Britain’s over-70s to self-isolate ‘for up to four months’

PEOPLE in Britain are being urged to rally together to help the elderly as coronavirus tightens its grip on the UK.

In an unprecedented peacetime intervention yesterday, the UK’s health secretary said the over-70s will be told ‘within weeks’ to stay at home – for up to four months.

Hundreds of thousands of volunteers in the UK have already vowed to join forces to help those in need, including delivering shopping and medication.

Charities last night urged the British public not to ‘back away’ from the elderly and instead get in touch with neighbours using postcards or letters to see if they can help.

An online movement to place volunteers with vulnerable residents took hold yesterday, with almost 400 ‘mutual aid’ groups being established across the UK in little over 24 hours.

The call to arms coincided with British health secretary Matt Hancock’s extraordinary announcement that the UK’s 9.2million over-70s will be told to self-isolate ‘within the coming weeks’. The measures are likely to last for up to four months.

The UK death toll was up to 35 yesterday, with 14 deaths in just 24 hours. The youngest known fatality was last night named as 59-year-old former police officer Nick Matthews, from Nailsea in North Somerset, England.

The father-of-two was said to have had underlying health issues.

There are now 1,372 confirmed cases in the UK.

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Mr Hancock said the over-70s and those with underlying health conditions will soon be asked to remain at home.

He said the move would require a ‘national effort’ and a ‘massive community response’, and urged the healthy to help elderly neighbours.

The comments sparked confusion about how the measures could be implemented and who would care for those who do not have nearby family or friends.

But they led to a huge outpouring of community support, led by the Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK Network, which is urging volunteers to form Facebook groups for their areas where people can share information on how to help those in need.

During another day of dramatic developments in the UK, it was also reported that the epidemic will last a year and could lead to nearly 8million British people being hospitalised. This emerged from a secret Public Health England document seen by The Guardian.