You CAN meet with other households - at 2M distance - England only ***title edited for clarity by MNHQ***

[lyralalala]

Dominic Raab just said on BBC breakfast you can meet up, socially distanced, with other people not from your household

He was specifically asked "Can I meet my Mum in the morning and my Dad in the afternoon?" and said yes, as long as you stay 2m apart

So confirms what was told to the journalists, but contradicts what Boris said

It just doesn’t make sense. Why is it ok for me to meet my friend in a park 2m away but not for me and my child to go see both my parents in their garden 2m away? I get that they want to avoid big gatherings where people may forget to keep apart but think there should be some exemption for direct family at least. What if you are a single parent, are you supposed to just not see anyone?

Compare with Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon said on BBC this morning, "My job is to be clear" and certainly she was, whatever the question.

Can't help feeling PM thinks his job to obfuscate.

They are actually legislating that people are not allowed hugs.

So chillingly inhumane.

Well loads of people have been doing this anyway! It's not like many people are going to, for example, drop off food to their shielding family members and then sod off without chatting at a safe distance. And people run into friends while walking and will talk to them, also at a distance.

If you've both been isolating, it's ridiculous to keep 2m distance between you and your own bloody family. It's not fucking Ebola virus. People have completely lost the plot and happily given over all forms of critical thinking to the shitshow of a government. That's chilling indeed.

ignore all the guidance and advice. In England only go by what English law says - The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020

Or just use your bloody brain!

Thank you @MNHQ

I shouldn't type and listen at the same time. I'm just glad I correctly put 'meet' in the first sentence or I might have got lynched :D

Or just use your bloody brain!

I'd rather the government just gave one version of the updated rule and stuck to it. Especially when they are giving out fines for getting it wrong.

WE have a communal garden and early in the lockdown the police were called by some nosy neighbour - anyway this resulted in a sign being put up as the police told us it was OK for two people to use if 2m apart, or for a single family group.

Which sounds similar, so as it is Ok for our garden think it would be for others too

I don’t understand the confusion here... If you can go to the park as long as you socially distance, then you can presumably walk/sit next to another family unit as long as you are two metres apart. If that family unit happens to be a friend or extended family then so what. How can it possibly be “legal” to sit 2m away from a random family but “illegal” if from your own family. Why can’t people apply simple common sense?

@CadburysTastesVileNow lol

The confusion seems to be the word 'household' as many of us live in single households and others have 4+ in their household. How I have applied common sense to the existing rule - which was not that difficult - is if I see/make contact verbally with anyone not of my household (most of the rest of the human race) I maintain the 2m distance - be they neighbours, delivery people or someone I meet when out walking the dog.
My immediate family is a group of 3 - I meet them either in our respective gardens while maintaining the 2 m distance but we do not enter each other's house or take part in any activities together where social distancing cannot be maintained as we are 2 separate households.
None of that is changed as far as I am aware individuals can communicate maintaining distance but not large groups which comprise of separate households.

The regs Xenia links to state:

Restrictions on gatherings

1. During the emergency period, no person may participate in a gathering in a public place of more than two people except—

(a)where all the persons in the gathering are members of the same household,
(b)where the gathering is essential for work purposes,
(c)to attend a funeral,
(d)where reasonably necessary—
(i)to facilitate a house move,
(ii)to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person, including relevant personal care within the meaning of paragraph 7(3B) of Schedule 4 to the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006,
(iii)to provide emergency assistance, or
(iv)to participate in legal proceedings or fulfil a legal obligation.

They are actually legislating that people are not allowed hugs. So chillingly inhumane.

Being slowly suffocated to death whilst isolated from those you love in a Covid Ward is chillingly inhumane too. I’d argue it is significantly more inhumane!

That is the original version but the revised version is the same.

I think a lot of confusion over Boris’ speech was due to lots of people believing 7b said:

”...where the gathering is for essential work purposes”

when it actually said:

”...where the gathering is essential for work purposes.

Two words in a different order makes a big difference to meaning!

People are confusing households and houses

Orange - yes. I have not seen a revised version today but there were amendment but not affected that bit a little while back.

So that is gatherings. However being 2 metres away from anyone - your great aunt, your neighbour, a stranger is fine and remains fine and has been fine throughout

I think a lot of confusion over Boris’ speech was due to lots of people believing 7b said:

The confusion is because Boris said you could go to the park as a household, but not meet others from other households then Dominic Raab decided to just have a waffle to himself and give out two other versions

People need to use common sense. Now here I am, after listening to Raab this morning. I can go sit in what will be a VERY busy park, aslong as I am 2m away from my mum, but I can’t sit 2m away in her large garden? Surely that would be safer?
Common sense needs to prevail and people need to assess their own risk.

There’s an irony in Raab telling us to use common sense.

I mean, surely if you are the spokesman going out to speak to the press the morning after a big tv announcement and there’s been an issue highlighted overnight (it was everywhere that the press had been told one thing and Boris said another) common sense dictates you make sure you know that bit inside out?!

@lyralalala you would think so wouldn’t you.

But then I didn’t mean that Raab said use common sense, I mean people should use their common sense in this situation.

Not a single person on my street has stuck to the rules, especially last Friday, but now after living like this for 8 weeks, I am not to go sit in my mums garden? No chance.

The problem with asking people to exercise common sense is that they (understandably) think that means assessing their own personal risk, when until today at least, the whole point has been to reduce the overall risk to the NHS not individuals.

I am meeting a friend tomorrow, we will go for a socially distanced walk in the country together. This is how I interpret the new rules!

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