Coronavirus: 30,000 people in Peterborough and Cambs could need shielding as local teams help support woman with terminal illness

So far, just over 13,000 people are on the shielded list for the county, but there is the potential for that figure to more than double according to Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.

The two authorities are currently running a countywide hub which is supporting thousands of people each week.

In the past month it has responded to more than 2,000 requests for help from people who are in the most vulnerable ‘shielded’ category who have been asked to self-isolate for 12 weeks.

As of yesterday (Thursday) the hub had responded to 1,261 direct requests for help and support and a further 781 requests for assistance from those on the shielded list – a total of 2,041 requests for help which have been met.

Just short of 4,000 people have got in touch to say that they have no reliable support network of family or friends to help them.

To keep in contact with this ever-growing group of people, 150 redeployed staff and volunteers are now set up to make weekly telephone contact with shielded people, to check they have what they need and identify their support needs – which could be food, medicine or a chat to reduce their feelings of isolation.

Moreover, food parcels have been delivered to people including June (not her real name) from Huntingdonshire who has a terminal illness and is shielding herself from the Covid-19 virus at home.

She got in contact with the hub as her illness means she can only eat vegetarian food that can be easily liquidised. For this reason she was not able to use some of the items in the Government’s food parcels such as meat pies and corned beef.

The councils arranged for the British Red Cross to do a special shopping trip for her and delivered a package of food to her doorstep. She called the hub back the next morning to say how grateful she was.

The councils have now delivered 254 food packages to homes where they have no other way of accessing food supplies.

As more and more shielded people successfully register, they are given access to supermarket home delivery slots or are registering to receive food parcels arranged through a national scheme.

However, for many, neither option is suitable and so the councils are also using volunteers to collect groceries ordered via click and collect and delivering food supplies from their warehouse to residents in emergency situations.

If you know someone who needs help and support in the shielded category who the councils have not made contact with yet, call 0345 045 5219.