Remember that feeling of waking up on Christmas Day, filled to the brim with joy, excited to run downstairs and tear open any presents you may have got? Well, it looks like we might still get to experience that. Over the last month, debates have gone on about how Christmas during COVID would be, especially with all of the restrictions. When the Government released their plan to halt most of the restrictions for a period of 5 days, from the 23rd to the 27th of December.
So what are you allowed to do, and how safe is it really?
Christmas Bubbles
Firstly, the Government is allowing you to form a temporary Christmas bubble of 3 families. This does not include any children under 12, and the bubble is allowed to mix freely in homes, and can stay overnight within the period. The rules surrounding this are slightly complicated when it comes to separated parents, or children at university. The rules state that if multiple people live at the same household, they can split and join separate bubbles, and then come back to their house and become one household again. As well as this, children can join 2 separate bubbles if their parents are separated.
If anyone in your bubble tests positive for COVID-19 or displays any symptoms of it up to 48 hours after meeting, then everyone in the bubble needs to isolate. So how safe is meeting after this long? Well, each family is only allowed to join ONE Christmas bubble. This means that you can't be part of one bubble on Christmas Day and then another one on Boxing Day. That gives the system a bit more safety - keeping mixing between too many people down, means less people have a risk of transmitting, and catching, COVID-19.
Travel Restrictions
The next restriction being removed is travel restrictions. The main reason to remove these is due to people needing to travel to different parts of the country to meet their friends and family. In order to allow people to get across the country, Northern Ireland is extending the period in which restrictions are loosened. I think that this is one of the less dangerous changes - unless everyone decides to take sudden road trips across the country into Tier 3 areas, then this should be safe. As long as you are aware of, and follow, the tier restrictions of where you are, then everyone should stay healthy.
In my opinion, this is one of the changes that benefits more than detriments, as it allows us to visit our family and connect after months of being alone.
Hospitality Still Shut
Despite being able to visit our friends and family again, we are still not permitted to meet in hospitality venues. This includes things like pubs, restaurants and other halls. This makes sense - what is the point of keeping all the bubbles separate if we all just meet anyway in the restaurants? I think that this definitely is a good idea. Keeping hospitality closed definitely keeps us safe, as that many people in one place is a breeding ground for COVID. It also allows the Government to balance the scale: let us meet, but not in places where it poses a threat to others.
What about New Year's?
As of yet, there are no plans for New Year's. This means all the restrictions will be back in place for then. As well as this, both England and Scotland have cancelled the famous fireworks that happen every year. For now, that might be for the best though. After 5 days of mixing, having some downtime may be for the best to try and counteract the effects of the relaxing of restrictions. It might feel sad, but I can bet it would be even more sad being in Lockdown during New Year's Eve.
In conclusion, Christmas should feel normal(ish). I feel that the Government has done enough to try and counteract the damage this might cause, with the circuit breaker and all the restrictions put in place alongside the tiers. In my opinion, the best thing we could do is follow the restrictions, enjoy Christmas with people we care about, and carry on trying to beat this virus - with the vaccine being distributed, it looks like we might be in the home stretch!
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Stay safe and see you next week!