'I'm terrified' - Cornwall's clinically vulnerable fear so-called 'Freedom Day'
People who are clinically extremely vulnerable in Cornwall say they are ''terrified'' of the Government's Covid -19 restrictions being lifted on Monday 19th July.
Sandy Lawrence from Quintrell Downs near Newquay has Diabetes and Addison's Disease.
Her 18 year old son Matthew also has Downs Syndrome and is vulnerable to severe chest infections.
‘’I don’t think it’s going too far to say I’m terrified," Sandy told ITV News.
"I’m terrified of picking it up and bringing it home, of my husband bringing it home, of us not being able to protect Matthew the way I would want to protect him.’’
The family has had vaccinations, but they believe the risks to their health are still too high.
Sandy says they have no choice but to return to shielding if the public are no longer wearing masks or social distancing.
"It feels like we’d just started emerging back into real life and now we have to come back into a much more shielding mode," she said.
"If Boris Johnson had said we're going to open up the country but actually we're going to keep mask wearing and social distancing a thing, I think we would have all felt a little bit easier about it.''
The UK government has issued specific advice for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
It says they are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus, so may wish to think particularly carefully about taking precautions when meeting others they don't usually meet with, in order to reduce the risk of catching or spreading the virus.
Under Step 4 of the Government's Roadmap, from 19 July the public will not need to stay two metres apart from people they do not live with. There will also be no limits on the number of people you can meet.
The requirement to wear face coverings in law will be lifted.
However, the Government says it expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas, such as public transport.
You can read more about the latest UK government guidance here.