Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the advice the Government received from (a) the Chief Medical Officer and (b) Public Health England on whether people who are clinically extremely vulnerable should be required to shield at present.

Shielding advice is challenging to follow and prolonged shielding may have negative mental and physical health consequences, so it is not an intervention that we advise lightly. It is important that guidance and support to the clinically extremely vulnerable balances the risk of exposure to the virus with the potential negative consequences of shielding for a prolonged period.

As we have learned more about the virus, we have improved our understanding of its transmission, and about how best to control it in all environments. Many individuals and settings are now taking measures to reduce the risk of transmission, such as wearing face masks and implementing social distancing. We also have a much more detailed understanding of local outbreaks and can intervene quickly when case numbers rise.

The updated guidance can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19