What action has the Welsh Government taken to ensure that blind and partially sighted people can access priority on-line shopping delivery slots during this period, and would it be possible to develop a self-registration scheme similar to the one currently being implemented in England?
A blind or partially sighted person will be a priority for online food shopping with food retailers offering online ordering and deliveries if they are in the shielding group – they have received a letter from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales asking them to adopt a series of shielding measures.
This is the group of people who are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus due to a serious health issue, which makes them especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
Data sharing agreements are now in place and data has been transferred to all major food retailers offering online ordering, and priority delivery slots are being made available.
Food retailers with loyalty schemes are able to proactively contact shielding customers to advise them. The system in Wales has the advantage of not requiring shielding people to undertake a separate registration process.
Beyond this shielding group, some supermarkets have put measures in place to help carers, volunteers and those shopping for others. We are also working with the WLGA and WCVA to ensure local authorities and Community Voluntary Councils are able to offer help to those people who do not have support.