VULNERABLE people who have been shielding from the coronavirus for weeks face a dilemma over whether to leave their homes after the Government gave them the go ahead to get out and about again from Monday.

Sarah Gagen, who suffers from two long term conditions, plans to carry on.

“I’ve made the decision to only go out if it’s a dire situation, so I’m going to get very used to these four walls.” she told the Adver.

Sarah, of Taw Hill, has ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory lower digestive system condition and a rare chronic liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, which causes scarring of the bile ducts.

Both conditions were diagnosed two years ago and they put her in the jhigher risk category if she catches Covid-19.

The 31-year-old businesswoman, who runs consultancy firm Engage Technical Solutions in Royal Wootton Bassett with her family, explained: “My conditions make it hard for me to absorb nutrients and they can cause abdominal pain and fatigue. I had to be careful not to catch any illnesses before the coronavirus but now I have to be extra careful.

“I have a dog so I’ve had to go outside anyway to walk him and even doing something as simple as that has been a challenge because people don’t think about how close they are to you.”

Prim Gopal, 20, of North Swindon is another who was told the shield at the start of the lockdown. She suffers from severe asthma.

“I’m on a lot of medication for it which put me in the high risk category. I’m still going to be extra cautious but I’ll be following what the government said and going outside. At the end of the day we will have to get back to normal at some point and we need to live our lives,” she said.

A Great Western Hospital employee who wants to remain anonymous has had to shield because she fell ill with pneumonia three times and has mild asthma.

She told the Adver: “I didn’t even think I would be on the list, but when I got the letter I stayed indoors. I have anxiety too so I physically couldn’t make myself go outdoors even if I wanted to because I was too worried.

“It’s all very confusing at the moment so I do understand why people are deciding to continue shielding despite what the government says.

“My plan now is to stay indoors as much as possible but just go outside for exercise.”