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Updated: Christmas COVID-19 guidance

Published on 21 December 2020 04:35 PM

New guidance has been issued by the government on Saturday 19th December regarding Christmas this year.

The law now states that we can form a Christmas bubble, with up to two other households, on Christmas day only  and applies to those living in tiers 1 -3. Norwich is currently in tier 2 (High Alert). This replaces the previous guidance relating to the longer period of 23rd to 27th December.

The rules are different if you live in a tier 4 area. Those people cannot meet with anyone outside of their usual household or support bubble indoors over the Christmas period and can only meet one other person outside, from another household. 

The government has changed the rules following advice from their scientific advisers and has stressed the safest Christmas would be one spent within your own household or support bubble. We are being urged to think very carefully about the risks that we might face if we do form a Christmas bubble. Some of the key things to consider will be:

  • All older people are at risk of developing a serious illness from Covid-19, regardless of their health status
  • Will anyone be at particular risk in your bubble? Is anyone clinically vulnerable? 
  • Is anyone more likely to have been exposed to the virus e.g. do they have a public facing job?
  • How risky are the activities you are planning over this period?
  • Would you have to travel from home? Take precautions to protect yourself from the virus. Check if different rules apply if you are thinking of travelling to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
  • Would you be able to ventilate indoor spaces?

The overall advice is to keep any Christmas activities as short as possible and any Christmas gatherings as small as possible. Cut down on social contacts before Christmas day and from 26h December onwards to help minimise the transmission of the virus. Christmas bubbles will no longer apply after Christmas day. This means that it will not be possible to mix with any other households indoors after the 25th December, including on New Year’s Eve.

You can see the full guidance from the government on their website, including the rules regarding visiting bars, pubs and restaurants, places of worship, shops and Christmas events -  Guidance for the Christmas period - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Take a look at our more detailed guidance on keeping safe at Christmas here