Shielded, what does it really mean?

CBBL like you, my DH is on the shielded list. I don’t see a need to sleep in separate beds if neither of you are setting foot outside. If you and your DH are both staying in then there’s no need to sleep separately as neither of you should catch the virus.
bobdoesit you are not shielding if you are going out walking whether you are 2 meters apart or not. The shielding letter clearly states you should not go out at all. That is what many on the shielded list are doing. Like me and DH, neither of us have been for a walk at all in the last 7 weeks, much as we’d like to. We are used to daily walks and have found it very difficult to comply with the request to stay in but that is what we have done.

I think we can cope with another couple of weeks shielding but if the R stays under one and life is returning to normal outside we may well move to Lock Down status. (Only without the visit to shop for food).

Nfk, mr sainsbury says I’m not on the shielding list,mdespite the letter and texts that confirm I am. They won’t accept my Nector card either, despite it being my supermarket of choice for twenty years or more.
Ah well, Tesco contacted me and I now have them deliver. Very pleased with the quality

can gather it all in five minutes if I have to
gillJames Sorry, but sometimes you don't get 5 minutes!
When I got took ill a few weeks ago, BPPV, my carer, who fortunately was here, called the ambulance. We were off to hospital quick smart with no chance to pack anything other than some scrips. Not even the GPs list of my medical history which was somewhere around; living on my own nobody had time to hunt for anything, not even my toothbrush!
So pack that bag and place it in an obvious convenient spot.
Cheers

I agree Rufus
Besides the fact that there may be no time, you could feel so ill that you would not be able to pack a bag.

If you are hospitalised as an emergency, unable to breathe, are you likely to ask the stretcher-bearers to hang on a minute while you fetch your clean pyjamas from the ironing basket, and your toothbrush from the bathroom cabinet - and don't forget your mobile phone from beside the bed, and your prescription tablets, and the phone number of the milkman to cancel tomorrow's order . . and . .

Last year I was rushed to hospital by ambulance.
Fortunately my box of medications, with a comprehensive list of conditions and names of consultants. On admition to hospital the doctor said she had never seen such an organised patient. It made it so much easier to treat me.

However, despite having a bag packed for such emergencies, there wasn't even time to lift it!
If you are ill enough to go to hospital, you won't be well enough to pack a bag!

I feel left out! I am 80, and only received the general letter that everyone else received. As I’m perfectly healthy my doctor must have decided that I’m not vulnerable.
I go for a long walk every day, but avoid getting close to anyone.
The son who lives with me had two weeks off work, while they re-organised the office. The work he does is considered essential, so he has been back in for a few weeks. The precautions they are taking are very good, so he is reasonably safe. Some of the less essential staff are furloughed, so he has his own space, and there are strict rules about cleaning, using the kitchen etc.
We keep apart at home, most of the time, and wipe down surfaces after use. I wash bedding, towels and clothes more often. We are being as careful as possible.
I don’t worry about us catching the virus. It will be time to worry if we do. I don’t believe that shutting yourself away, for weeks on end, is good for anyone, physically or mentally, no matter how vulnerable you are. It’s impossible to catch the virus if you’re not mixing with people. As long as it is possible for you to get out of the house and go for a walk without close contact with people, then you should do so, for the sake of your mental health.

Listening to the radio, I heard a gentleman say that his wife had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and so was shielded. I have permanent atrial fibrillation after many years of the paroxysmal version, and I am nearly 85, yet am not shielded although vulnerable. Curious.

Can't ever remember receiving "the letter"? Perhaps lobbed into the bin with all the other junk.

Well, it's not a letter that anyone wants to receive, allium.
If you didn't get one, count yourself lucky.