This may sound a bit odd, but I think it could be argued that home entertainment things like movies, TV shows, toys, games, puzzles, sports equipment etc. are essentials as a lot of people, especially children, are getting really bored at home. Even the PM said that his wife bought some puzzles on the weekend for their kids to solve.

I'm not that concerned (atm) about social distancing at less essential stores because they're honestly like ghost towns. Stores that sell higher essentials are obviously more crowded. As I said before, the last time I did grocery shopping I found the supermarkets all had people in them, but the toy store and aisles were all deserted. Even staff were really sparse (not surprising).

RE: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Obviously the lower tier needs prioritise the higher tier ones, but that doesn't mean that the higher tier needs should necessarily be ignored (so long as it's not at the expense of the lower tier needs). So let's flip the pyramid upside-down and work from bottom up, focusing on the needs relevant to this COVID19 situation.
  • 5th Tier: PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS = the need to be alive and physically healthy. As the lowest tier need this is obviously the greatest priority. This is why things physical isolation and distancing are important. None of it is fun, but it all services the most basic need to live. All other needs do not matter now if accessing said needs would compromise the Fifth Tier.

  • 4th Tier: SAFETY NEEDS = here we're looking at financial security and mental health/well-being needs. A lot of people are now experiencing diminishing or lost work, which impacts their financial security. Many people are finding social isolation difficult and it can impact on mental health. Continuing to work is fine so long as it doesn't compromise the Fifth Tier. As griffin said, a lot of blue collar workers are probably suffering now because they are unable to continue working without compromising Tier 5, whereas many white collar workers can continue to work from home. It allows us to maintain our Fourth Tier need without compromising the Fifth Tier. But this isn't possible for everyone (e.g. essential service workers etc.) - but practices have been put in place to minimise compromising Tier 5 (e.g. wearing protective equipment and washing/sanitising hands etc. at work)

  • 3rd Tier: SOCIAL BELONGING = Maintaining social contact is important for many people to stay connected. Servicing the Third Tier is fine so long as it doesn't compromise the Fifth Tier. Mass gatherings do service the Third Tier, but they sacrifice the Fifth Tier, so they are currently not acceptable/permissible. Connecting with people electronically can service the Third Tier without compromising the Fifth Tier.

  • 2nd Tier: SELF ESTEEM = here we're looking at the topic of freedom, and yeah, we are sacrificing a lot of our liberties in order to protect the Fifth Tier. Having freedom is fine as long as your freedom is not compromising Tier 5. Places of worship have now been shut down, but people are still free to practise their faith remotely (e.g. online services, video sermons etc.) or just privately at home. I know someone who's doing their Bible studies via video conferencing online, so their Second Tier need is maintained without compromising the Fifth Tier.

  • 1st Tier: SELF-ACTUALISATION = This covers things like entertainment - games, music, sport, toys, movies, books, TV etc. Again, I don't think that there's anything wrong with servicing these First Tier needs so long as they don't compromise the Fifth Tier. And online shopping gives us the ability to service this First Tier remotely, but also I personally think that buying entertainment stuff IRL or exercising outdoors is fine as long as you're diligently following social distancing (and minimising your time outside) - again, as long as your actions don't impact on the Fifth Tier.



So as per Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy, we can see that the higher tier needs are lower priorities compared to the lower tier needs which are higher priorities. I think that servicing or maintaining higher tier needs is fine so long as they do not compromise the lower tier needs.