A mum who hasn’t hugged her daughters for two years has slammed the Government’s decision to end Covid restrictions, as well as launched a petition with over 60,000 signatures so far.
Kidney transplant recipient Gill Kaczmarczyk, 55, from Preston, Lancashire, takes daily medication for her body to accept the new organ, which classes her as one of the country’s most vulnerable.
Not only has she been restricted to meeting her two daughters Alyssia, 29 and Grace, 27, outside and from a distance, but the mum-of-two says she hasn’t visited a supermarket or retail store throughout the pandemic.
Despite receiving four Covid-19 jabs, the medication Gill is on means her body has a weakened immune system and as a result has not produced any antibodies.
Later this week, the Government is expected to end all Covid restrictions, including the need to isolate after testing positive to coronavirus, with England believed to be the first country in the world to do so.
The decision has left Gill infuriated, with the mum calling on Health Secretary Sajid Javid to fund preventative treatments for the most vulnerable where vaccines don’t work.
“It just seems a bit hap-hazard,” Gill told Jam Press.
“There’s no way people like me can rejoin society.
“Until there is preventative treatment, people like me are only going to keep shielding. It’s just never-ending.
“I haven’t been able to hug my own children. That’s what I miss the most.
“Of course they test before they meet me but if they travel on the train it’s still too big a risk.
“I don’t want to be unwell and for something to happen and for my daughters to feel responsible.
“The last time I went to the shops was 13 March 2020 and I’m in desperate need of a haircut.
“I appreciate there isn’t an easy way around it but I want to be able to rejoin society safely.”
The petition, launched 2nd February has received over 68,000 signatures in 20 days.
‘‘I feel very annoyed and let down by the government ending the isolation requirements when someone has Covid.
“It makes me feel more anxious and uncertain of how I’m meant to live with Covid.’’
Gill received a transplant from her twin sister Jen Heaton in 2011 after suffering kidney failure following swine flu.
She had eight years of good health before the pandemic hit, which forced the mum-of-two to shield with her husband Steve, 59.
With blood tests revealing her body is not producing any antibodies, Gill will need to continue shielding herself from society, missing out on social interaction and important life events, including her mum’s 80th birthday last year.
Her petition calls for the government to look into “a prevention-rather-than-cure approach” and for vulnerable people to be taken into consideration with working from home restrictions lifting.
Gill added: “By no means am I saying everyone should keep isolating.
“I think it’s important for the country to move on.
“But by lifting the restrictions it’s putting people with a weak immune system at even greater risk.
“But the government can’t just forget about us. We are still here and I’m just pleading with them to have a plan to support the most vulnerable.”
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