[ad_1]
On Saturday afternoon, the Prime Minister of Wales announced that Wales would move to the highest level of coronavirus restrictions earlier than originally planned.
The move to Level 4 restrictions in Wales was blended across the UK as the relaxation of coronavirus rules during the holiday season was significantly reduced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England as well.
UK leaders initially agreed that groups of up to three households could meet at home, outdoors or in a place of worship for a period of five days during Christmas.
However, following the emergence of a new strain of the virus in the southeast, which has since spread to Wales, the four nations changed the Christmas rules on Saturday.
(Image: WalesOnline / Rob Browne)
On Saturday afternoon, Wales adjusted the rules and said they would take effect almost immediately at midnight on Saturday night.
It means that the five-day Christmas bubble period has been reduced to just Christmas Day in Wales, England and Scotland.
Meanwhile, vast swaths of the southeast were subjected to new Tier 4 rules, meaning that people shouldn’t meet anyone other than their home, even on Christmas Day.
What can people in Wales do during the Christmas period?
Alert level 4 in Wales means that:
- people must stay home except for very limited purposes
- people should not visit other homes or meet other people they do not live with
- many types of businesses are required to close
Will the rules still apply for Christmas Day?
There is a special guide that only applies on Christmas Day, December 25.
The Welsh Government has changed the relaxation of the rules, which previously allowed two households to come together to form a Christmas bubble over a five-day period, so that it only applies on Christmas Day.
Only for December 25:
- can form a unique ‘Christmas bubble’ made up of no more than two households (your home and another home)
- you can only be in a christmas bubble
- you can’t change your christmas bubble
- you can travel anywhere within the UK in order to fulfill your Christmas bubble (subject to the rules where you travel)
If you live alone, special rules for Christmas Day allow a single person, a single parent household, or a household with a single responsible adult to join the Christmas bubble.
If you were planning to spend Christmas elsewhere in the UK, different UK nations have different rules and you will need to check before you travel.
If you are traveling away from home, you must travel to meet your Christmas bubble and return home within the course of December 25.
You can no longer spend the night with other members of your Christmas bubble on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, unless they are also part of your pre-existing support bubble.
Holiday rentals will no longer be allowed, not even at Christmas.
(Image: WalesOnline / Rob Browne)
Who should be in your Christmas bubble?
Christmas bubbles are different than normal extended homes and have their own specific rules. The rules for forming and using a Christmas bubble will be the law.
Anyone can form a Christmas bubble. There are three main rules:
- you can only be in a christmas bubble
- you can’t change your christmas bubble
- your Christmas bubble should not include people from more than two households
It is recommended that you keep your Christmas bubble as small as possible; it doesn’t have to form a Christmas bubble.
You should not form a Christmas bubble if you or someone in your own home or extended home is self-isolating.
What can you do at Christmas?
A Christmas bubble can only meet in a private home, a place of worship, or public outdoor spaces.
You can spend time with any number of your Christmas bubble members on Christmas Day in your garden or in any public outdoor setting.
Children under the age of 18 whose parents do not live together can be part of both parents’ Christmas bubbles, if their parents choose to form separate bubbles.
Students are considered part of the home they have returned to at Christmas and are not treated as part of their home during the school term during this period.
Existing support bubbles count as a home to any home boundary. This means that if you are in a bubble of support, you can collectively form a Christmas bubble with another home in Wales.
If you have chosen to form a Christmas bubble different from other people in your household, the people you normally live with, you need to take extra steps to avoid the possibility of the virus spreading within your home and between the bubbles.
This can include:
- choose to meet with the other members of your bubble at their home rather than theirs when possible
- If you cannot meet the other member (s) of your bubble outside your home, avoid socializing with people from other bubbles who may be in your home.
- taking extra precautions, such as cleaning surfaces and points of contact, such as door handles, and letting in as much fresh air as possible after someone has visited your home
Travel to areas outside of Wales
Travel restrictions in Wales, England and Northern Ireland will be lifted on Christmas Day, allowing people to travel across nations or between local levels to meet with those within their bubble, aside from the people in the Level 4 areas of England.
This means that you can travel to other parts of the UK as long as:
- You are also allowed to meet people traveling from Wales at the place you are traveling to, and
- you can go home at the end of December 25
There is a “strict” travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Anyone traveling to or from Northern Ireland can travel on December 22-28, but should only meet their Christmas bubble between December 23-27.
Except for those on England Level 4, people can continue to meet others who are not in their Christmas bubble outside their home, but must abide by the rules at the level they are staying at.
And the rest of the UK?
In England and Scotland, in addition to England’s Tier 4 areas, a Christmas bubble of up to three households will be allowed to meet on Christmas Day, not December 23-27 as previously announced.
For Scotland, a maximum of eight people from three households can meet on Christmas Day, however the advice is to minimize the number and keep things outdoors if possible.
In Northern Ireland, three households can form a bubble from December 23 to 27, yet from December 26 people are urged to leave home only for essential reasons for six weeks.
Except for those in England’s Tier 4, people can continue to meet others who are not in their Christmas bubble outside their home, but must abide by the rules of the tier they are staying at.
[ad_2]
