Last updated 17 December 2020

The Local Restriction Tier System came into force on 2 December and from 23-27 December you will be able to form a Christmas bubble, but what can and can’t you do this festive season?

Meeting friends and family

The safest way to spend this Christmas is with your household or support bubble in your own home. From 23 December to 27 December, you may choose to form a Christmas bubble. To protect you and your loved ones, think very carefully about the risks of forming a Christmas bubble. You should keep your Christmas bubble as small as possible and minimise the time you spend with your bubble.

A Christmas bubble will be able to spend time together in private homes, including second homes and caravans, to attend places of worship, or meet in a public outdoor place.

If you do form a Christmas bubble, do not meet socially with friends and family you do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of your Christmas bubble.

In all other settings, you should follow local restrictions in the tier in which they are meeting.

If you choose not to form a Christmas bubble, you should continue to follow the guidance for the tier you are in.

It is important to cut down on social contact after seeing your Christmas bubble, to reduce the risk of chains of transmission. From 28 December, you must follow the guidance for the tier in your area, as a minimum. Christmas bubbles will no longer apply. In most places across the UK, that means you cannot mix with other households indoors, including on New Years’ Eve.

Those who choose to form a Christmas bubble should exercise additional caution and cut down on unnecessary social contact after seeing their Christmas bubble to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. This includes not meeting up with friends or family outside your household for New Years Eve.

Visiting shops and Christmas markets

Between 23 and 27 December, the rules on who you can meet in shops will not change. You should continue to practice safe behaviours including shopping online where you can, avoiding crowds, and if you are in crowded areas, wearing a face covering. You should not go shopping with your Christmas bubble.

There is further information in the guidance for people who work in or run shops, branches, stores or similar environments.

Visiting bars, pubs and restaurants

Between 23 and 27 December, the rules on who you can meet in bars, pubs and restaurants will not change.

Please check the rules for your tier.

Visiting churches and other places of worship

Between 23 and 27 December, you may also attend a place of worship with members of your Christmas bubble. This applies in all tiers. You should continue to practise safe behaviours including making space between members of different households wherever you can.

There is further information in the guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve

You must follow the rules according to your tier on where you can go and who you can meet on New Year’s Eve. Your Christmas bubble will no longer apply. In most places across the UK, that means you cannot mix with other households indoors. It is essential that these rules are followed by everyone.

If you formed a Christmas bubble, you should reduce your contact with people you do not live with as much as possible after meeting your Christmas bubble. This includes not meeting up with friends or family outside your household, including for New Years Eve, even if you feel well. Around one in three people with coronavirus don’t have symptoms, and can still pass it on.

Check the rules for your tier.

Travel within the UK

Between 23 and 27 December, you may travel between tiers and other nations of the UK if necessary to meet with other households in your Christmas bubble or return home. Once at your destination, you should follow the rules in that tier.

You should not travel to see your bubble before 23 December, or travel back after the 27 December except in exceptional circumstances (for example, if a member of your Christmas bubble develops symptoms of COVID-19 and you are required to self-isolate).

Transport routes may be busier than normal. You should:

• Plan ahead, check for disruption before you leave, and avoid the busiest routes, as well as busy times
• Avoid making unnecessary stops during your journey
• Avoid sharing a car with people not in your household or Christmas bubble
• Keep your distance from other people when you travel, where possible
• Wash or sanitise your hands regularly
• Wear a face covering on public transport in England unless you’re exempt

If you plan to travel to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you should read guidance from Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland before you travel.

You can stay in a hotel, including in tier 3, during the Christmas period as long as you’re staying by yourself or with other members of your household.

You can stay in private rented accommodation with members of your household, or your Christmas bubble.

If you need to travel with your Christmas bubble, wherever you are, you should follow Safer Travel guidance.

Travel abroad

From 2 December you may travel abroad, including to visit friends and family, subject to any restrictions in place at your destination.

Travel to the UK from abroad will continue to be governed by the travel corridor approach. Individuals will need to self-isolate for 14 days if arriving from or have travelled through a non-travel corridor country or territory. From 15 December 2020, passengers arriving into England from countries not featured on the government’s travel corridor list will have the option to take a test after 5 days of self-isolation, with a negative result releasing them from the need to isolate.You must not form a Christmas bubble if you have coronavirus symptoms or are self-isolating.

Between 23 and 27 December, the rules on international travel will not change.

For more information on international travel see the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice for your destination and the travel corridors list.

Carol singing

Coronavirus spreads from person to person through small droplets, aerosols and through direct contact. Singing, shouting and physical activity increases the risk of transmission through small droplets and aerosols. If singing does take place, steps should be taken to reduce the risk of transmission, including limiting the number of people participating as far as possible. The cumulative effect of aerosol transmission means the more people involved, the higher the risk of transmission.

Carol singing or carol services can take place if all attendees follow advice in the suggested principles of safer singing and guidance for the Performing Arts developed by an expert group coordinated by Public Health England. This applies to both professional and amateur choirs.

