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Covid

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Original poster

Social ‘bubbles’ : will key workers be allowed to join in?

16 replies

Knobblybobbly · 07/05/2020 08:16

As the title asks, if they allow us to mix socially within a bubble, will key workers be allowed to join in?

OP posts:

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 07/05/2020 08:26

I have to admit I’m not totally sure on how it works.

If you don’t have family but you have close friends but those close friends have family - like parents or siblings. So your friends will obviously choose their family and the lone person with no family won’t be able to see friends. Have I got that right?..sometimes my brain is slow on the uptake.

Original poster

Knobblybobbly · 07/05/2020 08:29

In my case, we are the key workers. I feel convinced we won’t be able to join in with any bubbles, or that nobody will want us to. Unless we just mix with other key workers?

OP posts:

CremeDeSudo · 07/05/2020 08:31

Is this from the Mirror article?

I think they're going to need to elaborate if that's what's happening- do we pick one other bubble to socialise with for the foreseeable? Or can we only see one bubble at a time? Because how do we decide which grandparents to see?!

Stuckforthefourthtime · 07/05/2020 08:37

Social bubbles are bs. My DH would want to be in a bubble with his family, I'd want to be with mine. But that would be too many people. And one of my sisters is a nurse, and his brother in law are making a mockery of staying safe. So then maybe just our parents... But our siblings would be jealous.

It maybe works for 2 single mums to share childcare, but generally the logistics are too hard, surely.

Thingybob · 07/05/2020 09:09

It least you would be in demand Stuckforthefourthtime, imagine how it would feel for those that nobody wanted in a social bubble.

cheninblanc · 07/05/2020 09:20

I'm a key worker and my mum thinks I'm not allowed to be in a bubble nor are my household

Daffodil101 · 07/05/2020 09:24

There are a lot of key workers though - we are both key workers. I really worry that my poor kids won’t see their friends.

JemimaPuddleCat · 07/05/2020 09:25

I'd not stress out and overthink things until they've actually made an announcement.

KittenVsBox · 07/05/2020 09:28

Fingers crossed this model isnt brought in.
Our closest family is 200 miles away (and some of them several 1000 miles away). Local people will, rightly, choose their family which leaves those without local family isolated further while others get back to normal.

Nonotthatdr · 07/05/2020 09:29

I’m trying not to stress about this until we get details. DH and I are keyWorkers so I don’t think anyone will want to bubble with us unless also key workers as we are risky

Northernsoullover · 07/05/2020 09:34

I won't have a bubble . Its a fucking crap idea and unworkable. For example if I formed one with my parents and partner but my partner would rightly want to include his daughter who lives elsewhere. So already there are connections not of my own choosing that could potentially transmit the virus. Of course it works both ways and I could pick it up and pass it back down the chain to my partners daughters mum etc etc..

Aria20 · 07/05/2020 09:44

Yes I'd want to bubble with my parents, my oh would obviously want his parents and they'd want to SIL too and her partner is a key worker etc lol too complicated. My mum is shielded so potentially not allowed in a bubble at all but no one in her house has left the house in 7 weeks and I will stay in for 7days before I enter their bubble etc if allowed....

Perhaps we could do alternate bubbles eg visit one side of family Saturday week 1, then on Sunday of week 2 (7 days) visit the other side of the family? This should in theory be ok if you are not having outside contact in between the 2 visits?

Disneylover4321 · 07/05/2020 10:57

I hope so as my DH and 19 year old DD are key workers and I am going back to work from MAT leave on Monday and will have to go into work 5 days a week. My friend said that when social bubbles are allowed we can be in hers and she can have my DC and my 5 year old on the days that my DD and DH are not at home.

DBML · 07/05/2020 12:16

If children start to go back to school in June, all of our little bubbles will be popping anyway.

We’re talking about 2-3 weeks of starting to see close family basically. And let’s be honest, the main reason is that the government wants people to start utilising family to babysit again, so people can return to work.

So I’m not going to overthink this. We’ll just visit my mum and dad; DH’s mum; my siblings and their families and my grandparents. I don’t care who else they see as I’m sure my siblings will want to see their partners families etc.

I think the idea of ‘bubbles’ is just a concept to give some people the confidence to start moving about again and once more and most importantly...get back to work.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 07/05/2020 12:29

Is there any information about this other than the Mirror article?

I could easily pick 6 other people and happily see no-one else for months, but each of those people would have a very different list to me. And where do work colleagues fit in? Are they extra to the bubble? If I work exclusively at home can I have a bigger bubble? Or do I not get a bubble at all if I’m a key worker?

Like much else, this is unimplementable nonsense.

ifonly4 · 07/05/2020 12:59

DD is a keyworker. I've got two jobs, one is a keyworker, the other will be in school when open (the latter I'm more concerned about, I feel much safer in my other job even though we have customers).

Very lucky to have lots of lovely friends, so could easily find another family to meet up with, and I guess this will happen as they don't have family nearby, think like us and will be more than happy with a solid regular walk, which we'd want to do. Having said this, my Mum would be the obvious choice as she's elderly and on her own, but due to our key worker roles that won't happen as we're he risking her health. I know we'll have pressure from one lot in the family ...

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