Throughout the first national lockdown, the UK Government advised that anyone over the age of 70, with or without a medical condition, should stay at home and follow shielding measures to protect themselves against the virus. This advice was paused on 16th August, allowing those shielding to follow the same guidance as the rest of the public.
With Wales at alert level 4, the Chief Medical Officer for Wales has announced that those who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable should shield and you will receive a letter if this applies to you. You can read more, here.
Whilst you stay at home, whether that is due to alert level 4 restrictions or shielding, we have some information to support you:
Advice
If you are staying at home, you may have some concerns about things like getting food, supplies, medication, appointments, and many more. Try taking these steps below to help you during this time:
- Ask family, friends and neighbours to collect any food or supplies that you may need for staying at home. If possible, when they deliver, have them leave the supplies somewhere that you can get to without being in contact, such as your doorstep.
- If you don’t have anyone to help collect essential things for you, try to use online services such as online shopping to get what you need delivered to your door.
- If you have care in place, speak to your carers for any additional help that you may need. They will have things in place to make sure you are protected as much as possible.
- If you need to attend medical appointments, speak to your GP or clinician as they will have steps in place to make sure you are protected and get the help you need.
- Family and friends are also following the lockdown restrictions but you should make them aware that you are shielding. This is for them to know not to visit unless they need to provide care, in this case they should take extra precautions to protect you.
Wellbeing
If you are staying at home it is important to look after your wellbeing. These are some suggestions to keep you occupied whilst being in your home:
- Speak to people – if you are staying at home alone, there may be times where you feel lonely and miss interaction with others. Use your phone to call or video call family and friends that you may not be able to see to have a chat to keep you company.
- Be creative – try something arty like painting, colouring or drawing, these are great ways to keep busy.
- Keep your brain active – complete a puzzle, read a book, play a game or watch some TV, these are great ways to occupy your time.
- Get fresh air – you may be staying home but get outside for some fresh air, standing on your doorstep or get out in the garden to make you feel better.
- Stay active – if possible, walk around your home or take part in some home exercises to keep you moving. The NHS has some low impact exercise advice that can be adapted to being at home. You can go outside to exercise but keep your 2m distance from others.
- Meet with others – if you are living alone, you can join with another household to create a support bubble but please take care. More information on support bubbles, can be found, here.
Age UK has lots of great advice for older people who are staying at home due to coronavirus. You can visit their website, here, or call their free, confidential helpline: 0800 169 6565 8am to 7pm, 365 days a year.
The Silver Line: 0800 4 70 80 90. Call for a cheerful chat, day or night.
For information and advice from Welsh Government, visit: https://gov.wales/coronavirus
For updates from Public Health Wales, visit: https://phw.nhs.wales/
For more information about coronavirus and Trivallis, visit: https://www.trivallis.co.uk/en/2020/03/11/coronavirus-important-information/