SHIELDING ENDS: 'I'm just looking forward to seeing friends in my garden and enjoying a cuppa with them'

A former Skegness hotelier who retired to Wainfleet says she is looking forward to having a cuppa with friends in her garden now Covid-19 restrictions are lifting.
Wendy Seabrook made scrubs for the NHS while shielding at her home.Wendy Seabrook made scrubs for the NHS while shielding at her home.
Wendy Seabrook made scrubs for the NHS while shielding at her home.

Wendy Seabrook shielded throughout the first lockdown with her husband, Paul, who had cancer.

Before moving to Wainfleet, the couple had run the Caxton House Guest House in Trafalgar Avenue, where Paul was the chef.

Sadly, he died last July and Wendy says support from friends, family and local businesses has continued to be invaluable, especially as she became sick with Covid-19 in November and is still recovering.

During the first lockdown when they were both shielding, Wendy was part of the Skegness group making scrubs for the NHS.

"It helped to have that focus," she recalled. "Community nurses were visiting during that time for Paul and I made some for them too.

"They were doing what they could to make our lives easier and it was nice to feel I that although I was shielding, I was still able to do my bit."

Seeing a friendly face through the window has also helped during what has been a difficult year. "Friends, family and businesses were amazing bringing us stuff.

"Even the messages helped me through.

"Although I was only shielding for the first lockdown I still haven't been able to get out much because of catching Covid - I'm still recovering and have a croaky voice.

"It's been like being in a tunnel - sometimes I had no idea what day it was. When I was doing the scubs it gave me a focus but that was in the first lockdown.

"Now I'm just looking forward to friends and family being able to come into my lovely garden to enjoy a cup of tea together."

The instruction to shield ends today (April 1) in England, meaning around four million people will no longer be advised to stay home as much as possible.

People who are clinically extremely vulnerable have been advised to minimise contact with other people and the outside world as much as possible for most of the last year.

An initial list of 2.2 million clinically extremely vulnerable people were advised to take the measures to avoid potential infection, and 1.7 million more were added to the list in February.

This has forced many people to rely on support from friends, local mutual-aid groups and NHS responders to do their shopping and collect medicines for them.

However, in spite of the instruction ending England’s deputy chief medical officer has said people should still take “extra precautions”.

Earlier this month, Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said: “With the prevalence of the virus in the community continuing to decrease, now is the right time for people to start thinking about easing up on these more rigid guidelines.

“If you have been shielding, we strongly urge you to take extra precautions following April 1 to keep yourself as safe as possible, such as continuing to observe social distancing and working from home.

“We will continue to monitor all of the evidence and adjust this advice should there be any changes in infection rates.”

More than 30 million people in the UK now have had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and more than three million both shots.