Downing Street verdict: caller reviews shielding announcements

22 June 2020, 18:24

Eddie Mair's Downing Street Verdict

By Fiona Jones

In Eddie Mair's Downing Street Verdict, this caller reviews the latest announcements from the press conference. Do you agree?

From July 6, anyone in England shielding from coronavirus will be able to gather in groups of up to six people outdoors and form a ‘support bubble’ with another household, the Health Secretary announced in today's daily briefing.

From August 1 all shielding will be "paused" altogether, meaning vulnerable people are able to return to work providing their workplace is Covid-secure, Matt Hancock said.

Caller Andrew, part of Eddie Mair's Downing Street Verdict, said there was a lot of unanswered questions on topics such as the subject of statutory sick pay for the shielding: "They don't seem to be addressing the problem of people who don't feel comfortable going back to work."

He cited a reporter's question of how the government will help shielding employees with employers that do not understand the situation: "They just kept saying there's laws in place...but there are still bad employees out there.

"We couldn't seem to get through to them that bad employees still exist that aren't as understanding even in these unprecedented times."