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Government considering ‘cocooning’ vulnerable people in care sector from coronavirus
A senior government advisor has suggested that vulnerable older people could be “cocooned” in order to protect them from the outbreak of coronavirus.
In an interview with the BBC, Dr David Halpern suggested that separating older vulnerable people from the rest of the population could alleviate pressure on care home staff and allow time for the wider public to develop herd immunity to the infection.
He said: “There’s going to be a point, assuming the epidemic flows and grows as it will do, where you want to cocoon, to protect those at-risk groups so they don’t catch the virus.
“By the time they come out of their cocooning, herd immunity has been achieved in the rest of the population.”
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So far six individuals in the UK have died after testing positive for coronavirus, all of which were over the age of 60.
On Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock conceded that the social care sector would face a “difficult time”.
Dr Halpern, chief executive of the government-backed Behavioural Insights Team, claimed volunteers could be relied upon to work in care homes.
Writing in Inside Housing, Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, group director of care at Sanctuary, said the housing association is providing guidance to homes on managing admissions and visitors, including including a ban on those entering who have returned from high-risk countries.
She also confirmed that all staff members forced to self-isolate for 14 days “will be paid for the full duration of that period based on their contractual hours”.
The care sector is bracing itself for increased pressure on its services as a result of coronavirus.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told the Independent that there is a “complete lack of information” for care providers.
“We will see a lot of deaths. I think that is probably inevitable,” he said.
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