Elderly people and those with underlying health conditions who were told to self-isolate at home during the first wave of the pandemic were still FIVE TIMES more likely to die of COVID-19, study finds A new study looked at the elderly and those with underlying conditions in Glasgow, Scotland, between March 2020 and May 2020 These groups were among those told to 'shield' meaning to self-isolate in their homes, both to protect them from COVID-19 and reduce healthcare demand People at high-risk up to eight times more likely to contract COVID-19 and up to five times as likely to die from it than the general population