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Three households will be able to meet up over Christmas under plans discussed by the four nations of the United Kingdom, according to a government source.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove chaired a meeting with the prime ministers of the delegated administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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According to the source, based on the plans discussed at the meeting:
- Three households can form an exclusive “bubble”
- Travel restrictions will be lifted from December 23 to 27.
It is also expected that there will be a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions on overnight stays.
The Press Association reported that the plan had been signed at this afternoon’s meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee.
Before that meeting, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed her hope that a “common framework” across the UK would be agreed for the holiday period.
However, he said there could be some differences between each of the four countries on “the precise definition” of a household.
“I know that everyone has a desire to see their loved ones during the festive period,” Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.
“However, there is also a very real and very legitimate anxiety that doing so could put those we love at risk, delay our progress as a country and result in unnecessary death and suffering.”
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Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford has warned people to use additional freedoms during Christmas “responsibly” and said it was “inevitable” that a loosening of the rules would “drive an increase” in COVID-19 infections.
“It will lead to a further spread of the coronavirus because the coronavirus thrives when people come together and the more people that come together, the more coronavirus there will be,” he told the Parliament of Wales.
At a press conference in Downing Street on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned: “It is the season to be cheerful, but it is also the season to be very careful.”
He has also said that “Christmas cannot be normal” this year and has told people to “make a careful judgment about the risk of visiting elderly relatives” during the upcoming holiday period.
