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Brits will be able to invite people round for garden get-togethers and see grandparents for first time in months
FAMILIES and friends may soon be having barbecues together under plans allowing different households to meet for the first time in months.
Ministers looking to ease the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are hoping to approve small outdoors gatherings at home from next month. It will be capped at two households at a time — but will mean youngsters can see grandparents again.
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Ministers want to let different households meet up at their homes again for the first time since lockdown in March.
However any gatherings must be outside where coronavirus is far less likely to spread.
They will be limited to a maximum of two households only under the plans currently being discussed by ministers.
Families will also have to pick which other household to buddy up with under the proposals.
You will not be allowed to meet a household one weekend, then choose another the next.
It means youngsters could see one set of grandparents for the first time in months — though the other will have to wait.
There is a yearning to see others from another household, and we are looking at how to make this happen in a safe way.
Matt Hancock
Downing Street is expected to announce the latest lockdown loosening later this week.
But the changes are not expected to kick in until next month.
No10 will also only push ahead with the move if they are sure it is safe and will not lead to a fresh spike in coronavirus infections and hospital admissions.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said ministers are looking at how they can let households mix again after months of lockdown.
He told the No10 press conference: “There is a yearning to see others from another household, and we are looking at how to make this happen in a safe way.”
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Cabinet minister Michael Gove acknowledged it had been “painful” for families to spend so long apart — and hinted at plans to change that.
He said: “Two things, we want to make sure that people can get back to work. People want to be back at work.
"The second thing is, you can see members of your family or friends outdoors and we’re looking at how we can make it easier to see, in particular, more family members out of doors in a safe way.”
Although two households can meet up in the garden it is not clear if visitors are allowed to walk through the house first.
Currently, people are only allowed to meet up with one person at a time outside their home, while sticking to the two-metre social distancing rules.
Ministers have been looking at plans to create “corona bubbles” – a policy adopted in other countries, including Belgium and New Zealand.
Under the plan, households have to decide who is in their bubble and cannot change it.
It means families can face the agonising choice of picking which grandparents to see.
PM Boris Johnson’s official spokesman would not comment on how the rules may change.
He said: “All I can do is refer you to the road map.
We will only move forward with proposals if it’s safe to do so and we are satisfied that we won’t be doing anything that could risk a second spike in infections that might overwhelm the NHS.
Boris Johnson
“We will set out any further steps that we are able to take in relation to social contact or the use of outdoor spaces in due course.
“And we will only move forward with proposals if it’s safe to do so and we are satisfied that we won’t be doing anything that could risk a second spike in infections that might overwhelm the NHS.”
The PM has already announced schools will gradually be reopened from June 1.
Non-essential shops, car showrooms and outdoor markets will also open their doors again next month.
Ministers feel able to loosen the lockdown because death rates and hospital admissions for Covid-19 are falling.
But ministers will only push ahead if the rate of transmission – known as the R rate – stays below one.
Any hint the deadly virus is spiking again will see plans scaled back.
A number of other countries have already loosened lockdown rules to let people socialise more.
Belgium introduced “corona bubbles” on Mother’s Day which allow two households to meet up.
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Northern Ireland is expected to introduce the same policy from mid-June.
In New Zealand, households are allowed to cautiously add relatives or friends to their bubble as the lockdown eases.
But the government guidelines state these bubbles should be kept “small” and “exclusive”.
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