no more toys in the supermarket during a lockdown

One of the big complaints during the various lockdowns has been by businesses. The complaint is that while many small businesses deemed non-essential are shut down due to the lockdown, the supermarkets and other essential stores have begun selling many of the items from those non-essential stores.

For example, you can now commonly find toys and books, and even some hardware, home goods, clothing, linens and bedding, in many supermarkets. Along with many other non-essential items. it is true that some supermarkets might have sold some of these things even before the lockdown, but it has ramped up a lot since the lockdowns have been in place.

People can now go to the supermarket to buy toys for their kids, though they cannot go to the toy store to buy toys because a toy store is not considered essential.. Not only is it an unfair advantage being handed to the supermarkets while putting the other stores in an impossible situation, but it also negates the entire purpose of the lockdown. The essential stores are allowed to stay open because they sell items that are essential. Besides for essential needs people are supposed to be staying home. Yet they can go to the supermarket to buy their non-essential needs because the supermarket is essential.

I remember reading or hearing a while back in the United Kingdom (I think it was the UK) during their lockdown the essential shops were allowed to be open but they were not allowed to sell non-essential items.

Back to Israel, a consortium of toy stores filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the sale of toys in supermarkets and pharmacies (such as Superpharm) and homeware shops (such as Maxx Stock and others) to prevent them from selling toys, clothing and other non-essential items during the lockdown - basically any items the State declared as non-essential and that their natural stores need to be shut.

According to Ynet, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, giving the State 7 days to adjust the Corona lockdown rules to prevent the essential stores form selling these non-essential items, or to find another solution. The Court said that during a lockdown essential stores should only be allowed to sell essential items such as food, medicine and pharmaceuticals and hygienic products.

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