THIS pandemic has been deadly, not just in terms of the many thousands of lives it has so cruelly taken, but also in the way it has drained the life out of small independent businesses.

I have had the pleasure of reporting on small independents such as Colstons Bakery, Ma Baker’s, Toy’s n Games and many more who have tackled the coronavirus head on and managed to continue to provide for their community under exceptional circumstances.

I have also had the misfortune of hearing many pubs, cafes and family-run businesses in the city are struggling to stay afloat, alongside hair stylists and tattooists struggling to put food on the table as they are unable to work.

The effect that this virus will have on our small business owners will be prolonged and profound. Unlike huge chains that carry mostly the same stock, when an independent goes under it is unlikely we will find a replacement so easily. In some cases, such as family run bakeries, we lose beloved recipes forever.

So why would anyone spend hours in a massive queue to get a mass produced fast food meal that is available across the globe and always will be?

When McDonalds in Blackpole opened this week, part of me knew it would get some attention, maybe a few cars would stop by, perhaps a few super mcfans who couldn’t wait to get their hands on some artery clogging goodness.

But, I couldn’t have imagined that for days on end there would be mass queues causing traffic jams and chaos for half of Worcester. We have been in lockdown for weeks, one could argue that a trip to McDonalds is simply a way of returning to the ordinary - of trying to get back to a sense of normality.

However, I still think it is a kick in the teeth to the hard working people out there trying desperately to pay their staff and keep their businesses afloat.

Multi-billion pound global co-operations won’t notice the affects of coronavirus, not really. In a few months it will just be a blip in their financial year.

But for an average Worcester business owner this could be the difference between staying open or selling up for good.

I know which business I would rather support. Do you?