Gill W wrote: 31 May 2020, 15:58
I totally understand that for some people who have been shielding it has been very difficult for them. The point I'm making is, why is it suddenly ok for them to go out now? The government's own alert system says they shouldn't go out until level one has been achieved. So the government have ignored their own system, for no apparent reason
My daughter, in her early 30s, is in the shielded group (she has to have 8-weekly biologic immunosuppressant infusions). She and her husband moved in with me just before lock down and we decided very early on to trust our judgement, which, BTW, bears no resemblance to that of Dominic Cummings. We have been going out in the last week or so, but only for a walk in the early evening to local places we know will be deserted. Our assessment of the risk of doing that is that it is zero - this virus is caught from people/surfaces, not fresh air. I agree the government has ignored its own system, but the system was a little eccentric in the first place.
Shielding must be very difficult for those on their own, but for us it's been fine; there's a vociferous minority of the shielded alleging that it's not fair, as if fairness was the issue - the issue is the safety of the shielded and they've been protected with a lot of help (apart from those in care homes, another story). We are, however, eternally grateful to those in the low-risk group, and that's most of you on here as well as millions of others, who have sacrificed quite a bit to keep her, and others like her, safe. Right now, I'm far more concerned about the long-term effects on those still working and the effect on the economy. Things need to be opened up gradually before we find ourselves in an economic disaster.
