Obese people could be told to stay at home in local coronavirus lockdowns, it has been claimed.
The Government is said to be considering a “more sophisticated model” for shielding in a bid to avoid a mass lockdown if there’s a second wave of infections.
This could include the return of shielding for vulnerable groups - but in a more targeted fashion, using NHS data to identify those most at risk.
They could include the over-50s and obese people - both groups which are at higher risk of death and hospitalisation from Covid-19.
Ministers have ‘paused’ the government’s shielding rules - which until last month required millions of people with a broad range of conditions to stay at home.
Even as tighter lockdown rules were reintroduced in Greater Manchester, the shielding programme was still paused in those areas, meaning people in vulnerable groups were able to leave the house for the first time in four months.
But the plans under consideration would be a “stiletto, not a sledgehammer” - and would pinpoint especially vulnerable people in a local area and tell them to stay indoors.
A Cabinet minister told the Telegraph: "They are understanding that age does come into it.
“The shielding cohort is way too broad - you can't say that every fat person has to shield. It will be more subtle.”
Research from Public Health England found being overweight or obese put patients at greater risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19.
Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity – and 1 in 3 children leave primary school overweight or obese, with obesity-related illnesses costing the NHS £6 billion a year.
