AIBU to ask if you hug your friends now?

[lockdownagain2020]

I'm going out tonight to a restaurant with a friend I haven't seen in a while, this is actually the first time I'm going out with friends since the 1st lockdown back in March. When I see her, I don't know if I should hug? Don't want it to be awkward. What do you guys do with your friends with the Covid situation?

No hugs. And I would have before this.

At the moment my friends and I aren't hugging - on the rare occasions I've seen any this year! Usually we would.

No, not at the moment.

No hugs. I’m surprised you need to ask this.

Really surprised at you even asking.

Of course not, we need to social distance. I don't understand why you're asking, everyone I know has perfected a weird awkward wave!

No hugs.
Although I think a brief hug is actually much less risky than sitting and chatting for an hour or two.

No hugs, do very awkward elbow bumps instead

No.

No hugs! I can't believe you are debating it.

We tend to stand about 2m apart, throw our arms open wide and say "Huuugggg!!!!" and sort of waggle our arms up and down.
Half way between a real hug and a virtual one.
So yes I hug my friends.

No

@Beamur

No hugs. Although I think a brief hug is actually much less risky than sitting and chatting for an hour or two.

Yes this! I wouldn't go into a restaurant with people from another household myself, so maybe I'm not the right person to answer!

Elbow bumping is the new hugging

Of course not!

No of course not

No. No elbow bumps, you can’t do any of those things and social distance.

@PicaK We do similar, but our phrase is 'Big Hugs!' a la Tellytubbies ( I think?).
Always 2m apart.
Definitely no physical hugging.

No but didn’t tend to anyway unless they were upset.

Absolutely not! They might have met other friends before so wouldn’t be strange to them. And no elbow bumping either unless you have extremely long arm!

No and I’m a big hugger usually.

No, we do the arms waving and yelling big hugs thing. And we are all big huggers. God I miss hugs!

Nope. We've devised a bum bounce as a greeting (back to back). Had to intervene to stop MIL kissing DS yesterday!

@PicaK

We tend to stand about 2m apart, throw our arms open wide and say "Huuugggg!!!!" and sort of waggle our arms up and down. Half way between a real hug and a virtual one. So yes I hug my friends.

Same here!

As a PP said, unless you are going to be sitting at a table large enough to allow for distancing, and unless the restaurant will be very well ventilated, the bigger risk comes from having dinner with them.

I haven't done more than elbow bump my friends since March.

I admit I have hugged my parents on our first reunion - I hadn't seen them in seven months, I was at the point of dreaming about hugging them, and my cat died the day before I saw them. Like fuck was I NOT hugging them. But have refrained from doing so when meeting them since.