To think that advice to walk for shielders is last minute and unhelpful?

[StayinginSummer]

My mother and friends are shielding, and have been really confused by the latest message to go out for a walk and see another person. I’m not a fan of the governments response overall, and I see this is another way too vague and ill thought out message.

Firstly - going out for a short walk on your own at a quiet time is a far lower risk than meeting up with another person not from your household. They have lumped it together as if it is the same thing.

Secondly - the people I know would love to get out, however many of them are elderly and this very last minute advice has put them on the back foot. The ones I have spoken to have been slowly for weeks putting in place strategies to cope with not going outside ever. Now they feel that staying in puts them in the position of being ‘overly cautious’ or now having to justify to others why they may not feel they can.

Shielders are one of our most vulnerable groups, and we again have let them down I think. They should have got a very, very clear set of messages, it could have been a short video, a leaflet - with options to go for a walk or meet another person - but clearly showing which was lower and greater risk, with advice on how to be as safe as possible.

They could also be clear to shielders that we do not have a robust contact and tracing system in place so any hotspots near them will not be clear until this is done.

YABU, my mum is shielding (elderly, chronic asthmatic) but taking her daily walk and seeing one of her children at a time once or twice a week.

In all other respects, she is shielded (hasn't been to a single shop etc).

@StayinginSummer

I think I actually said why a leaflet isn't required further back.

That’s fair enough if people don’t understand and it is unfortunate. But there are resources that we can access. The shielding letter comes with a helpline number that you can reach out to and I have also received a local number which I can contact if I need to. Both to their credit have phoned me back really quickly. I’m sure they would be able to help with specific questions to do with this. We also all have personal medical resources that we can access. Myself and other people I am aware of that are shielding have contacted doctors today to discuss our personal risk assessment. Some have been told that they would perhaps be best off not going out. Others (like me) have been told that in their view it is fine.

I think the point is that the majority of the shielding group likely weigh up health related risks to some degree anyway. I know I do, as an immunocompromised person. I don’t expect the government to tell me how to do that. I do it myself, taking personalised advice from the healthcare professionals that know me and my condition best. I think we all have to start to take some responsibility for our personal risks with regards to COVID and this comes with treating us as the competent individuals that we are. I think this represents the difference between people taking the initiative to obtain specific extra guidance if they are confused (which is fine) and being presented with a one-size-fits-all leaflet or video which would inevitably fall into the problem of lumping us all into the one category that so much imagery attached to the shielding group does. I dread to think how they would present it, honestly! A quick google of this will show you why so many of us are frustrated.

I also really don’t know how much more information you think the government can give us with regards to specific, localised risk, or tell you exactly the risk of going for a walk alone as opposed to a socially distanced meet up with a friend. How can they, there’s too many variables. I can (as other posters have said) look up the infection rate in my area. And I also track the individual new infection numbers in my county (you can see exactly how many new hospital admissions, ICU admissions etc in your council doing this). I’m not sure what else you could do really and it’s not like anyone can really tell you anymore.

Nobody needs a pissing leaflet to tell them they can go for a walk if they want.

People need to use common sense and do what they feel comfortable with. The government is giving them choices.

It's very weird. It's like "don't worry, the nhs has room to stick you on a ventilator and watch you die now."

What was the point?

I'm no fan of HM-Gov at moment, but honestly they can't win.

"Don't tell us on Thursday evening about changes on Monday, people won't wait until Monday!"

"Don't tell us on Sunday evening about changes on Monday, we needed more notice to get used to the idea!"

sheesh.

What if someone in the shielding group knows all the stuff OP asks for and none of the numbers are good enough for OP but the shield-group-person says Sod it & goes out anyway -- will you tut-tut them? Do we take away all their autonomy and delude ourselves into thinking only incurring zero risk is ok.

@MrsFrankDrebin

Thank you

People complain about the nanny state and yet it appears most want to live in one, where the government hold your hand through everything you do and nobody is expected to be able to make decisions for themselves.

Going out for a walk wasn’t an instruction, it was guidance.

Added to which where have the government indicated that the shielded can go back to work? They haven’t. In fact they have done exactly the opposite, so if employers are taking that message from “it’s safe to go for a walk” then that’s on the employer not the government.

And can we please move away from this wording that the shielded will be “allowed” to go out? That has come from the media and very much gives out the message that some vulnerable people need permission to do things. It’s a new kind of ablism.

As an aside, I have read recently that the virus in Italy is believed to have mutated into a weaker strain and that it is believed to be on the way out.

I think avoiding having the news coming out at 10:30pm via the BBC website would be a good start. A proper announcement would have been better (esp as everyone was a bit ‘WTAF’ and waiting until the press conference anyhow, as the earliest expected date for change was mid-June, possible late June)

The failure to brief GPs in a timely fashion is inexcusable. Letter should have been issued on the Monday, so that GPs could inform and support patients

My 19 yr old is shielding due to the immune suppressants he is on. It is annoys me that people seem to think that it is only the elderly that are shielding. The only time my son has been out is for his regular hospital appointments. Apart from that he hasn't left the house.

There are many young, working age people who are shielding. It is a hard choice for them as they can't shield long term due to their jobs. They need to the income. So things have to be put in place to help these young shielders who are part of the work force.

I think avoiding having the news coming out at 10:30pm via the BBC website would be a good start.

Why does it matter? It wasn't an instruction. If the announcement hadn't been made, those it affected would have done the same on Monday as they did the previous Monday. It's a relaxation - entirely voluntary - those who are unsure or need more information could easily just sit tight and wait for it. Now if it was the opposite, i.e. suddenly saying you could no longer go out at a moment's notice, now that's different as people do need time to make arrangements if they're going to be locked in. I can't believe people are getting so bothered about a very minor relaxation that's entirely voluntary.

I think avoiding having the news coming out at 10:30pm via the BBC website would be a good start.

Well if they were saying everyone shielding HAD to go for a walk the next morning, yes, that would be silly. That is not what happened though.

People complain about the nanny state and yet it appears most want to live in one, where the government hold your hand through everything you do and nobody is expected to be able to make decisions for themselves.

This ^

The idea that someone shielding needs a video or a leaflet about going for a walk is the ultimate in being pathetic.

The idea that someone shielding needs a video or a leaflet about going for a walk is the ultimate in being pathetic.

I agree. It's not long ago that there was some "official" guidance to shielders which included gems of "advice" such as set a day to do something different like a suduku puzzle. Err Hello - many shielders aren't sat dribbling in care homes - they're people with jobs, many quite senior such as our neighbour who's a hospital consultant dept clinical lead - I really don't think he needs to be told to do a Suduku!

I really despair at the sheer lack of common sense that's been demonstrated during Covid.