Pensioners have been warned not to break cocooning to collect their pensions from the Post Office by the Department of the Taoiseach.
The advice from the Government is that if you’re over 70 you don’t need to leave the house to get your pension.
It is advised that you get another family member or friend that doesn’t have to cocoon to get it for you.
Community workers, neighbours, postmen and the gardaí can all help out too.
And even if a pensioner can’t or doesn’t want anyone else to go for them, collection deadlines are now running to 90 days to give plenty of extra time to get down to the Post Office eventually.
There are 460,000 pensioners over the age of 70 who have been advised to stay at home at all times.
This is known as cocooning.
Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach, Liz Canavan, issued the warning at the Government’s daily briefing in Government Buildings on Tuesday morning.
She said: “We are aware that there are over 460,000 persons aged over 70 who are in receipt of a pension.
“Those aged over 70 are required to cocoon, but we understand that many are attending Post Offices to collect their pension, pay utility bills etc.
“There are alternatives available, such as the ability to nominate an Agent to collect their pension, which is now paid fortnightly.
“It is also important to note that the payment will remain valid for collection in the post office for 90 days after the date of issue and therefore a number of payments may be collected at the same time where possible
“Government has been working on a High Level Framework for Community Support during the current crisis.
“We are hopeful that there will be an opportunity here to use these supports/volunteers to assist pensioners who are not in position to avail of the temporary agent facility to access their cash.”
The banks are stepping up to the mark too and are offering ‘Cocooning support’ services.
Customers who are self-isolating or cocooning can nominate another person to make in-branch cash withdrawals and lodgements on their behalf.
Ms Canavan also revealed details about a new Covid-19 app the Government is working on which should be ready and available to the public in the coming days.
She said: “As part of the national response to Covid-19, work is underway to develop a new mobile COVID-19 App for real-time symptom tracking and digital contact tracing.
“Intensive work is underway in the Department of Health and the HSE, with direct support from the Office of Government Chief Information Officer and other technical expertise across the public service.
“The implementation timeline will be determined by the technical progress and results from intensive testing that is currently taking place.”
