THE Community Hub at Pembrokeshire County Council is drawing attention to a major change to shielding advice in Wales.

Yesterday the Chief Medical Officer announced that, from August 16, shielding will be paused in Wales.

The weekly food box deliveries, which have been coordinated by local authorities, will end after August 16, but priority slots for online supermarket shopping will remain in place.

There are 5,500+ people currently shielding in Pembrokeshire, being supported by the Community Hub and Hub staff will be contacting those shielding following the latest advice.

From August 16, people in the shielding group can go to work or to school and go shopping but they should continue to take steps to protect themselves by keeping a 2m distance from others and washing their hands frequently.

The Chief Medical Officer has previously advised all those shielding can take unlimited exercise outdoors and meet with members of one other household outdoors. People who are shielding can also form part of an extended household.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton said: “Shielding is a huge request for someone to undertake, so it’s important that we don’t ask people to shield for longer than is necessary. As the level of the virus in our communities is now low, shielding should pause from August 16.

“This means those who have been shielding can gradually resume day-to-day life, but taking extra care around physical distancing and hand washing. We will keep this under review and if we see transmission levels increase, we may need to consider advising the shielding group to take extra precautions and measures to protect themselves in the future.”

Over the summer, a review will be undertaken of all children on the shielding list. Although shielding is pausing, the list will be maintained. The latest guidance from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health will be used to determine whether each child needs to remain on the list.

Over the next few days, a letter will be sent by the Pembrokeshire Community Hub to all those shielding, to remind them of the support available through the Community Hub and wider support services in the community.

An important message that is being shared is that it is ok to ask some help and support and that this will continue to be available beyond August 16.

And over coming weeks staff in the Community Hub will be making proactive telephone calls to all those currently receiving food boxes, to help them prepare for when the shielding advice will pause.

See more details on the change in shielding advice here:

https://gov.wales/written-statement-update-shielding-and-adopting-guidance-royal-college-paediatrics-and-child-health

More information on the Pembrokeshire Community Hub can be found at: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-community-information/community-hub

Contact the hub by email: communitycovid19@pembrokeshire.gov.uk or by telephone on 01437 776301 (available 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, 10am-2pm Saturday).