To think having family to stay is impossible?

[DorisDances]

The rules are very strict around maintaining social distance, use of cutlery etc. We live in an average size house and just can't make it work. Also, haven't seen the family for months (we live a few hours drive away) and yet wouldn't be allowed to hug them - how hard would that be esp as new grandchild would be there. How long do we have to wait do you think or are others making their own risk assessment?

Dish wash the cutlery in the dishwasher or boil if you are worried. Sleeping not an issue if you have a spare room. Own towels. It's one metre plus for sitting in a room so you space chairs out as far as possible and sit by an open window where possible.

It's as good as you would get anywhere really.

But I think people will make natural blunders. Child running over to grandparent, for example, before being stopped.

it's one metre plus to get the pubs open. The science has not changed and the risk drops a lot if you stay 2 metres apart (volume of air).

in the same position. Here's to video calling. When the case levels stay down, I'll be staying in self-catering nearby. No hugs will still be hard.

It's your own choice, your own and people participating' s risk. I can do rules but I won't impose rules+ on friends and family. There are people about who have hardly seen a soul since lockdown. I take the risk within the rules and try to do the best I can.

We are planning on having family to stay (2 adults in an adult household) and are trying to follow the rules that B&Bs have. A friend has a B&B and has been very helpful.

Fortunately we have a spare room and bathroom - that is very important, so they have their own toileting and handwashing facilities and their own towels.

My family will be treated as if they are guests - so they're not allowed to help in the kitchen - we will have a spare kettle in their room, or we will make them drinks. We will use our extended dining table so we can eat together and be well spaced apart.

No sharing of communal items such as salt and pepper pots (we have more than one set, so not a problem). They can't help themselves to wine - they have to wait for us to pour it or bring their own bottle.

Plus, lots of hand washing! so we wash out hands, set out cutlery for dinner. We clear the table, put dishes in the dish washer, wash our hands.

I don't think we have the virus, I don't think our visitors have the virus, but it's helped to think through all these things.

Would I go and stay in a small house with shared facilities? No. I'd stay in a nearby B&B and meet family / friends in a safe way.

Tbh I've had cancer treatment in the past and was immuno compromised when undergoing chemo. You just have to learn to live with the risk in that situation. This is similar. You make the choice between seeing people or not and limit the risks through good hygiene practices and social distancing. I've been moderate throughout both experiences. I saw people but took precautions when I had chemo and I've been out, social distanced and will see people and take heed of the regulations throughout this situation.

I agree on assessing the risk. Are any of you extremely vulnerable. How likely is it that any of you have the virus? Life has to go on. Community transmission is low. Keep good hygiene measures in place and I'd be happy with that level of risk now.

Thank you for your insights - food for thought

My parents are coming down for the week this weekend and staying nearby, but I'll be cooking them a meal when they arrive as normal. None of us are going out to work and we've been wearing masks to the supermarket so it's probably safer seeing them now than it will be in a couple of months when DS has been back at nursery/me at work.

Heading to see family in a couple of weeks with new baby.

Did offer to stay separately but DM wouldn’t have it. Risk is more to them than us.

We are staying at home as much as possible in the run up to going, social distancing when out, when we get there will be lots of hand hygiene, separate bathrooms and I’ll stick our bedding in the washing machine before we leave. Hopefully weather will be nice so we can spend time in the garden mostly. Plenty of room to do the above so hope will be ok.
Desperate for them to meet baby and vice versa!

But I think people will make natural blunders. Child running over to grandparent, for example, before being stopped.

IME it hasn't been the children that don't follow the rules in this scenario.

Apparently if you cuddle a grandchild from behind it doesn't count though!

Meet when you are ok with the risk of getting ill. It is quite a personal assessment, but easier to delay meeting than to actually enforce compliance.

Oh wow. Hadn’t really occurred to me people would try to maintain social distancing when staying with family. We live a long way from both of ours, and hadn’t seen anyone since February until the last couple of weekends when we’ve done garden meet ups with my parents and siblings. We managed to keep our distance from them, but DH’s family are further away, so we’re not able to see them until we’re allowed to stay overnight. Currently pencilled in to stay in a couple of weeks, at which point all bets are off - there’s no way MiL will have her grandchildren who she’s not seen for five months staying in her house without cuddling them, putting them to bed etc. Not that we’re not taking it seriously, but in my head “you can stay overnight” also means “you can hug”, surely?!

The guidance is completely clear that social distancing should be followed even when using the new (from 4 July) opportunity to meet up indoors and stay overnight. There are loads of news/opinion articles about how to make it work!

I do get that plenty will make a risk-based judgement about how fully to comply but I am flabbergasted that some posters hadn't realised this was the requirement.

I hadn’t read the new guidance yet - I read the coverage in the weekend papers re: increased hospitality opening etc but have been working/child wrangling the last two days and haven’t seen anything in detail. DH and his mum are busy making plans for as soon as the rules change to permit overnight visits, and I was a bit sceptical that suddenly that could be deemed ok, as couldn’t see it happening without contact. So I suppose that makes more sense, now that I’ve seen the rules, but still can’t quite imagine it in practice ..