People who are shielding could be allowed out ‘by the end of July’

Vulnerable people who have been told to shield may be allowed more freedoms over the coming weeks according to the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock.

Matt Hancock said that those who are currently shielding may be allowed out ‘very soon’, with reports citing sources close to the government as saying they could be allowed out by the end of July.

A report from the Health Service Journal yesterday quoted sources ‘close to the issue’ as saying people who are shielding won’t need to isolate at home from the end of July, with ministers planning to update them soon.

It comes as the general lockdown restrictions continue to be relaxed, for instance the opening of non-essential shops this week for the first time since March.  

Currently those who are shielding are able leave their home to exercise once a day, with the rules relaxed on June 1st, the Guardian reports. 

The new update allows those who are shielding and living alone to meet one person from another household outside, as long as they are able to maintain strict social distancing – ideally this would be the same person each time – while those who live with other people can go outside with members of their household.

in regards to when shielding might end, Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast: “I want to say to your viewers, if you are in the shielded category we will announce very soon what the plans are and we will write to you personally through the NHS so that you can get the direct clinical advice.”

He added that those who have been shielding indoors have ‘sacrificed an awful lot’ but that ‘we want to do this properly based on the clinical advice’. 

Hancock has said the Housing Secretary will publish details soon, but that the changes will be ‘based entirely on the clinical evidence of what it is safe for you to do’.

When asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether he could confirm that shielding would finish at the end of July, Hancock said the government would ‘set this out very shortly’ and write to those involved.

Age UK has said the loosening of restrictions is ‘very good news’, as long as it is ‘fully justified by the current level of risk’.

Its charity director, Caroline Abrahams, said: “Looking further ahead, if the shielding scheme is to be wound down from the end of July, to be replaced by a more individualised approach, it will be really important to ensure that older people are not left high and dry if support is withdrawn before they can take a full part in our society again.”

The government has added that ‘no final decision has yet been made’ regarding the ending of the shielding programme.