Prospects bleak for vulnerable millions left isolated at home

MORE than two million people have been left feeling “confused, frustrated and forgotten” after being told they may be left in isolation for “several more months”.

The heads of almost 50 charities have written to ministers saying the lifting of the lockdown with little reference to those deemed too vulnerable to leave home is making their burden even harder to bear.

The announcement by Boris Johnson on Thursday that groups of up to six people from different households could meet in gardens and common spaces said little about those who are being told to stay at home regardless.

Around 2.2million people classed as extremely vulnerable have spent more than two months shielding, after being issued with advice to stay home completely and rely on food deliveries and medication being dropped off. When the measures came in, they were told they would last for 12 weeks.

Since then, the Government has given no time frame for lifting lockdown measures for such people – including those with cancer and sufferers from conditions such as severe asthma, cystic fibrosis and arthritis.

A letter from 48 charity leaders to the Cabinet Office calls for clear guidance on what to do when the current 12-week lockdown period for the most vulnerable ends.

Steven Mcintosh, Macmillan Cancer Support’s policy director, said the latest announcement was “incredibly bleak and distressing” for those in the high-risk category. He said some of those confined to their own homes were struggling to access food and medicine, with others making difficult decisions about whether they could return to work.

He said: “It’s simply not acceptable that they just get a message that they are going to have to continue to do this for some time longer, they need to understand what that means and what support is available.

“Macmillan is hearing from people who feel left behind and forgotten, who got a letter at the start of March telling them to stay in total lockdown, not to leave the house, not to see anyone, to protect themselves. They feel there has been a huge lack of communication to help them understand what lockdown means for them.”

A spokesman said: “The Government is committed to supporting the clinically extremely vulnerable and all decisions about whether someone should shield are clinically led.”

‘People fear there has been a huge lack of communication to help them understand what lockdown means’