Five days of Christmas with three households together

FAMILIES will only be able to mix with two other households for five days this Christmas under a deal struck by the Government with the devolved nations.

From Dec 23 to 27, coronavirus restrictions on household mixing will be relaxed in all four home nations, allowing three households to form a Christmas “bubble” together.

Boris Johnson had originally hoped to allow families to get together for a whole week, but had to slim down the plan following opposition from leaders in Scotland and Wales, The Daily Telegraph understands. Last night he urged people to exercise “personal judgment”.

In a video on his Twitter account, he said: “Christmas will be different. Many of us are longing to spend time with family and friends, irrespective of our faith or background. And yet we can’t afford to throw caution to the wind.”

The deal means people in Christmas “bubbles” will be allowed to mix freely in homes, outdoors and in places of worship – so extended families can go to church together on Christmas Day.

Hugging will also be allowed, though ministers urged people to “think carefully”, particularly with regard to the elderly and vulnerable.

Families will be able to invite both sets of grandparents to stay over Christmas, though parents with several grown-up children will have to choose between them. And under the agreement, while care home residents under 65 can spend Christmas with relatives from one other household, subject to certain conditions, over-65s cannot leave their care homes. A government source said: “We realise this isn’t going to work for everyone but we need to avoid the virus spreading again.”

Travel restrictions between different tiers – which will be imposed next week – will be lifted for the five-day period, meaning people living in the highest tiers will be permitted to travel outside their area to see friends and family.

But there will be no relaxation of the rules on pubs and restaurants, meaning those in the new Tier 3 will remain shut. Christmas “bubbles” in lower tiers cannot go to the pub or for a meal out.

It provoked a backlash from the British Pub Association, which said the plans made a “mockery” of the restrictions imposed on hospitality businesses. Emma Mcclarkin, its chief executive, said: “How can it be that pubs cannot properly open while households can mix in private settings?”

Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, who agreed the deal with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, said families would be able to meet in a “limited and cautious way”, adding the temporary relaxing of social distancing rules would “offer hope for families and friends who have made many sacrifices.”

Northern Ireland has negotiated a seven-day suspension of the rules to

allow time for people to catch flights or ferries to the British mainland. It will run from Dec 22 to 28.

There was also good news for families with children at university, as the Government said students away from home would count as part of one household with their parents if they returned before the five-day period.

But each “bubble” must remain fixed over Christmas, meaning people cannot swap between bubbles formed by different branches of the family.

An exception will be made for children of divorced parents, and support bubbles – such as elderly relatives currently counted as part of their children’s household, and childcare bubbles – will be regarded as one household.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, couples or people living in shared accommodation will be able to join separate bubbles, but in Scotland everyone living in a shared house will be counted as one of the three households for the purposes of forming bubbles.

While anyone breaking the rules is liable to be fined, government sources said they did not “anticipate” enforcement action, as they trusted people to do the right thing.

In a joint statement, Mr Gove; Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister; Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s First

Minister, and Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister, urged restraint, saying “even where it is within the rules, meeting friends and family over Christmas will be a personal judgment for individuals, mindful of the risks to themselves and others, particularly those who are vulnerable”.

There had been reports of a five-day suspension of rules, to run from Christmas Eve to Dec 28, but dates were moved forward after concerns for the “practicalities of transport”, sources said.

Ministers were concerned railways might be unable to cope with huge numbers travelling in a short period, and wanted to spread the pre-christmas getaway over two days rather than one.

The Government was likely to come under pressure to lay on extra trains before and after Christmas Day, as traditional schedules for this time would make social distancing impossible.

Although Christmas bubbles will be fixed, people can still meet others from another bubble if it is within existing rules for their tier, meaning two people from different bubbles can still go for a socially distanced dog walk together.

Last night it emerged that the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine was unlikely to begin next week, after NHS officials told doctors that GP vaccination sites will not begin administering jabs on the week commencing Nov 30.