The government website advice page has now been updated 29/05/20 .
Advised date for those of us shielding and vulnerable has not changed and is still 30/06/20 , but is as always being reviewed regularly according to scientific advice.
A little bit puzzled as I know some members on here have reported having a new letter advising to shield until October, and a lot of us assumed that our letters were probably imminent , guess as always only time will tell.
Stay safe x
Thanks for that info. Last text I had was to shield until end of June. But end of Oct?! that would be hard to do. Think I would be venturing out, keeping distance, wearing a mask and taking every other precaution I can think of.
Hair appts would be a no-no but dentist and chiropodist are trips I would and will be making at some point.
Take care
Thanks for the update. I haven’t received any further shielding advice and my ‘captivity’ ends mid June. However I’ll be assessing the situation myself and venturing out tentatively 🥴
Newdawn
October! No new letter yet just the latest 30th June. Come on government get testing sorted and tell us how safe our area is or not so that we can assess the risk.
Put us in the front of the queue for antibody testing and vaccination when it happens.
I think it`s a catch 22 situation with vaccination. Yes those of us that are vulnerable need to be done but so do the workers who are keeping us going.
I`d love to be one of the first in the queue but I can`t see it happening. That is if we ever get a vaccination. Time will tell.
Although I like all of us are hoping that another 4wks will see big improvements and that June 30th will be ‘our date’ if it is put back until October then it is what it is , and I will take it on the chin and get on with it. At the end of the day another 12wks here is a lot more favourable than the possible alternative.
Stay safe
I was rang two days ago by the government shielding service and I asked about this “October “ date, the representative said she had no knowledge of that date.
Hi my first letter from my GP allows me to end lockdown mid June in line with the date and 12 week rule. Like Newdawn I will use my common sense which seems to me right now to be the best way ahead.
Ann
Thanks
Still June 15th here in Wales they said yesterday, to be reviewed middle of next week. Seems a bit strange that our date is earlier as apparently Wales has a bigger ‘R’ rate than England.
Part of me wants to stay cocooned and safe, the other part longs to be free!
Peggy 😀
I’m simply using my own judgement and common sense , oh , and instincts , based upon my own environmental surroundings .
Gladys I'm with you. I have had no letters, no emails, no support from government but am using my own common sense, and if it goes wrong my fault.
I walk very early morning if I see one other person it is a busy morning. Having dealt with the worse trauma in my life I would be climbing the walls, and no doubt certifiable, if I was stuck indoors.
Found a store open early, shop quickly wearing mask and gloves. then stay safe in my garden. Not relying on anyone to stay safe, going to be taking care for a long time.
Bubnojay
If you live in England, the shielding advice put out by NHS England on May 7th to NHS colleagues applies to you and you are eligible for gov support, eg priority delivery slots from supermarkets, pharmacy, home visits from surgery, food parcels. If you want such support get your GP on the case.
Ah but this is Wales, a very hit and miss affair whether one receives a letter or support. I did get a shopping priority letter from ASDA for my partner who had died 5 days earlier. That was sad.
My broken heart not up to getting involved with GP's they have let me down enough. I really am taking great care, and a neighbour helped when I needed urgent scrips for my partner prior to his death. I dealt alone with all that his passing and cremation entailed owing to the CV19 situation.
Learning to live without him is hard enough, being sensible I won't be mixing with people because Boris says I can.
Thank you for caring I do appreciate it.
Bubnojay
Bubnojay, very sorry for your loss and what you've been through since. Must be doubly difficult coping while shielding. I hope you'll get all the support you need.
I'm so sorry for your terrible loss. X
Unfortunately, being on the high risk list does not automatically give you priority booking for supermarket deliveries etc. It's taken a while, but I now have a network of local suppliers who have served me well.
As to being allowed to go out more.... I'm staying put. I do go out for walks (early morning, late evening when few people are about) but I'm going to watch and wait to see what happens as lockdown is relaxed more generally.
Apparently at the briefing today they will announce that we are to be 'allowed' out for an hour a day with someone from our household or to meet 1 person, social distancing. I will wait and see what they say.
For the last few weeks I have been walking my dogs at 6 in the morning. I hardly see anyone and it has made a huge difference to my mental health.
Its on the SKY news app that we are now allowed out with our household but observing the 2 meter rule, is this true? i have checked the UKGOV website and it doesnt say that.
During shielding, my husband has been out running, been out dog walking and very recently playing golf - all of which are fantastic for mental health and fitness,
Even going out for a drive can be a boost, and gives an insight into how your local residents are behaving.
As someone here wisely stated, use your own judgement to assess your local area and instinct.
He’s more than happy to continue avoiding supermarkets and meeting up with the in-laws!😀
He sounds as though he's got the best of both worlds, good for him! 
Jackie
I have been going for long country walks for the last three weeks - I just had to. I had a blood test last week - gave the nurse the giggles as I was wearing a mask - made out of an old pair of knickers.
My husband (at 78 probably more vulnerable than me on w & w) is getting very frustrated and has already had two people in the house and wants another five (handyman, carpet measuring man, carpet fitting man, stairlift fitting man, plumber and click repair man) and he wants them NOW. He tells me this many times a day. He also doesn’t see why he should have to stay in just because I am vulnerable.
I might manage to rein him in till mid June. After that I will be trying to make him keep his distance from all these people and disinfecting everywhere!
I started shielding mid March, but didn’t get my letter(s) telling me to shield for three months until late April.
If I can I shall be operating a “wait and see” and risk assessment depending on what happens after this latest batch of lock down relaxations for everyone else.
Keep well and be careful!
Should have been CLOCK repair man!
my husband got 2 letters, one running to June 23 and one to July 21 (they were sent a month apart the last one from the hospital). I guess I will just wait and see and remain cautious, ( and of course keep crocheting).
As you know I was taken off the shielding list & in way thankfully for it, but listening to Marr this morning talking to a Professor from Imperial College London & he said that they had reassessed the shielding list & people they though might be at high risk were in fact a fairly low risk. Two examples he gave were Cancer patients who were 5 years in remission & asthmatics unless they were taking oral steroids. He said they had devised the original shielding list from what they knew about bad flu types, but as they get a better understanding of the disease they have realised that Covid 19 isn't quite the same.
He said that people on the shielding list could go outside with their household or one other person at a social distance, but they should still avoid going shopping & being in enclosed spaces with numbers of people. Being in open spaces lessens the risk of infection considerably apparently.
He also said that they are finding that those that had the disease quite badly were reappearing in hospitals with other issues because it doesn't just affect the lungs, but other organs in the body & it will take many of them a long time to recover & he seemed to suggest some might never fully recover.
Take care & stay safe.
Hi,
I just wish that it was not reported in the news until it's actually been advised in the briefing - it leaves us all wondering what is actually happening.
Personally, I'm not to keen to be out and about just yet. I think I may see what has happened to the `R` rate and infection numbers after the next 2 weeks after people have been out and about and crowded on to beaches and in parks etc.
Stay safe,
Louise
Louise Greetings to you!
Exactly right. The next 2 weeks will show if the UK have jumped the gun on relaxing lockdown.
For those of us with the freedom to choose, should choose wisely how to reintegrate.
Jig
SHIELDING
Travel advice
Shielding letter from Scottish Goverment
Government Shielding Letter
Latest appointment with my specialist (but on the phone still)
