COVID-19: Highest Risk Patients are Asked to Stay at Home for 12 Weeks [England]

A million and a half people in England who are at very high risk of severe illness and admission to hospital because of COVID-19 will receive a letter this week asking them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks. Other people in the household will not have to remain inside but should adhere to Public Health England’s advice to leave a distance of at least 2 m when interacting with other people. People falling into this extremely vulnerable group include those who have undergone an organ transplantation, those having certain treatments for cancer, those with certain respiratory conditions, and pregnant women with significant heart disease. They have been identified through general practice records, clinical reference groups, hospital trusts, and medical royal colleges. Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for housing, communities, and local government, who announced the new measures at a briefing on Sunday 22 March, admitted that what people were being asked to do to “will be tough” but that it was necessary to protect the NHS and to save lives. Abstract source