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Video report by ITV News political correspondent Carl Dinnen
The leaders of the four nations of the United Kingdom will make a decision on whether to toughen the Christmas coronavirus rules on Wednesday after meeting to discuss the situation today.
ITV political editor Robert Peston understands that Boris Johnson has decided not to change the current Christmas plan for people living in England.
Today’s meeting was held by Michael Gove and representatives from the other three nations of the United Kingdom to discuss the tightening of the rules during the festive period.
If the prime minister has decided not to change course, the UK may not have a unified approach to Christmas.
Current rules allow up to three households to mingle for five days during the Christmas period.
ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston describes why he thinks the rules in England won’t change
Downing Street said a relaxation of coronavirus the restrictions are kept “under constant review.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “We have established the Christmas guide and have been clear about the need for people to be cautious and vigilant during the Christmas period …
“As we have done during the pandemic, we keep all advice under constant review.”
A Welsh Government source said: “The leaders of the decentralized administrations and Michael Gove met tonight to discuss the arrangements over the Christmas period. They will meet again tomorrow to confirm the position.”
It comes after both Wales and Scotland refused to rule out abandoning the Christmas plan.
Scientists, medical professionals, and politicians have been urging the government to reconsider its plan amid mounting Covid-19 cases, with Sir Keir Starmer last.
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The Labor leader demanded an urgent review of the relaxation of Covid rules over Christmas in a letter to the prime minister.
In a clip, he said that “the only responsibility” that the government should do “is to look again at the Christmas restrictions and see if they need to be tightened.”
In his letter Sir Keir added: “I understand that people want to spend time with their families after this terrible year, but the situation has clearly worsened since the decision about Christmas was made.
“It is no use for politicians to ignore this fact.
“In my opinion, you should now summon Cobra in the next 24 hours to review whether the current relaxation is appropriate given the increasing number of cases.”
Sir Keir said the prime minister would have his “full support” if he decided to scrap the relaxation plan at Christmas.
Previously, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Health Service Journal (HSJ) said plans to relax the rules at Christmas should be abandoned to reduce Covid-19 numbers before a “probable third wave”
They urged the government to “reverse its hasty decision to allow domestic mixing and instead extend the levels over the five-day Christmas period to reduce the numbers.”
In their joint editorial, they added: “We published it because we believe the government is about to make another big mistake that will cost many lives.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said the plan, which had been agreed to by the four nations of the UK, was being implemented because the government wanted to “give families and friends the option to reunite.”
But he said people should remember that while the guidelines state what people can do, “it doesn’t mean this is what people should do.”
“It is up to people to remain cautious and vigilant throughout the entire period,” he added.
He said people should “try to keep the numbers low and not do unnecessary things” to avoid behaviors that would spread the coronavirus during the holiday period.
He added: “It is imperative that people remain cautious and vigilant during the Christmas period.”
Northern Ireland Senior Scientific Advisor Professor Ian Young urged anyone planning to take advantage of the relaxations at family gatherings over Christmas to stop socializing now.
“What I would say to anyone planning to bubble up, especially if you are going to see an elderly or vulnerable relative, for the next 10 days you shouldn’t see anyone else,” he said.
