Coronavirus UK: People who are shielding 'should stay home until March 31'

A further 1.7million people in England are being told to shield from coronavirus and everyone on the vulnerable list is being urged to stay at home until at least March 31. The Department of Health said it was expanding the shielding list after the Government's scientific advisers identified additional adults at serious risk of Covid-19 using a new algorithm. The following are some variables were examined to make the tool: Age Ethnicity Postcode Smoking status BMI Drug use Cancer Respiratory disease, such as asthma Kidney disease, such as renal failure Liver disease, such as alcohol-related Heart disease Neurological conditions such as Epilepsy and cerebral palsy Rare diseases Diabetes Medications that compromise the immune system, such as chemotherapy Mental illness, such as psychosis Fragility fracture Learning disability Conditions or treatments that predispose to infection, such as Lupus In other coronavirus developments today: Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that Scottish schoolchildren will return to class from next Monday, a full fortnight before their English counterparts; Another Covid variant that could dodge vaccine-triggered immunity has been identified 33 times in the UK; One of Public Health England's top advisers accused the Government of doing 'science by press release' by announcing things without telling its scientists; Four passengers arriving in the UK have been fined £10,000 each for failing to tell authorities that they came from a 'red-list' country; Nearly one in five adults in England – 8.3million people – had Covid antibodies at the beginning of February, a major surveillance study revealed; Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it is 'up to businesses' to decide if they want to require proof of vaccination before serving customers. 'All of these people who are identified for the first time are those who have not had an individual clinical condition that we've previously been able to identify through the clinically extremely vulnerable group, but they are people who have multiple personal risk factors and underlying health conditions which move them into a higher risk group.' People on the shielding list include: Organ transplant recipients; People having chemotherapy for cancer; Lung cancer patients receiving radical radiotherapy; People with blood or bone marrow cancer such as leukaemia; Cancer patients receiving immunotherapy or other therapies that affect the immune system; Bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients who had the procedure during the last six months or are still taking immunosuppressant drugs; People with debilitating lung conditions including cystic fibrosis, bad asthma or severe COPD; Those with rare condition that increase the risk of infection, such as homozygous sickle cell disease; Patients having immunosuppressant therapies that raise infection risk; Pregnant women with significant heart disease; Others who have been individually judged extremely vulnerable by doctors; Adults with Down's syndrome; People with stage 5 kidney disease.