Big boost for care home residents
One of the most upsetting aspects of the restrictions imposed because of coronavirus will be lifted from Monday when care home residents can have up to five named visitors.
The change, part of Boris Johnson’s continuing relaxation of measures designed to curb the spread of the virus, announced yesterday, end what has been one of the cruellest parts of the lockdown, which has left many elderly people confused and isolated. Care home residents and their families across the Westcountry have been among those most affected by Covid-19, which has claimed hundreds of residents’ lives, and left survivors denied the contact of friends and relatives.
From May 17 care home residents in england will be able to have up to five named visitors, and will no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days after leaving the home to attend medical appointments.
The changes come into effect from next Monday, when the country enters the third stage of its road map for easing coronavirus restrictions.
Boris Johnson said the number of visitors would increase from two to five per resident.
Guidance from the Cabinet Office says a maximum of two visitors can visit a resident at any one time.
These daily limits do not apply for very young children or essential care givers.
And residents will be able to leave their care home for more trips without needing to isolate for 14 days on their return. They will be able to visit hospitals as outpatients, GPs, dentists and day centres as well as workplaces and educational settings.
PEOPLE in England will be able to hug loved ones, dine in restaurants and go on holiday abroad from next week in a “considerable step on the road back to normality”, Boris Johnson has confirmed.
The move to the next stage of the road map out of lockdown on May 17 came as the Covid-19 alert level in the UK was downgraded after a “consistent” fall in cases, hospital admissions and deaths.
The Prime Minister set out a new approach to tackling the virus, giving people greater responsibility for their own choices on whether to observe social distancing measures with friends and family.
“Today we are taking a step towards that moment when we learn to live responsibly with Covid, when we cease eventually to rely on detailed Government edicts and make our own decisions,” he said.
Confirmation that England would move to step three on the road map came from Mr Johnson at a Downing Street press conference after a Cabinet meeting to sign off the change.
The Prime Minister said: “This unlocking amounts to a very considerable step on the road map to normality and I am confident that we will be able to go further.”
The road map remained on track for the next stage on June 21 and Mr Johnson promised that later this month the Government would set out “what role there could be - if any - for certification and social distancing”.
The Government has been reviewing whether Covid status certification, recording whether people have had a vaccine or negative test result, could be used to help open up businesses and Mr Johnson’s comments could be a hint they are no longer a priority.
Mr Johnson said the current data indicated that it might be possible to scrap the “one-metre plus” rule, something which would greatly increase flexibility for businesses to increase capacity. From May 17:
■ People will be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to 30.
■ People will be able to meet indoors in groups of six, or two households.
■ Pubs and restaurants will be able to serve customers indoors, although they will be limited to table service.
■ Cinemas, museums, theatres and concert halls will be allowed to reopen although there will be capacity limits on large events.
■ The “stay in the UK” restriction will lift and people will be able to travel to “green list” countries, such as Portugal although they are still being advised not to go to destinations on the amber list.
■ Up to 30 people will be allowed at weddings, although dancing will still not be allowed, and the cap on the number of mourners attending funerals will be lifted, in line with the safe capacity of the venue.
■ Secondary school pupils will no longer be told to wear face masks in class and communal areas.
■ University students will return to campus for in-person lectures.
The easing of restrictions came after the UK’s senior medics said the Covid19 alert level should be lowered from “level 4” to “level 3”, meaning that while the epidemic is in general circulation, transmission is no longer deemed to be high or rising exponentially.
But England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty urged particular caution around the Indian variant which has been detected in increasing numbers in the UK.
From a low level “it has gone up very sharply” he said, warning that it was possibly more transmissible than the Kent variant which swept across the UK in the winter.