‘We can only trust ourselves to be safe’
As lockdown lifts Juliette Wills finds out how her fellow super-shielders feel about the new rules
And so it begins: the gates are to open and the 2.2 million people who have been shielding for the past three months – myself included – are being given their freedom. Will we shoot off like greyhounds out of the blocks once restrictions lift on July 6, or will we be more like once-injured animals returning to the wild, cautious, fragile and unsure how to navigate our new territory?
The new rules, announced on Monday, stipulate that in less than a fortnight, shielders can meet in a group of up to six outdoors – including people from different households – as long as you follow social distancing rules. If you live alone or are a single parent of children under 18, you can form a “support bubble” with one other household – spending time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance.
Shielding will come to an end on August 1; we will be able to go to more places (including shops and pharmacies), see more people, and even return to work (if safety measures are in place). Children who are at the highest risk can return to school if they’re eligible, too.
The guidance about going outdoors is based on evidence that the virus is much less likely to be spread outside, as well as the fact that the number of new cases has reduced. But is this newfound freedom really what shielders want?
A combination of chronic conditions – in spite of otherwise being a slim and healthy 42 – means that I’ve been shielding since March 1. My husband is a musician, and his gigs and European tour were cancelled as soon as the pandemic hit. Save for local walks with our friends’ dog, we’ve been at home; we haven’t seen anyone outside of our street and, even then, respect the two-metre rule while only seeing one couple at a time (none of whom work, and most of whom are also shielding). My family are 130 miles away, my husband’s are in France.
For many of us, it all boils down to trust: we don’t believe that the virus has gone away and that we’re suddenly now safe. Nor do we trust other people who aren’t at risk, and therefore are more gung-ho, to keep their distance. Since the Government is changing the rules more frequently than most of us change our underwear, we can only trust ourselves to take the right measures to keep us safe.
Many who have been shielding due to serious heart conditions “may have gone months without going outside, or seeing close family or friends”, says John Maingay, head of policy and influencing at the British Heart Foundation. “While some will benefit mentally and physically from the end to shielding, it may also cause concern,” he adds, urging that “the Government must produce clear guidance for all clinically vulnerable people to ensure they can access support, continue to get food and medicines and stay safe. Meanwhile, those asked to return to work must be told how they, and their jobs, will be protected.”
“Patients are likely to have many questions and we need to ensure that front-line NHS staff are equipped with the detailed scientific evidence base to be able to support patients to make their shared decisions based on individual assessments of risk and their personal priorities,” agrees Prof Donal O’donoghue, Royal College of Physicians registrar. “There can be no one size fits all approach.”
Paula Berry, 70, Northampton. Shielding due to steroid treatment for osteoarthritis.
“I’ve followed the instructions other than I’ve been for a walk around the block once a week,” says Paula, who has been shielding since the start of March and is apprehensive about restrictions coming to an end. “Mostly I’ve been pottering around in my garden. My husband, Bill, and I are going to visit my daughter and our grown-up grandchildren in Suffolk at the weekend, and we’re really excited. Seeing family is one thing; we’re very conscious the virus hasn’t gone away.
“My husband has gone through two bouts of cancer, so we’re not willing to take any risks. Others my age aren’t as careful, and I don’t understand why. It’s utterly reckless to not take precautions.’
Paula is one of many with long term conditions who have received no medical check-ins since the lockdown began, and is desperate to feel better informed about what she should be doing. “I really want one-to-one advice as there’s so much conflicting information out there,” she says.
Rebecca North, 31, and fiancé Jack Penman, 29, Aberdeen. She is shielding due to medication she takes for inflammatory arthritis, and for having mild asthma; he was born with a complex heart condition and had open heart surgery eight months ago.
“We didn’t leave our flat for 74 days,” says Rebecca, so the announcement on June 18 that they were able to go out for exercise again (shielding is currently in place in Scotland until July 31) “was a welcome – but daunting – update. After spending 12 weeks being told that going outside equalled a high chance of death, it’s quite a big thing to reprogramme the brain.”
Neither Rebecca nor Jack have any desire to socialise with groups of friends, or visit shops. They’ve had their food delivered and will continue to do so for as long as possible. “We all seem to have received different advice,” she says of those she has spoken with online who share her condition, “so having conflicting information is far from helpful.”
The couple have office-based roles, but they’ve been working from home since the first week of March. “We’re under no pressure to return until we feel comfortable, and there will likely be a permanent mix of working in the office and working from home going forward, which is a relief.”
‘Others my age aren’t as careful and I don’t understand why. It’s utterly reckless’
Lisa, 52, Cornwall. Shielding as her son Owyn, 15, takes immunosuppressants for Crohn’s disease.
“We’ve always been very conscious of Owyn being more at risk to picking up infections than other children,” Lisa explains of her son. “We don’t stop him living his life – he plays football and golf, loves being outside – but we do have to be on guard and make sure he takes precautions.”
During flu season, he “doesn’t go out much”; when Covid-19 hit, “it floored us – he was told to shield but that’s hard to explain to a teenager. He’s very conscious of his illness, so he understood why it was necessary but that didn’t make it easy.”
Lisa works for the NHS and, after a couple of months, had to return to work. Although PPE is in place, she is understandably anxious. “It’s hard to get the right balance of feeling in control of the situation – we’re doing all we can do keep Owyn safe, but at the same time not having much information to go on.”
But it’s other people’s attitudes that can be more unpredictable – “Owyn’s afraid of catching Covid-19, so even if he can now go out and socialise, I think it’ll be a slow process for him, and for us, too, to feel that he’s not at risk.”