Bubbles of four families to be allowed over Christmas

Please mix your drinks, and your bubbles, responsibly

As part of the government's winter Covid plans, they will allow bubbles of up to four families to be formed over a five day Christmas period, according to reports. With the current lockdown period coming to an end on December 2nd, England will be placed back into a strict three tier system, expected to be more tightly restricted than before the second lockdown. Reports had circulated that the government would grant people a five day period of freedom over Christmas before presumably going into another lockdown situation in January, and reports today indicate this will be implemented with the light restriction of bubbles being limited to four families. Families will have to choose their bubbles in advance and will only be allowed to spend time indoors with the rest of their bubble - though that does include inside pubs, which will reopen. The five day period will begin on Christmas Eve and continue through to the Bank Holiday on December 28. This is yet to be announced by the government, with new rules expected to be announced this week by Boris Johnson. So the rule of six will of course be scrapped for this period, but social distancing measures are still in place, meaning hugs aren't allowed. People will of course break these rules, but should not fear the police interrupting their Christmas dinners. Met Police chief Cressida Dick recently told LBC the police have "lots of other things to be doing.” The clamour to save Christmas at the expense of the health of the nation has not gone down well in medical circles. A public health official in England recently told the BBC he thinks Christmas should be pushed back six months. "This is going to make me seem like Ebenezer Scrooge but I'm really worried that we focus on Christmas and undo all of the work that we've done up until now," South Tees Head of Public Health Mark Adams said. "[We don't want to] have a week or two week splurge over Christmas that drives our infection rates even higher and then causes massive damage in January and February."