The shielded are being told to stay home for another twelve weeks after the initial twelve weeks....AIBU to think this is going to increase the gap between disabled and non disabled?

[AlternativePerspective]

I know several on the shielded list who have now received additional letters from the government telling them that they are required to shield for an additional twelve weeks after the first twelve week shielding period expires.So that leaves the vulnerable shielding until September at the earliest,and I can only imagine this will increase as time goes on.

Now,in principle I can see why this is the advice,after all with no vaccine or proven treatment yet the vulnerable are still going to be at the greatest risk, but while when everyone was in lockdown everyone had to be taken into account re work etc,once lockdown starts to ease, employers are rightly going to be expecting people to go back to work,and realistically how is that going to affect someone who is shielded for the foreseeable future? Are employers, who are already looking at lost revenue, going to take that into account?

And people like me who are currently looking for work, does that mean I have to stay unemployed for the foreseeable as well?

I’ve seen a lot of posts on here from people saying that the shielded are selfish if they go out because they know they’re at greater risk so if they choose to go out then they’d be taking up a valuable bed if they get sick.

I can only foresee that this is going to make the divide between the disabled and the non disabled in this country bigger than it already is.

@JacobReesMogadishu I think you and your daughter are getting confused, sharing the following in the hope it will reduce anxieties. There is a vulnerable list which is everyone who gets the flu jab (now known as the clinically vulnerable and listed slightly differently), and then additionally there is a critically vulnerable, extremely vulnerable list (now known as clinically extremely vulnerable) who have been advised to shield.

See below:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/whos-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/

The government document released today confirms that the shielded are advised to continue to shield for the foreseeable but more support will be put in place for them:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/884171/FINALL6.6637COOHMGC199RecoveryFINALL110520v22WEB11.pdf#page38

I've never received any of the so called support now, be interested to see if I get any in the future. Not even a text.

1. Smarter shielding of the most vulnerable

The Government is taking a cautious approach, but some inherent risk to the most vulnerable remains. Around 2.5 million people across the UK have been identified as being clinically 34 These are people who are most at risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. This means that they have been advised to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact, until the end of June. The Government and local authorities have offered additional support to people who are shielding, including delivery of food and basic supplies, care, and support to access medicines, if they are unable to get help with this from family and friends. Over one million food boxes have 35 extremely vulnerable and advised to shield. been delivered in England since the programme started. volunteers are also helping to support this group. NHS Volunteer Responders and local The guidance on shielding and vulnerability will be kept under review as the UK moves through the phases of the Government’s strategy. It is likely that the Government will continue to advise people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to shield beyond June. Whilst shielding is important to protect individuals from the risk of COVID-19 infection, the Government recognises that it is challenging for people’s wider wellbeing. The Government will review carefully the effect on shielded individuals, the services they have had, and what next steps are appropriate. For those who need to shield for a longer period, the Government will review the scale and scope of their needs and how the support programme can best meet these. The Government will also consider guidance for others who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 and how it can support people to understand their risk.

Page 40 of this
www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-covid-19-recovery-strategy

Sorry @StrawberryJam200 missed your post.

Interesting to see in that document that 2.5 million people have been asked to shield.

@Redcherries
I've never received any of the so called support now, be interested to see if I get any in the future. Not even a text

You have to apply for it - have a look on your local council website for contact details.

I had to go into my local sainsburys today and the amount of elderly/disabled people I saw shopping broke my heart. You could clearly see many of them were not their by choice but by necessity of needing food and where wearing masks and clearly trying to social distance as well as possible. :( problem is many community incentives with volunteers include social media/internet to find them

What happens if you live with someone who has been told to shield? What will happen when your employer needs you to go back to work? Theirs no point you shielding if a member of your household is having to go to work/be around people outside the household as even with all the best will in the world and the strictest policies theres still a chance they can catch it and bring it home to the shielded individual. Likewise with children and schools, if your shielding will you be expected to send your children to school, and will your children miss out on education eg online learning If they are unable to attend with their year cohort?

Hopefully they will answer some of those questions between now and Wednesday. As you say, once the bubble is broken and people are back to work and school the advice about staying indoors with the windows open a crack is just a fucking pantomime shield.

