Christmas Covid rules: Who are you allowed to see?

At Christmas, coronavirus restrictions will be eased to allow people to mix with a slightly wider circle of family and friends.

Despite rising infection rates

the four UK nations have “unanimously” agreed to keep these rules, which allow people to travel across the country to form “bubbles” of three households over a five-day period.

But health experts have urged a rethink, while Wales and Scotland have released much stricter guidance.

Between 23 and 27 December, the three households in a “Christmas bubble” can mix indoors and stay overnight.

Northern Ireland has a window of 22 to 28 December, to allow time to travel between the nations.

Bubbles can meet each other:

The bubbles will be fixed, so you cannot mix with two households on Christmas Day and two different ones on Boxing Day. Households in your Christmas bubble can’t bubble with anyone else.

In Scotland, Christmas bubbles should have a maximum of eight people, not including under-12s. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has stressed that bubbles should not meet up for more than one day or stay at each other’s houses unless they have to.

Other parts of the UK haven’t limited the number of people, although English guidance says it should be “as small as possible”.

Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford has advised people to limit their Christmas bubble to two households.

The rules about what counts as a “household” also depend on where you are:

People who are self-isolating should not join a Christmas bubble. If someone tests positive, or develops coronavirus symptoms up to 48 hours after the Christmas bubble last met, everyone has to self-isolate.

More than 60% of England will be under the toughest level of restrictions by Christmas. This has fuelled calls for the government to change the temporary relaxation of the rules.

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London – which is now in tier three – urged the government to reconsider its plans.

Two leading medical journals – The Health Service Journal and British Medical Journal – said easing the rules was a “rash decision” that would “cost many lives”.

Several scientists and health advisers have also cautioned the public about the risks.

“Even though we’re permitted to do this, I think people have to think very carefully whether they can see loved ones outside or do it in a very, very modest way,” public health expert Prof Linda Bauld said.

Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, agrees that it’s not just about sticking to the rules, but considering the risk we are causing others.

“Extra social contact over Christmas – particularly with those who are vulnerable to the virus – actually is very risky,” he says.

You cannot mix with your Christmas bubble in hospitality settings, such as pubs and restaurants, or at entertainment venues.

You can meet people not in your bubble, but only outside the home and in line with the tier rules of the area where you are staying.

Suitable places include parks, beaches, open countryside and playgrounds.

Some traditional Christmas activities will also be allowed in England:

Under-18s whose parents live apart can join two Christmas bubbles, so they can see both parents without being counted as part of another household.

University students who travel home will be counted as part of their family household straight away.

But if a family has three or more grown-up children not at university, they cannot all form a Christmas bubble with their parents.

Individual households can split for Christmas. So, if three people are sharing a home, they can all go and form separate Christmas bubbles with their families and come back to form a single household again afterwards.

In England, care home residents should not take part in Christmas bubbles, while visits out of the home should only be considered for residents of “working age”.

However, more than a million coronavirus tests are being sent to care homes in England. This will allow family and friends to visit if they test negative, regardless of which tier they are in.

Residents should be able to receive up to two visitors twice a week, provided there hasn’t been an outbreak at the care home.