Shielding letter received during the COVID-19 pandemic, July 2020

Letter to Michael Lee with advice about the easing of shielding for people identified at higher risk of coronavirus, issued by the Directorate for Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government, dated 9 July 2020

Retired professor Michael Lee was one of around 180,000 people advised by the Scottish Government to strictly self-isolate (shield) for a 12-week period from March 2020 because of his increased risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 due to an underlying health condition. The shielding programme aimed to provide these individuals with guidance and support to enable them to minimise interaction with others and thus reduce their risk of infection.

The Highest Risk List (HRL, formerly the shielding list) included transplant recipients and others with lowered immunity due to disease or therapies, as well as people with specific cancers, severe respiratory conditions, chronic kidney disease, and Down’s syndrome. Doctors were able to add people who did not fall into any of the pre-defined groups based on their clinical judgement. The 3% of the Scottish population affected were told to stay at home at all times and avoid unnecessary face to face contact for an initial period of 12 weeks.

The choice was presented as a voluntary action. If someone received one of these letters, they were encouraged to register their mobile phone number or call their local assistance centre to access support, which included priority access to online supermarket shopping and delivery of free food parcels. Initially helped by neighbours with their shopping, Michael and his wife Judith later received online grocery deliveries organised by their son.

This letter advises people on the HRL that from 10 July they no longer need to physically distance themselves from people they live with and can form a ‘bubble’ with one other household if they live alone or only with children under 18. Shielding was paused on 31 July 2020, although many people continued to take extra precautions. New guidance was introduced as cases rose again in subsequent waves, before the HRL was eventually retired in May 2022.

A survey by Public Health Scotland published in March of that year revealed that while many people – like Michael – felt better supported as a result of being included on the HRL, substantial numbers were experiencing ongoing knocks to their confidence, physical activity levels and quality of life. Some groups felt less well supported than others, including socioeconomically vulnerable respondents, carers and those aged younger than 65.