Those performing or rehearsing in a professional capacity or as part of a supervised activity for under 18s are not limited in number and do not have to adhere to gathering limits but should still follow the performing arts guidance.

For adult amateur performances and rehearsals, you should consider the case for proceeding (or not), given the wider health context in your area and the context of your participants, particularly if vulnerable individuals are involved.

If you do proceed, you should follow performing arts guidance and will be subject to local gathering limits. This means that if more than one group of six (in tier 1) or household (in tier 2 or 3) is performing or rehearsing indoors, they must not interact, ‘mingle’ or otherwise socialise together. You should maintain social distancing between groups or households at all times, including when entering or leaving the building or in any breaks. Direction can continue to take place during the activity i.e. between a conductor and a group, but other physical and social interaction is prohibited.

Indoor performances

Professional and amateur choirs may perform in any indoor venue permitted to open, as per the restrictions in each tier.

Based on public health advice for indoor performances, the audience or congregation should not participate in any activity that can create aerosols, including singing, shouting and chanting. The maximum number of people present should take into account the area of the space and the requirement to maintain 2m social distancing at all times. This follows the advice generally for the Performing Arts. Particular attention should be paid to how participants can arrive and leave the site safely while maintaining social distancing.

Attendees should walk or cycle to the event and avoid public transport or sharing a car with anyone outside their household in line with safer travel advice.

Outdoor performances

Professional and amateur choirs may perform outdoors in any venue permitted to open, as per the restrictions in each tier and should follow the rules outlined above.

Where a performance is held outdoors, an audience or congregation may join in with singing and should follow performing arts guidance. This means that audience or congregation members should follow social distancing of 2m and event organisers should ensure this is maintained. Attendees should remain seated where possible. The maximum number of people present should take into account the area of the outdoor space and the requirement to maintain 2m social distancing at all times. Particular attention should be paid to how participants can arrive and leave the site safely while maintaining social distancing.

Door-to-door carol singing can take place in a group(s) of no more than six participants. If there are more than six people in total, each ‘group’ must not interact, ‘mingle’ or otherwise socialise. Participants should adhere to public health advice, including to ensure that you maintain at least 2m distance from anyone you do not live with and the threshold of any dwellings.

Attendees should walk or cycle to the event and avoid public transport or sharing a car with anyone outside their household in line with safer travel advice.

For further information, please refer to the Performing Arts guidance and guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic.

Attending events organised by schools and other education settings, including nativity plays

Performances by pupils, such as nativity plays and other seasonal events, should take place within existing school bubbles and avoid mixing across groups.

Schools planning a performance should consult the guidance on music, dance and drama and the performing arts guidance.

Supervised activity for children is exempt from limits on gatherings in every tier. This means children’s choirs and other out-of-school settings can continue. Providers who run community and other out-of-school activities for children should follow the protective measures guidance for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings.

Visiting relatives in care homes

You will be able to continue visiting relatives in care homes in all tiers where there is no outbreak. Visits should be held outside or in other COVID-secure visiting areas with social distancing and PPE in place.

Where testing is available, residents will be able to have indoor visits from up to two visitors each week in all tiers by Christmas. If a visitor has a negative test, is wearing appropriate PPE, and following other infection control measures, then it may be possible for visitors to have limited physical contact with their loved one, such as providing personal care, holding hands and hugging.

Access guidance on visiting care homes during COVID-19

Volunteering

Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting people over the Christmas period and you can continue to do so in all tiers.

Where possible, you should volunteer from home. If you cannot do so, you can volunteer outside your home.You should also follow advice on how to help safely. If you are volunteering, you must follow social distancing guidance. If you do not follow this advice, you could put yourself at risk of infection, or risk spreading it to others.

Find out more about how you can support the local community here.

Going to work, school, college and university

If you are working during this period, you should continue to do so from home where you can effectively do so.

You should continue to attend your school or college until the last day of normal term time. Schools and colleges should not change their Christmas holidays or close early this term. Parents should continue to send their children to school during term time and students should continue to attend college right up until the end of term. The time-limited change to social restrictions over Christmas does not require any children to be taken out of school prematurely.

Returning home from university

If you are a university student living at university away from home, you will be able to return back during the student travel window, from 3 – 9 December. You should travel home when your face-to-face teaching has finished. You should take any test offered to you by your university, whether or not you have symptoms. This will reduce the risk to your friends and family. All Universities have been asked to move all teaching online by the 9 December. There are some exemptions for certain courses.

Students that have been living away from home should read the guidance on student movement and plans for the end of term.

Childcare

Over the Christmas period, local restrictions and exemptions remain in place. Therefore, registered childcare, other supervised activities for children, and childcare bubbles are permitted. However, as Christmas bubbles can be formed (between 23 and 27 December) we advise against the use of normal childcare bubbles during this period, except where absolutely necessary. This reduces the risk of spreading coronavirus between Christmas bubbles.