People in Scotland at highest risk of severe illness from the virus have started to receive home deliveries of essential groceries as of yesterday.
Letters from the Chief Medical Officer have been issuing this week to those who are at greatest risk of Covid-19, to provide bespoke guidance on shielding from infection and information about the support available, which includes access to home deliveries through a text message service.
People who have received the letter this week and signed up to the service have been texted with the option of starting their weekly deliveries of essential food items including soup, pasta, rice, fruit, vegetables, tea, coffee and biscuits, as well as toiletries such as shower gel and toilet roll, as of yesterday.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “These new services are available to those at the highest risk of severe illness from Covid-19 who do not have support structures around them to help.
“This includes people with specific forms of cancer, severe respiratory conditions, certain rare diseases, recipients of organ transplants, those on immunosuppression therapies and pregnant women with congenital heart disease.
“It is vitally important that people at highest clinical risk are shielded as much as possible, and our advice alongside this text service will help protect people from the detrimental effects of the virus, including disruption to health and social care and key services.”
