed and communities — mostly — started to follow officials’ advice to stay at home, more and more people have turned to Mr. Critchley, and others like him. | The surge has been going on for a week or so, Mr. Critchley said. As the British government’s measures to slow the coronavirus’s spread have grown incrementally tighter, as towns and cities have fallen quiet, as shops have closed and communities — mostly — started to follow officials’ advice to stay at home, more and more people have turned to Mr. Critchley, and others like him. |
| It is one less reason to venture outside, one way of avoiding snaking queues and empty shelves at supermarkets, at least one essential that can be guaranteed. | It is one less reason to venture outside, one way of avoiding snaking queues and empty shelves at supermarkets, at least one essential that can be guaranteed. |
| “At the moment, it’s just about managing,” Mr. Critchley said. He has been running the business — I.W. Critchley & Son, in the northern town of Chorley — since he took over from his father, the founder, some 40 years ago. | “At the moment, it’s just about managing,” Mr. Critchley said. He has been running the business — I.W. Critchley & Son, in the northern town of Chorley — since he took over from his father, the founder, some 40 years ago. |
| It is, he said, a “small, family firm.” At 67, and theoretically nearing retirement, he now describes himself as the “office boy.” He leaves deliveries to his sons, Robert, James and Richard, working from midnight until around 9 a.m. every day. | It is, he said, a “small, family firm.” At 67, and theoretically nearing retirement, he now describes himself as the “office boy.” He leaves deliveries to his sons, Robert, James and Richard, working from midnight until around 9 a.m. every day. |
| For a long time, that was enough, but that has changed starkly in the course of the past week. A month or so ago, Mr. Critchley had a little more than 4,300 registered customers. Now, that number has ticked north of 5,000. | For a long time, that was enough, but that has changed starkly in the course of the past week. A month or so ago, Mr. Critchley had a little more than 4,300 registered customers. Now, that number has ticked north of 5,000. |
| “It has been huge,” he said. “We have had people calling up to ask for jobs. Normally we’d just say no. Now we have to think, ‘Do we need someone else?’” | “It has been huge,” he said. “We have had people calling up to ask for jobs. Normally we’d just say no. Now we have to think, ‘Do we need someone else?’” |
| The story is the same across the north of England. Almost all milk delivery services contacted by The Times have placed notices on their websites or added voice-mail messages warning prospective customers about the high level of demand; many have updated their Facebook pages to thank people for their patience. | The story is the same across the north of England. Almost all milk delivery services contacted by The Times have placed notices on their websites or added voice-mail messages warning prospective customers about the high level of demand; many have updated their Facebook pages to thank people for their patience. |
| Robert Orton, a milkman in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has seen such a spike in interest that, reluctantly, he is having to turn away prospective customers. “I can only take new people if they live on streets that I already go down,” he said. “Otherwise, I just can’t do it. It’s been mad.” | Robert Orton, a milkman in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has seen such a spike in interest that, reluctantly, he is having to turn away prospective customers. “I can only take new people if they live on streets that I already go down,” he said. “Otherwise, I just can’t do it. It’s been mad.” |
| In Colne, a town that straddles the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire, Simon Mellin is searching for 10 new delivery vans and 20 new drivers. The company he and three friends founded in 2018 — the Modern Milkman, an entirely digital platform — has seen its revenue double in four days. | In Colne, a town that straddles the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire, Simon Mellin is searching for 10 new delivery vans and 20 new drivers. The company he and three friends founded in 2018 — the Modern Milkman, an entirely digital platform — has seen its revenue double in four days. |
| Only part of that is down to new customers: Before the pandemic hit, around 9,000 people were using Mr. Mellin’s platform. “At the end of today, it will be around 14,000 or 15,000,” he said on Tuesday. But established customers are ordering more, too. | Only part of that is down to new customers: Before the pandemic hit, around 9,000 people were using Mr. Mellin’s platform. “At the end of today, it will be around 14,000 or 15,000,” he said on Tuesday. But established customers are ordering more, too. |
| “People need more milk, and they want things like vegetable boxes, too,” Mr. Mellin said. “They are buying all their groceries.” | “People need more milk, and they want things like vegetable boxes, too,” Mr. Mellin said. “They are buying all their groceries.” |
| For an industry that seemed, for a long time, to be edging toward irrelevance, it is a seismic shift. Until recently, milkmen were seen as something between a luxury and a vestige of a forgotten past: something people had fond memories of as children, but not really necessary in the modern world. | For an industry that seemed, for a long time, to be edging toward irrelevance, it is a seismic shift. Until recently, milkmen were seen as something between a luxury and a vestige of a forgotten past: something people had fond memories of as children, but not really necessary in the modern world. |
| Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, customers dwindled in the face of aggressive price reductions on milk by supermarkets, driving many milkmen out of business altogether. “I had countless conversations with people who told me I wouldn’t be delivering milk much longer,” Mr. Orton said. “Everyone could get their milk from the supermarket.” | Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, customers dwindled in the face of aggressive price reductions on milk by supermarkets, driving many milkmen out of business altogether. “I had countless conversations with people who told me I wouldn’t be delivering milk much longer,” Mr. Orton said. “Everyone could get their milk from the supermarket.” |
| He once shared Harrogate, a well-heeled spa town a few miles north of Leeds, with more than 30 other milk delivery services; now, he said, there are just six. Mr. Orton survived by picking up business from those who retired or could no longer survive. It was the same for Critchley, in Lancashire. “It went down and down,” he said. “We’re one of only a few left.” | He once shared Harrogate, a well-heeled spa town a few miles north of Leeds, with more than 30 other milk delivery services; now, he said, there are just six. Mr. Orton survived by picking up business from those who retired or could no longer survive. It was the same for Critchley, in Lancashire. “It went down and down,” he said. “We’re one of only a few left.” |
| Updated June 22, 2020 | Updated June 22, 2020 |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| That started to change in 2017, with what Mr. Critchley calls the “Blue Planet effect.” David Attenborough’s documentary “Blue Planet II” was broadcast in Britain late that year, highlighting the danger posed to the oceans by single-use plastic bottles. There was, Mr. Critchley said, a “pleasant little boost” in demand as young families, in particular, started to see the benefit in having locally sourced milk delivered in reusable glass bottles. | |
| That was the inspiration for Mr. Mellin to set up The Modern Milkman. He and his friends started out taking over a single milk route; they have since expanded into both Lancashire and Yorkshire, and even into the cities of Manchester and Leeds. (The company’s profile was raised a little last year when Prime Minister Boris Johnson hid in one of its refrigerators to avoid difficult questions from a reporter.) | That was the inspiration for Mr. Mellin to set up The Modern Milkman. He and his friends started out taking over a single milk route; they have since expanded into both Lancashire and Yorkshire, and even into the cities of Manchester and Leeds. (The company’s profile was raised a little last year when Prime Minister Boris Johnson hid in one of its refrigerators to avoid difficult questions from a reporter.) |
| “It is the easiest thing to market,” Mr. Mellin said. “People want to buy local, and they want to make a difference to the environment.” The company has long had more customers in cities than in the rural areas it covers; having a milkman has, to some extent, been the preserve of those who can afford to eat ethically. | “It is the easiest thing to market,” Mr. Mellin said. “People want to buy local, and they want to make a difference to the environment.” The company has long had more customers in cities than in the rural areas it covers; having a milkman has, to some extent, been the preserve of those who can afford to eat ethically. |
| The motivations of those signing up now, though, are different; if anything, they are more urgent. “It is less about the environment at the moment, and more about survival,” Mr. Mellin said. | The motivations of those signing up now, though, are different; if anything, they are more urgent. “It is less about the environment at the moment, and more about survival,” Mr. Mellin said. |
| Mr. Orton, too, has noticed that his new customers — or those asking to be added to his route — are older, or trying to help out neighbors and relatives who fall into high-risk groups for coronavirus. “People are panicking,” he said. | Mr. Orton, too, has noticed that his new customers — or those asking to be added to his route — are older, or trying to help out neighbors and relatives who fall into high-risk groups for coronavirus. “People are panicking,” he said. |
| The spread of the virus, and the grip of lockdown, has turned the clock back in many countries, placing much of the modern world on involuntary hiatus. The fate of the milkman has tracked that perfectly, cycling from expensive throwback to hipster fad all the way to what it used to be: close to a basic necessity. | The spread of the virus, and the grip of lockdown, has turned the clock back in many countries, placing much of the modern world on involuntary hiatus. The fate of the milkman has tracked that perfectly, cycling from expensive throwback to hipster fad all the way to what it used to be: close to a basic necessity. |
| Once the pandemic is over, of course, some of that business may fade away. “We hope not,” Mr. Critchley said. “We don’t want to be the puppy that’s just for Christmas.” | Once the pandemic is over, of course, some of that business may fade away. “We hope not,” Mr. Critchley said. “We don’t want to be the puppy that’s just for Christmas.” |
| But perhaps it will not. Mr. Mellin and his colleagues are working out how they can help the government deliver food parcels and prescription medicines to older people and others who are vulnerable for the duration of the crisis. They already have the infrastructure in place and the expertise in the logistics of such a complex operation. | But perhaps it will not. Mr. Mellin and his colleagues are working out how they can help the government deliver food parcels and prescription medicines to older people and others who are vulnerable for the duration of the crisis. They already have the infrastructure in place and the expertise in the logistics of such a complex operation. |
| “We are hoping that people will look after us,” he said. “Because we have looked after them.” | “We are hoping that people will look after us,” he said. “Because we have looked after them.” |