Shielding to ease next week/end Aug 1

[PatriciaHolm]

This afternoons briefing from Matt Hancock - "From Monday 6 July people who are shielding will be able to spend time outdoors in a group of up to six people including those outside of their household, while maintaining physical distancing. Those who are shielding and live alone or are single parents with children will also be able to create a ‘support bubble’ with one other household of any size. "

Then as of Aug 1, scheme largely coming to an end; people can go back to work if Covid-safe, and help will be limited to local authority/voluntary support.

Pretty much as announced in NI earlier, I think. Not entirely surprising.

[iVampire]

My letter is here

I’ve only skim read it, but it looks as if we’ve not been given the OK for non-essential shopping

And it really should be clearer about what should happen if your workplace/role cannot be made adequately Covid secure

[FourTeaFallOut]

Does it look to be a universal letter for shielded ivampire or does it have any signs of differentiation between us/ alternative advice particular to the person?

[JustanotherTuesday]

@Berrcows My DS was told to shield on the 13th May and his letter came today.

[herecomesthsun]

I got my shielding letter on 10th June, and the new letter is already here!

[herecomesthsun]

The letter is addressed to me and has my NHS number but otherwise looks like "standard" correspondence.

[Goldistheanswer]

I received the new letter but I hadn’t been told I was shielding in the first place!

[SistemaAddict]

Would anyone screenshot it please with any identifying info removed of course?

[RhubarbJelly]

What is Covid secure though? Is a workplace saying here is a risk assessment, so therefore you have a RA so it is Covid secure? What if there was an a outbreak in a Covid secure work place?

[iVampire]

It looked generic to me

If no-one else adds it to the thread, I can do later

[IndigoSkye]

Can I ask you all a shielding related question, I can see what the advice is for those shielding but what about those who live with someone who is shielding? My cleaner has a young son who is shielding. When would she be able to come back to work. We have paid her throughout lockdown and I'm happy to continue to if she is unable to return to work, would not want to put her son at risk! But if she's not back til August I might need to think about getting someone else in temporarily

[Racoonworld]

@IndigoSkye she has always been able to work. The shielding advice wasn't for everyone in the household to shield too, plenty of people with shielding house members have been working for a while now.

[morethanasong]

@Bercows

I feel very anxious because it's other people that are the issue. No one on my small street has kept to the rules on anything. Not one household. It's a small street and gazing out of the window is my only contact with the outside world. My window is high up so I have a good view. Overnight stays, parties. Visitors in the house, not social distancing, in and out several times a day even right at the beginning even though they weren't working. And from the threads on here they were just a few of hundreds doing the same. Selfish bastards.

This is exactly my concern, @Bercows. I also think you may live on my street! The 2 metres didn't last long here, and I can imagine that 1 metre will shrink quickly as well. I'm actually not clear about whether shielded people will need to continue to stick to the 2 metres. If we are, surely that will be pretty much impossible unless we wear a flashing neon sign asking people to stay 2 m away. Otherwise, I said to my DC earlier, we'll just have to hope that the government told the virus that 1 m is now ok

[Prettyprettyplease]

[quote Racoonworld]@IndigoSkye she has always been able to work. The shielding advice wasn't for everyone in the household to shield too, plenty of people with shielding house members have been working for a while now.[/quote]
While that is true, the advice was also to socially distance within the household, with the shielded person being told to try to use a separate bathroom, cutlery and crockery, to eat alone and to spend as much time as possible away from the rest of their household. This is obviously bot really practical when the shielded person is a young child.

[FourTeaFallOut]

she has always been able to work. The shielding advice wasn't for everyone in the household to shield too, plenty of people with shielding house members have been working for a while now

How would someone remain two meters away from their own child in their own home which is the advice offered for those who live with family who continue to work outside the home?

[FourTeaFallOut]

Thank you to the posters who replied about the letter. My post is shockingly unreliable at the moment, I expect they'll be a few days delay until I get mine.

[Racoonworld]

How would someone remain two meters away from their own child in their own home which is the advice offered for those who live with family who continue to work outside the home?

I'm not saying it would be easy, nothing about this is easy, but the question was when would she be able to come back to work. The answer is she has always been able to work.There isn't going to be guidance produced for every scenario in this so people will just have to use their own judgement for when they feel able to return in a situation like this, and people can choose to keep paying or not.

[IndigoSkye]

@Racoonworld @Prettyprettyplease @FourTeaFallOut thanks for your advice. i guess it's not clear cut! I'll speak to her and see what she wants to do.

[FourTeaFallOut]

No, it's not possible to raise a young child from a two meters distance, it's ridiculous.

[Prettyprettyplease]

You're welcome, @IndigoSkye. You sound like a very considerate employer and I'm sure your cleaner is grateful.

[ToothFairyNemesis]

@Bercows

[ToothFairyNemesis]

@IndigoSkye if someone is shielding a dependant child rather that living with a partner who is shielding, the guidance advises employees to furlough. Obviously a parent cannot distance from their shielded child.

[WwMILd]

@IndigoSkye
Here’s the latest advice on different workplaces. The last paragraph in screenshot would be relevant. So no, maybe not atm.

[TabbyMumz]

I could be wrong, but I'm sure I heard them say on the briefing yesterday that no children need to shield anymore.

[morethanasong]

Thanks for posting your letter, @ToothFairyNemesis. We haven't received one yet and I'm wondering whether we will be told that we don't need to continue shielding, as the risk to children with my child's condition seems to be lower than expected. I hope we get some clarity. I'm still confused about 'stringent social distancing' for people who's shielding is 'paused' or who are in the vulnerable group - is this 1m now (or rather, from 4th July), or is it still 2m for those groups?