To: UK governmemt
Continued support for clinically vulnerable and their households
To continue to offer financial support (SSP and furlough) to the clinically vulnerable who are in financial need, and their household members until there is a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. To ensure that those who cannot afford delivery costs continue to get food parcels and support with other shopping. To pay unemployment benefits without requirement to attend appointments at Job Centre.
Why is this important?
The government made a decision at the beginning of the lockdown to stop ICU and funeral homes being overwhelmed by asking the most vulnerable to shield themselves from catching the disease, and offering them support to do so.
Now that the prevalence of Covid-19 is lower in the UK, it is less likely that people out and about will catch it, so even if those who are considered likely to become seriously ill or die should catch COVID-19, the numbers in ICU or dying will not be so great as to overwhelm the capacity in NHS or funeral homes.
The government has therefore
Made the decision to say that the vulnerable will no longer be advised to shield themselves from 1/8.
This doesn’t mean that these people are no longer at risk if they do catch the disease, just that as fewer people in the population are infectious, they are less likely to come into contact with them and catch the disease.
Those who will probably die if they catch the virus will lose government support to continue to shield themselves beyond 1/8, that’s fine if they don’t don’t need government support, so the wealthier will be OK. What about those who could catch the disease when they go back to work (no further government support to stay off work - SSP For shielding to end), what about those who could catch the disease out shopping (if they can’t afford to pay extra for delivery), what about those who could catch the disease at the job centre (unemployed people must attend to continue to receive benefits)?
Obviously the government must continue to open the economy so that those who are at little risk can return to something like normal, but this should not be at the expense of the Most vulnerable people - those living with serious medical conditions, who are also very poor!
The government should continue to offer financial support to poorer people who are at high risk of dying if they catch the illness, if they and their family decide that they wish to continue to shield until there is a cure or vaccine for COVID-19.
