New video launched to explain the ‘new normal’ for people still shielding in the city

It is designed to reassure them when initially venturing out to visit supermarkets and pharmacies again and the shielding programme is paused by the government.

Staff at The Hub, which is operated by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, are working closely with people who are shielding to give them the advice and support that they need to transition from shielding at the end of this month.

Whilst the support officers who talk to them regularly have been discussing the changes and how they best can individually prepare, it can be difficult to convey how life has changed through phone calls.

So the team at the hub has pulled together a video to help people navigate around supermarkets and pharmacies before they visit them to help them understand the changes and explain why they are in place.

The video – filmed in Tesco Hampton and a pharmacy in Newborough – details all the signage you will see as a customer and why this is now in place. It takes the viewer on a mini tour around both sites and explains 2m distancing and plastic shielding screens at till points to protect the customer and employee.

Nikitta Vanderpool, Operational Lead at the Covid-19 Co-ordination Hub said: “We realised quickly that a ‘show and tell’ approach for our community would work best so we harnessed the power of video. This way community members can both see the physical changes in stores as well as listening to the staff and thus feel reassured as to why these changes are in place.

“Lockdown has been a challenging time for many and we are determined to ensure that their individual transitions will be seamless. We have listened to their concerns and we have produced this video to help them visualise the new normal. For those without online access we are supplying photos and text so they know what to expect.”

The video is available to view here.

Support officers from The Hub will continue to work with the shielded community until July 31. After this time if you need support and you do not have friends, family or neighbours to help you, visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus or call 0345 045 5219.