THE Welsh Government has stressed that there have been no changes to advice issued to people who are shielding in Wales with the group continuing to follow the advice set out in the Chief Medical Officer’s most recent letter sent out at the beginning of June

Advising people to continue shielding until August 16, the government spokesman acknowledged that shielding is not easy but said that although coronavirus is declining in Wales, it has not gone away and the measures put in place will continue to protect this group of people.

The advice comes in light of changes announced by the UK Government.

The June letters to the shielded group in Wales included two important changes:

The first change related to exercise. Outdoor exercise is unlimited – but we are advising people who are shielding to strictly follow social distancing and hygiene practices. Risk can never be completely eliminated but we advise those shielding to exercise at times that are less busy so contact with others is reduced.

The second change related to the ability to meet others. Those who are shielding were advised they can meet with people from another household in their local area outdoors. However, they should not go into another person’s house or share food with them.

All the other shielding advice – such as working from home; not sharing meals or utensils at home; sleeping in a separate bed; not sharing towels and cleaning the bathroom after use – remain in place.

“This is advice only – shielding is not compulsory. These measures and advice are there to help protect you from contracting coronavirus and protect you from developing a potentially serious illness,” said a government spokesman.

"I would encourage everyone who is shielding to take advantage of opportunities to go outside and enjoy some of the good weather as this has significant benefits to health and well-being.

“I would like to reassure those who are shielding that we have not forgotten about them. We keep the shielding advice under constant review as we know how hard shielding is.

“As we learn more about coronavirus, we may be able to change the advice to make it more responsive to people’s individual risk. We will work with the other UK nations to develop a tool to give a more personalised risk assessment and help guide people about the steps they should take.

"Until this has been developed, the Chief Medical Officer for Wales will review the advice for those who are shielding on the same 21-day cycle as the review of the lockdown regulations”.