THOUSANDS of people in Worcestershire who have being shielding from Covid-19 will no longer be advised to stay at home from Saturday (August 1).

Those identified as clinically extremely vulnerable will no longer be advised to shield from this weekend as Government guidance is eased.

In Worcestershire, many of those shielding have found support from Worcestershire County Council’s community action response Here2Help.

The council launched the response to encourage residents to support their local communities during these testing times.

Almost 3,500 requests for help from Worcestershire’s residents have been responded to and nearly 2,000 offers of support have been received.

Food parcels have been supplied to individuals throughout the pandemic who have needed help as they couldn’t get food themselves and were not receiving shielded support from central Government.

The Lakeview Café at County Hall has been converted into a food distribution hub.

Staff have been providing food deliveries to food banks and street kitchens from throughout the county to help them get the food that they need to meet the demand.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, cabinet member for communities, said: ”The Here 2 Help response has been a real moment of pride for us throughout the pandemic, and it’s great to be able to look back on what the response has delivered so far.

It’s great news for the county that we’re able to use Here 2 Help as a platform to now look at both the long term and short term as we continue to live in these testing times.”

Approximately 60 library staff were redeployed at the start of the pandemic, during the period of peak demand, to support Here2Help and some of those are still continuing their work with the service.

They are continuing to take calls to check in and ensuring those who need help and support across the county continue to receive it.

The council’s cabinet has agreed that Here 2 Help will remain in place for the near future, helping to aid the county’s continued response to the pandemic, and the council’s plans going forward as it looks towards further recovery.

Here 2 Help Business has now been launched to support projects that will help aid recovery and future growth.