My mum is a waitress at a small restaurant (at a touristy coastal village in the South West) and has been furloughed since the start of lockdown. The restaurant has reopened but only in the evenings (mum only works part time during the day) and she is furloughed until the end of July. She is going back to work at the beginning of August but not as a waitress. She’ll be cleaning the whole restaurant, including bathrooms, then setting the restaurant up for the evening service.

Mum lives with me and is my carer. I’m a wheelchair user and have complex health conditions. I’m in the extremely vulnerable group and have been told to shield until the end of July. I’m unable to socially distance from mum as she needs to be close for most of my care. As well as personal care she also does nursing care for me (changing my leg dressings on large open wounds which she obviously wears gloves for).

Are there any extra precautions my mum should be taking at work to prevent bringing anything home to me? She is asthmatic and can’t wear masks for more than a few minutes (which she didn’t realise until she bought several then had an asthma attack when she wore one). She’s tried different types of masks and face coverings, but struggles with all of them. Would a face shield help protect her? Or are they only good when worn with a mask as well? As well as physical disabilities I have severe anxiety, including health anxiety, so I’m a bit worried about the change. Sorry for the long post.