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Prevent Notice Act

Stay safe on Christmas Day

The new rules for Christmas Bubbles and tips for helping you create a Household Plan to keep your bubble safe.

What's on this page:

    Tips on staying safe

    • Wash hands regularly and keep surfaces clean.

    • Ventilate rooms and open windows if safe to do so.

    • If meeting indoors, use the house with the most space.

    • Plate meals up in a different room to avoid sharing serving bowls and serving spoons.

    • Self-isolate or minimise contact before Christmas Day.

    • Schedule outdoor breaks for fresh air and set time limits.

    What are the rules over Christmas?

    The UK Government has created Christmas Bubble restrictions to allow people to see friends and family.

    Christmas Bubbles

    These rules will apply on Friday 25 December only

    How have the Christmas Bubble plans changed?

    Urgent Government Update

    Government announced on Saturday 19 December that those in Tier 1, 2 and 3 can now only meet with their Christmas bubble for one day only, on Friday 25 December. The East Riding is in Tier 3.

    What do these updated restrictions mean?

    You can now only meet with your agreed Christmas bubble on Christmas day.

    You can:

    • form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’ composed of people from no more than three households
    • only belong to one Christmas bubble
    • only meet your Christmas bubble in private homes or in your garden, places of worship, or public outdoor spaces

    You cannot:

    • meet someone in a private dwelling who is not part of your household or Christmas bubble
    • form a bubble with anyone in Tier 4
    • change your Christmas bubble.

    Important - All other Tier 3 restrictions still apply.

    Stay Local

    Do not travel to and from a different Tier.

    Read the full Christmas guidance on GOV.UK.

    Please remember...

    When following these new rules, we must each continue to take personal responsibility to limit the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones, particularly if they are vulnerable.

    Make a Household Plan

    Protect your Christmas bubble this year and make a Household Plan to help keep your risk of infecting each other with COVID-19 as low as possible.

    Who should make a Household Plan?

    Christmas bubble plans apply only on Friday 25 December (Christmas Day)

    Everyone who is planning to meet with people from other households on Christmas Day should make a Household Plan.

    What should a Household Plan cover?

    The plan should cover:

    1. Who you will meet
    2. Where you will meet
    3. How long you will meet for

    It should also cover what you will do to minimise the risk of infecting each other, such as:

    1. Space - Maximise spacing between people (2m plus as much as possible)
    2. Ventilation - Open windows if possible to increase ventilation
    3. Cover - Use face coverings if it feels comfortable, unless exempt
    4. Clean - Make sure hands, objects and surfaces are cleaned regularly
    5. Plan - Plan your activities and limit those that have a higher risk of spreading the virus

    Making the plan

    Step 1

    Arrange a discussion with those in your household to prepare the plan.

    Step 2

    Between you, make a list of the people you would like to include in your bubble. For each of these decide:

    1. How vulnerable you think they are because of age or health problems
    2. Their emotional need for support and contact

    Step 3

    From that list, decide who has top priority, balancing their vulnerability and need.

    Step 4

    Discuss by phone, online or outdoors with those who you decide to meet up with what they would prefer in terms of:

    1. Whether and when to meet
    2. Where to meet
    3. For what length of time

    Deciding where to meet

    When choosing how to meet, always start with the safest options and only move to less safe ones if needed. Choose to meet online if you can, followed by outdoors then indoors.

    Tips for meeting indoors

    • Agree a time limit or break the time up with some outdoor activity allowing a refresh of the air in the space.
    • Think about whose house in your bubble will help you maintain better space, because it's either bigger, has a better layout or has outdoor space - don’t just stick to tradition of “we always go to X’s house” or “it's Y’s turn”.
    • When it comes to mixing, take special care to protect those who are most vulnerable.
    • Avoid having more people in a room than can be separated by at least 1 metre and ideally 2 metres when seated.

    Step 5

    Discuss the activities that you will do and how you can adjust or alter them to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

    For example, sharing dishes at a dinner table, playing games that involve lots of physical contact, singing or aerobic activities indoors can all potentially increase transmission.

    Think about whether you can replace with lower risk alternatives or take part in outdoor activities instead.

    Step 6

    Make a record of your decisions and check that everyone involved is happy with the plan.

    Step 7

    Make sure everyone in your planned bubble does everything possible in the week before Christmas Day to avoid getting infected, including:

    • Self-isolating, if possible, or at least minimising contact with others.
    • Wearing face coverings in indoor public areas (unless exempt).
    • Always carrying hand sanitiser and using it regularly.
    • Not going to other gatherings.

    Step 8

    Make sure you are prepared for Christmas Day by:

    1. Cleaning surfaces and objects beforehand.
    2. Making sure hand sanitiser is always available for everybody in your bubble.
    3. Ensuring the maximum amount of space between everyone.
    4. Keeping your home ventilated while keeping everyone comfortable.

    Step 9

    Make sure everybody in the bubble is familiar with the arrangements, paying special attention to people who might have difficulty understanding or following the rules.

    Step 10

    Important

    Immediately before you come together on Christmas Day, check with everyone in your bubble that they:

    • Do not have any symptoms.
    • Have not knowingly been in contact with anyone with symptoms.
    • Are not awaiting a test result.

    Got symptoms?
    Get tested.

    Register online for a COVID-19 test Call 119 to book a COVID-19 test