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Extended families are scheduled to celebrate Christmas together, as households will be able to temporarily “bubble up” for up to five days.
The ministers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have agreed to allow “some limited additional domestic bubbling for a few days” over Christmas, the Cabinet Office said.
But after a meeting on Saturday, “they reiterated the importance of allowing family and friends to gather carefully and limitedly, recognizing that it will not be a normal holiday period and the risks of transmission remain very real.”
Families will have to choose their bubble in advance and will be allowed to spend time indoors with them, including at the pub, according to reports.
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While all four UK governments are confirmed to have agreed to allow additional bubbling over the festive period, further details have yet to be agreed.
More information is expected next week so families can put together their Christmas plans.
Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said there would be “a limited number of additional domestic boils for a few days.”
The full statement from the Cabinet Office reads: “Ministers reiterated the importance of allowing families and friends to gather together in a careful and limited way, while acknowledging that this will not be a normal holiday period and transmission risks remain. very real.
“As such, the ministers endorsed the shared goal of facilitating some limited additional domestic bubbling for a small number of days, but also emphasized that the public will be advised to be cautious and that, wherever possible, people should avoid traveling. and minimize social contact. “
They added: “Regarding Northern Ireland, ministers also recognized that people will want to see family and friends across the island of Ireland, and this is the subject of discussions with the Irish Government.”
Reports suggest that three or possibly four households could be allowed to meet, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The home-mixing ban will likely be lifted for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day until the delayed bank holiday of December 26.
The government is also discussing how it could allow some pantomimes to take place during the holiday period.
Today, the death toll in the UK rose by 398, although officials blamed a data error for the increase (compared to a 198 rise last Sunday).
On the Covid-19 UK dashboard there is a warning that “due to a processing update, 141 previously published deaths in 28 days in England were excluded from the data published on November 21”.
“This problem has now been corrected for data released on November 22, which includes deaths omitted yesterday from today’s total.”
The UK total is now 55,024.
England’s lockdown will be lifted on December 2, but will be replaced by an updated and tougher tier system based on infection rates.
Covid-19’s three-tier system of restrictions will have to be strengthened for the country to get through the winter months, a senior health official warned.
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The system, introduced last month, classified areas into different categories labeled medium, high or very high risk, with the medium level also referred to as Level 1, high as Level 2, and very high as Level 3.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government expects the national shutdown to be replaced on December 2 by a tiered system “similar to what we had before.”
But epidemiologist Dr. Susan Hopkins said the Tier 1 coronavirus restrictions had “little effect,” while the Tier 2 impact varied in different places.
In Northern Ireland, buyers have been urged to stay safe and follow regulations in the days before a series of stricter restrictions take effect.
A strict outage will shut down nonessential retail, hospitality and close contact services for two weeks.
The strict crackdown, which is close to the severity of the March shutdown with the exception that schools will remain open, will go into effect next Friday.
Retail NI said it expects an increase in buyers in the coming days.
“We urge shoppers to stay safe and follow executive guidance,” said Retail NI CEO Glyn Roberts.
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