Can I go on a UK break, and is the GP surgery really safe?

Q Can I now go on holiday in the UK?

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short answer is no. You are not allowed to stay overnight outside of your home, with one exception.

Last week, the Government ruled that people living alone and single parents with children under 18, can visit another household and stay overnight, anywhere in the country.

Similarly, an entire household can visit a person living alone and stay over. These are called ‘support bubbles’, designed to ease loneliness for isolated Britons in England and Northern Ireland.

Scotland has a similar scheme called ‘extended household groups’.

But you can only be a part of one support bubble and you can’t add new people to it.

Hotels, caravan parks, camping sites and Airbnbs remain closed until July 4 at the earliest.

Wales has yet to relax its rules.

Q Now that there’s a drug to treat Covid-19, does that mean I don’t need to worry so much about catching it?

ALast

week, Oxford University research showed a commonly used steroid, dexamethasone, cuts the risk of death by a third for the most critically ill Covid-19 patients – those who are on ventilators. For patients needing oxygen, it reduced deaths by a fifth.

Hospitals are now using it, but it is not a cure. Experts are still unsure why some people respond to this treatment and others don’t.

Social-distancing measures therefore remain essential.

Q I have a GP appointment but I’m nervous about going – is it really safe?

A With average rates of Covid19 in the community now low, it’s far more risky to miss your GP appointment than it is to attend it.

Doctors are concerned that since the lockdown, thousands of cases of serious diseases have been missed, so they have taken steps to Covid-proof their surgeries.

The Mail on Sunday’s resident GP, Dr Ellie Cannon, says: ‘There are strict limits on the number of patients allowed through the doors – you cannot come in to book an appointment, for example.

‘Every patient must wear a mask and doctors wear PPE. Practices are cleaned thoroughly, too, throughout the day.’