@NurseButtercup I mean I’ve had no gov texts or guidance (such as registering with the council as you suggest)

@littlefoxkit I really feel for them, but they may not be shielded just because they are older or disabled. I would hope that they are getting the support they should be either way, but as I’ve discovered myself (young, able bodied and healthy so I’m ok) people are slipping through the net for guidance regarding g support etc. Additionally the gov has covered the need for other members of the family to work in the advice on the shielding letter and on the website. My family has worked throughout my shielding, outside of the home.

Sorry @NurseButtercup I should add a thank you for the advice too, luckily I’m ok, I worry how many people not in my position have slipped through the crack in getting updates or guidance how to get help and don’t have the internet etc to find out.

Ok, it looks like parents won't be penalised for not sending their kids in to school straight away.

www.standard.co.uk/news/education/parents-not-fined-refuse-children-return-school-coronavirus-a4437336.html

My family has worked throughout my shielding, outside of the home.

Do you have small children. If so, how are you keeping 2m away from them in your own home?

@fourteafallout no small children, mine are adult teens. My daughter has shielded with me, son and husband work. Tbh we’re finding our own way through this, I don’t think my mental health would cope with some of the suggestions although I’m unsure how we’ll work things when my daughter returns to sixth form.

I can see some of the ways that we can mitigate the risks around dh going to work but that's because we have an established business and can pick and choose projects based on the best - what was that word Boris was trying to coin in his speech- covidsecurity???

But that isn't going to help anyone who doesn't have that luxury and who have young children. There was nothing in the shielding advice that was workable for a young family and was essentially redundant - which is why many have attempted to shield as one group.

Do we think that anyone is even attempting to work out who is in the shielded group yet - beyond their illnesses?

How are they even attempting to offer "stronger support for the shielding" without that basic information and some info on the breadth and scale of what might be needed if it is to be anything more useful than lip-service?

Interesting. Exh wife had to sheild as she had arthritis which is fair enough except he won't have the dc as I'm a frontline nurse. That'll be 6 months of no contact then. I understand their concerns but 6 months of not seeing your children is a very long time!

will you consider home schooling? I think that would be the way I’d go, I don’t feel confident enough to do that for sixth form though, if mine were still littlies I would. I would say though, I was responding to the people who need to work question, not school etc.

Yes, I know you were speaking about adults in a house who can work and still follow the shielding advice but if children are toggling between the adults in a house and acting as a vector it makes following the rules a farce.

I absolutely do think I can homeschool till September with no ill effect, especially if the article I linked to above is correct and this approach won't risk their school place. After that it gets trickier, especially if schools withdraw support.

I really feel for that situation, it’s a long time since I had small children (I’m not as old as that makes me sound, I started young!). This is one of the reasons I feel so strongly that they need to give more support and update information, measures for the shielding group. We did get mentioned in the press conference tonight (I’ve not watched it all as we paused briefly) but it was on the back of yet another question about the isolation of the vulnerable group people are confusing with the extremely vulnerable, shielded group. We need protection, great, but what we really need is support for those in the group being put in an impossible place. It’s making me so bloody cross that people are being left in confusion and utter shambles.

This has just been post on the chat for shielded people:

Add message | Report | Message poster BatSegundo Mon 11-May-20 20:21:57
Now shielded families

Living with a shielded or clinically vulnerable person
If a child, young person or a member of staff lives with someone who is clinically vulnerable (but not clinically extremely vulnerable), including those who are pregnant, they can attend their education or childcare setting.

If a child, young person or staff member lives in a household with someone who is extremely clinically vulnerable, as set out in the COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable guidance, it is advised they only attend an education or childcare setting if stringent social distancing can be adhered to and, in the case of children, they are able to understand and follow those instructions. This may not be possible for very young children and older children without the capacity to adhere to the instructions on social distancing. If stringent social distancing cannot be adhered to, we do not expect those individuals to attend. They should be supported to learn or work at home.

@batsegundo I hope you don’t mind the copy and paste, your post was so relevant to this thread. Thank you for the information.

The link is provided by Batsegundo on the thread.

I appreciate it doesn’t answer the question of a younger child moving between a working parent and one who is shielded though.

Thanks for the mention @Redcherries Now I've another shielding thread to read

One of my few silver linings from this has been finding some fabulous fellow shielding MNers to weather the storm with.