Half the country think Christmas COVID rules are not strict enough

The government have been urged to implement stricter measures

Half of Britain believes the government's COVID rules regarding households mixing over the Christmas period, new research shows. A survey conducted by market research company Ipsos Mori shows that 49 per cent of Brits believe the relaxed rules over the Christmas period are "not strict enough", as a third wave looms. https://twitter.com/benatipsosmori/status/1338803650219696128 39 per cent of respondents said they thought the relaxed rules were "about right", while just 10 per cent said they were "too strict." The tier system will be paused for five days between 23rd and 27th December, during which time three households will be allowed to form a bubble, in a bid to save Christmas. However, medical journals have warned government ministers this could lead to a severe third wave of the virus. Health Service Journal editor Alastair McLellan and British Medical Journal Editor-in-Chief Fiona Godlee wrote: "The government was too slow to introduce restrictions in the Spring and again in the Autumn. "It should now reverse its rash decision to allow household mixing and instead extend the tiers over the five-day Christmas period in order to bring numbers down in the advance of a likely third wave. "It should also review and strengthen the tier structure, which has failed to suppress rates of infection and hospitalisation. "If our political leaders fail to take swift and decisive action, they can no longer claim to be ‘protecting the NHS.'"