Government ‘considers allowing five days of household mixing indoors' over Christmas
18 November 2020, 07:34 | Updated: 18 November 2020, 07:36
Christmas proposals are reportedly being considered which would offer a break from the strict lockdown restrictions.
Families could be given five days to enjoy Christmas with their loved ones next month.
According to The Sun, health chiefs are currently looking at the option of giving those in Britain a long weekend of loosened restrictions.
The publication states that Sage scientists have been studying the impact of groups bigger than six meeting up for a short period of time.
Christmas Eve falls on a Thursday this year, with a Bank Holiday on Monday December 28, so ministers are looking at that five-day weekend.
This would allow loved ones to enjoy Christmas dinner together and would be the same for everyone in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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It's unknown how many people would be allowed to meet, but reports suggest there could be a limit of around 10.
A spokesperson for No10 told The Sun: “We are looking at ways to ensure that people can spend time with close family over Christmas at the end of what has been an incredibly difficult year.”
However, medics are said to be worried this will ‘normalise’ mixing.
It’s thought that Prime Minister Boris Johnson - who is currently self isolating - is not set to sign off any Christmas plans until next month.
This is just one of the options being considered, with other proposals including 'sliding scale' depending on the coronavirus infection rate by December.
Matt Hancock refuses to rule out coronavirus lockdown extension
Another proposal is exempting children under-12s from rules on gathering sizes, meaning larger groups with kids could meet.
According to the Times, government officials are also considering allowing family 'bubbles' of up to two or three households to meet for Christmas.
This comes after England was plunged into a month long lockdown at the beginning of November.
It is currently unclear what will happen to social distancing rules once the lockdown ends on December 2, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock refusing to rule out an extension.
A Downing Street spokesman told the Express: “We are looking at ending national restrictions on December 2 and moving to a tier system.
“There will be separate rules for Christmas but no decision has been taken about those yet.”
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