A family still shielding from Covid-19 say their lives are “extremely lonely” – as today marks three years since ‘Freedom Day’.

Rob Boxall, from Herne Bay, says his mental health has declined and he feels “forgotten” as most of the world has moved on from the pandemic.

His wife Mandy, 61, is in remission from blood cancer, while his daughter Mollie has cerebral palsy and does not have the antibodies to fight Covid.

The family has been shielding since the first lockdown was announced in March 2020.

Doctors warned catching the virus could prove fatal for them, so they rarely see friends and family.

They are among a small section of society deemed clinically extremely vulnerable so are still taking precautions.

The government lifted most of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, 2021, which led to it being dubbed ‘Freedom Day’.

While many celebrated the rules being relaxed, others continued to live in fear and continued to protect themselves and loved ones from the virus.

Even simple journeys which are common for many people have to be meticulously planned to avoid close contact with others.

Mr Boxall said: “If we have to go into a shop, we will pick and choose the time, such as Sunday night when the football was on as you can feel like you are normal as there is hardly anyone about.

“But we still go in masked up and I always carry a mask, which is the same as my wife and daughter.”

Mr Boxall’s other daughter lives in Faversham with his two grandsons.

But she works in a school and there are fears she could test positive for Covid.

“To see her is very difficult - as if she catches something, she would not forgive herself,” the 58-year-old added.

“She is still testing and will shield for two weeks in the school holidays so she can come round with the boys.

“It is a very ostracised life while everybody else has slipped back into normality.

“I do not blame them for doing so. If we were not in this situation, we would have done the same thing. But we do feel like the majority of society has forgotten us.”

The latest government Covid data shows 168 people died in England with the virus in the week up to June 28.

In Kent and Medway, there have been 68 confirmed cases this month up to July 17.

But without regular testing, it is hard to have a detailed picture of how prevalent the virus is in the county.

Mr Boxall added: “People think it is over but how can it be if that amount are dying with it?

“You do feel like the longer it goes on, the more people seem to forget you.

“I never had a very big group of friends whether from work or outside of work.

“But I have a couple now who contact me every so often.

“It is extremely lonely.”

During the pandemic, the NHS identified about 2.2 million people as being clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), with 60,975 of them in Kent.

But just two months after so-called Freedom Day in July 2021 – when regulations on social distancing, wearing face masks and isolating were dropped – the government’s advice to shield ended.

So for almost three years, those with weakened immune systems have been forced to make their own rules.

Mrs Boxall is among those warned by doctors they could die if they catch Covid.

She became ill at Christmas in 2019 and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a type of blood cancer – on January 30, 2020.

Her chemotherapy was completed in June the same year and she started cancer maintenance treatment, which wiped her immune system out.

Although Mrs Boxall is in remission from cancer, the threat of Covid remains after her gruelling treatment.

It means the former childminder is still shielding along with her husband, whose devotion to protecting his family cost him his livelihood.

Mr Boxall was signed off sick in February 2020 with stress, anxiety and depression as he tried to deal with his wife’s cancer.

He was furloughed and his employers allowed him to work from home and do the secretarial side of care.

But in June 2022, they said he would have to come back to work or they would let me go.

“Some people would say it is self-imprisonment and I should get out there and live my life,” he said.

“My wife went through quite nasty blood cancer and when she first presented herself at the hospital, they were not sure if she was going to make it.

“The NHS spent a lot of money on treatment on her and she is my fifth limb, so I am not prepared to risk losing her.

“Some may say it is stupid, but I do not have to listen to them.”