You have been probably following the news about the development of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and also get regular updates from local government and health authorities. Your community may be practicing self-isolation already, and your family, employment, hobbies, and other activities may be affected as well. Please stay safe!
On the positive side, LEGO is the perfect hobby to keep yourself occupied, creative, and positive during self quarantine. On the negative side, the LEGO hobby and LEGO company are also affected by the virus. Below, we will summarize what has been happening that’s relevant to LEGO fans.
Many LEGO-related public events have been canceled around the world, and likely many more will follow in the next weeks. To see the list of LEGO events near you and their current status, visit the Events section of the LEGO Ambassador Network at LAN.LEGO.com/Events
Official LEGO brand retail stores are closed until at least the end of the month, with the exception of China. Thousands of people visit LEGO stores each day, and despite all the precautions LEGO has taken to remain open they could no longer guarantee a safe environment for colleagues and costumers. The Online LEGO Shop remains open, so if you need some LEGO sets to help through these tough times, LEGO is still there to serve your needs.
The LEGO House in Billund, Denmark is closed until at least the end of March. If you have purchased a ticket to the LEGO House until March 29th, your ticket will be refunded automatically. For international guests that cannot enter Denmark due to closed borders, tickets will be automatically refunded valid to April 13th. If your ticket is valid after this date the ticket is non-refundable for the time being, but you may be able to move the date by contacting customer service. You can find more information at LEGOHouse.com/Info/Covid-19/
Most LEGOLAND Parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers are also closed until at least the end of March. If you were planning to visit any of their locations, double-check their website before making the trip. Visit LEGOLAND.com and LEGOLANDDiscoveryCenter.com and choose the location you’re interested in.
Many people who work for the LEGO Group around the world are asked to work from home until further notice. Orders handled by the Online LEGO Shop Consumer Services are operating as usual until further notice. Even though processes are going right now according to plan, things can change fast and we could expect that production sites, supply chains, and operations teams could experience delays at some point. To place an order before anything changes, visit the Online LEGO Shop.
There is one area of the Online LEGO Shop that is already on hold for at least the next couple of weeks. According to the Bricks & Pieces page, due to COVID-19, LEGO had to introduce special measures at all their sites to reduce the risk of infection, including reducing the number of people who can work together at any one time to pick parts for Bricks & Pieces orders. Therefore, buying pieces in bulk isn’t available at the moment. The online Pick-A-Brick section is still open however. Here is the link to the Bricks & Pieces page, and here is the link to the online Pick-A-Brick site.
As you can see, it’s mostly public events that are affected at this point. If you have to stay home, this is a good time to build those LEGO sets you haven’t had the time to open yet, or perhaps rearrange your LEGO displays, or do a bit of sorting. Stay safe, and play well!
What do you think? Is your community affected by COVID-19 at this point? Do you have any questions or concerns that you would like to ask the LEGO Group in relation to the current updates? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below!
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In our area, there is complete chaos. Kids have to learn from home, but nobody knowns how to implement that. And because kids are home, parents can’t go to work either. It’s a mess. I hope this will be over soon.
I can see large cities being affected due to cramped living spaces, public transportation, and the closeness of large people in general. Stay safe, everyone! If you can help elderly neighbors, local hospitals, animal shelters, etc. do it. In our community people who can sew are requested to make reusable cloth masks for hospitals.
Dag, apparently Lego is running a 2x VIP Point scheme now,* but the only thing I’m interested in right now are BAM Minifigs and BAP pieces. (The PAB section doesn’t contain much that interests me…)
Otherwise, Stockholm is possibly the place hardest hit in Sweden, but despite even higher rates of isolation than usual, and scarcity of toilet paper, most necessary functions run on a pretty constant basis.
*To take advantage of all the homebodies? *Conspiracy theorist.*
By the way, I guess the shutdown of the BAP section isn’t so much the concern for customers. (As I have understood, Corona’s unlikely to survive the postal process and infect that way.) But there’s a higher risk staff would infect each other, leaving the company understaffed for weeks.
It’s very complicated and scary at the same time. The idea of having to stay at home is fine when your working or have classes to go to because we always find a reason/ excuse to stay home . but when you’re forced to stay home it feels different almost like you don’t have a choice. That’s what makes it hard. You don’t have that freedom feeling of going to the movies or go to a mall. Lego has been a good hobby to have at this time. As well as shopping on Amazon for more Lego sets just to keep you busy. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days. I’ve pulling out older Lego sets( the Dwarf Mine set) and putting it together. It’s interesting that the younger generation likes to do FaceTime or play video games on there iPads and or other devices. So ,going outside it’s always been difficult to get them to do it. You practically have to throw them out sometimes. Now, there isn’t much choice you want to keep them safe. Be safe out there guys.
How come bricks and pieces is shut down but not pick a brick?
Pick-A-Brick is almost completely automated, and Bricks-And-Pieces is almost completely by hand.
Our area is doing okay. Schools are closed, and pubs and public events have been canceled, and people are staying at home as much as possible. What really concerns me is that so many people lost their jobs. Entire industries (entertainment, outdoor activities, restaurants, etc.) fires or put on hold all of their workers. I even read that the film industry came to a halt with thousands of people losing their jobs.
They were saying that South Korea and China flattened the curve, but it seems like they are getting a second wave of new cases. This is bad, and in the US, we are just at the beginnings. I hope this will clear out by the summer.
They are still paying their workers even if they can’t go to work? Kudos for doing this. I also wanted to add that they are currently offering double vip points. I think this is a new offer to boost sales and help customers as it wasn’t announced previously.
I’m out of school, and classes are online. I have never experienced anything like this before, so I’m also a little scared. But I keep in touch with my friends and everyone in my family is okay. And I’m rebuilding some of my older sets that have been hiding under my bed. 😀
I read a joke today, that if parents will have to be home with their kids for much longer, they will find a cure for COVID-19 before the scientists. 😀
And I just thought the parents become like the kids. Almost a Freaky Friday moment. LOL🙃 speaking of building stuff I just made a change on the hot rod race car from hidden sides. I changed the driver into a grandma. But, she not like any other grandmother ( knitting, baking cookies , etc) she likes to race and do stunts. Oh, and I figure she’s Jack’s grandmother. So, watch out for Hot Rod granny. LOL!😎
Go Hot Rod Grandma! 😀
Granny Master Flash in her Furious Ride!
Stay safe you all! I’m glad Lego is good to their employees, but I wonder how long they can maintain that. The future looks bleak.
My entire state (California, USA) is locked down. It’s all very stressful and sad. Never thought I’d see anything like this in my lifetime. Glad to have Lego as a hobby. Everyone be well and do take care!