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The World Health Organization has pleaded with families to wear face masks and socially distance themselves at Christmas gatherings to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
The UN agency said the measures “would significantly contribute” to saving lives and preventing loved ones from getting sick, but admitted that “they may feel uncomfortable.”
In an updated guide published today, the WHO warned that Europe is teetering on the brink of a third wave of Covid-19, which could peak in the first weeks of the new year.
The agency said mixing over Christmas could exacerbate the spread of the virus and make the January spike more deadly.
The new guidance reads: ‘Indoor gatherings, even the smallest ones, can be especially risky because they bring together groups of people, young and old, from different households, who may not adhere to the same infection prevention measures.
‘Meetings should be held outdoors if possible, and participants should wear masks and maintain physical distance. If conducted indoors, it is essential to limit group size and ensure good ventilation to reduce the risk of exposure.
“It can be uncomfortable to wear masks and practice distancing when around friends and family, but doing so goes a long way toward ensuring that everyone remains safe and healthy. Vulnerable people and older friends or family can find it very difficult to ask their loved ones to stay away physically. ”
It comes as Boris Johnson’s plan for a UK-wide, lockdown-free Christmas was disrupted today as Scotland and Wales ordered stricter restrictions.
Johnson said the move to allow three different households to mingle indoors between Dec. 23-27 was upheld, despite urging everyone to “exercise extreme caution in the way we celebrate.”
But Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford has warned that only two households should come together to “form an exclusive Christmas bubble.”
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon said meetings should only happen in one day, that people should not stay overnight unless it is “inevitable”, and called on Scots who have not yet organized a bubble to avoid doing so.
The World Health Organization has warned families to wear masks at Christmas this year to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (File image)
The prime minister highlighted the risks of driving an increase in coronavirus cases, as he indicated that the holiday bubbles will not be eliminated after days of disputes between the nations of the United Kingdom.
The policy focus across the UK was in tatters today, as Nicola Sturgeon (left) and Mark Drakeford (right) gave Boris Johnson totally different advice on families getting together at Christmas.
In advice released this morning, the WHO warned that transmission of the virus remains ‘widespread and intense’ in Europe.
“There is a high risk of further resurgence in the first weeks and months of 2021,” they said. “And we will have to work together if we want to be successful in preventing it.”
They also warned communities to postpone holiday and religious celebrations or reduce the number of people who can attend.
They added that these should be carried out outside whenever possible regardless of location.
Authorities also advised those traveling this Christmas to “avoid the crowds” and follow the instructions of the authorities.
The guidance on wearing masks comes despite the WHO Covid-19 Guide Development Group (GDG) finding that there was ‘limited evidence’ that masks stopped the spread of the disease in a report to early this month.
A study by scientists in Denmark also found that they “offer no protection” to people who use them, but the research did not rule out the possibility that they protect others.
Meanwhile, the UK is facing Christmas chaos today, as Boris Johnson insisted that families will not be “criminalized” for celebrating in bubbles, but Scotland and Wales ordered stricter restrictions.
This morning the latest round of Christmas plan talks took place between Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, Nicola Sturgeon, Mark Drakeford from Wales and Arlene Foster from Northern Ireland.
But while they seem to have agreed that the legal framework should remain, the guidance looks dramatically different, posing serious problems for families.
No10 had been prepared for Scotland to adopt a stricter line, after Sturgeon said he would not hesitate to break ranks, suggesting that the length of the relaxation and the three-household limit might need to be lowered.
In England, there will be ‘tough’ warnings to think twice about celebrating Christmas with elderly or vulnerable relatives, with an advertising campaign to be launched.
The government’s Christmas travel czar Sir Peter Hendy told the Transport Select Committee this morning that people should ‘be careful’, ‘stay local’ and ‘book public transport in advance’.
But he suggested that three-quarters of the public have no intention of traveling and predicted that there will be no nightmare scenes.
In his daily briefing, Sturgeon urged Scots to stay in their own homes if they can, rather than visit relatives. She said that those who have yet to fix a bubble to be in it should not form one now.
In his daily briefing, he said: ‘The safest way to spend Christmas this year for you and your loved ones is to stay in your own home and in your own home.
My strong recommendation is that this is what you should do if possible.
‘Any interaction you have with another household should be outdoors if possible, but if you consider it essential indoors with someone from another household, you should limit both the duration and the number as much as possible.
“The five-day relaxation is a window of opportunity during which they can meet, it is not a period that we think is safe or sensible to meet. You should see it as a maximum, not a goal.
‘My recommendation is that if you form a bubble, you shouldn’t meet people in it for more than one day during that period, if possible, and shouldn’t stay overnight unless unavoidable.
‘You should also limit the number as much as possible, three households is a maximum which tries to take into account the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes, but two would be better.
“In short, if you have to form a bubble, keep it as small as possible.”
Drakeford told the Welsh Government briefing: “Here in Wales, the position is that only two households should come together to form an exclusive Christmas bubble over the five day period.
“The fewer people we mix in our homes, the less chance we have of contracting or spreading the virus.
None of us want to be sick this Christmas. And we don’t want to pass the coronavirus on to our close family or friends.
“The Welsh Medical Director has provided special advice for people who used to protect themselves from the mix at Christmas.”
Two leading medical journals had warned that sticking with the five-day plan was a “big mistake that will cost many lives.”
But ministers decided that it would be unfair to penalize the entire country due to concerns about the increase in cases in London and the South East.
And there were warnings that any attempt to ban Christmas would be impossible to enforce, with police chiefs already warning that officers would not get involved in ‘policing people’s Christmas dinners’.
