Late to the party ... have I got the rule of six wrong??

[loveyouradvice]

I've always assumed rule of six inside and out was simultaneous to social distancing ... so for example having supper with two friends, we sat at opposite ends of the table.

But I think I may have got this wrong?

Is the rule of six - wheres still applicable - that you can meet up in ANY group of six with NO social distancing and keep meeting different groups of up to six as often as you like?

If so, seems mad and no wonder rates are going up....

If not, and it is as I always thought rule of six INCLUDING social distancing, that seems sane....

Rule of six should include social distancing if it involves mixing households. You're sane

No we should still socially distance and keep visits as short as possible.

If you go onto the government website it says that ideally you shouldn't meet with different groups within a couple of weeks. Most people are saying that they will stick to the rule of six and travel between groups over Christmas, but they've broken the guidance by doing that.

The rule of six was brought in to allow families to mix and still be traceable.

You're quite sane and distancing should be observed.

The rule of six is law. You are committing a criminal offence if you break it without a reasonable excuse (assuming none of the exemptions apply). Maintaining social distancing when meeting people outside your household is not a legal requirement, but is still a sensible thing to do.

You are correct

In all areas of England, you should remember ‘Hands. Face. Space’:
• hands – wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds
• face – wear a face coveringg_ in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet
• space – stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings or increasing ventilation indoors)

You're absolutely right but I think many many others don't realise this part of the guidance, or perhaps choose not to.

I think a lot don’t care anymore re SD judging by the number of play dates etc going on here. Many can’t seem to count to six either.

We ensure SD outdoors and no one can come indoors anyway. If more complied we would have less cases.

For Tier 1:
www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-levels-what-you-need-to-know#local-covid-alert-level-medium

Rule of 6 applies (among other rules) and:
You must:

wear a face covering in those areas where this is mandated

You should continue to:

follow social distancing rules
work from home where you can effectively do so
when travelling, plan ahead or avoid busy times and routes; walk or cycle if you can

Yes, you are supposed to maintain social distancing of 2m from people you don't live with. Of course, that's not possible in most cafés/restaurants which is why I won't go in one!

Sorry, this is a better link and was the one I was thinking of!
www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-level-medium
When meeting friends and family you should also:

follow social distancing rules when you meet up
limit how many different people in total you see socially over any short period of time
meet people outdoors where practical: this is safer because fresh air provides better ventilation

As you can see these bits are vague - 'limit' how many people, 'short' period of time - presumably hoping people will use common sense!

Definitely social distancing! You should only be having contact with people in your household OR someone who lives seperately if they are a single person as they can technically bubble as your household.

Agree that sitting at a table in a restaurant makes it difficult.

On the restaurant thing. If people go out with people from another household how do you SD? Do you book a table for 6 and leave 2 spaces in the middle?

Social distancing is guidance though not law you cannot be fined for sitting within a meter of your friends you can be fined if there are seven of you do people naturally take the number thing more seriously than the social distancing thing.

In theory yes you should still be social distancing if meeting in a group of 6.

In practice, sitting in a restaurant or cafe in a non-household group of 6, it’s vanishingly unlikely that you’ll be socially distancing properly, and of course you won’t be wearing masks. We’ve met up with one family member for an outdoor meal and kept our distance reasonably well with four of us round a decent size circular table - not 2 metres but I felt comfortable. But another restaurant had six of us from 2 households on (outdoor) banquettes where we were literally shoulder to shoulder. Under the circumstances I didn’t feel we could walk out, but it was very iffy, and I’ve been crossing my fingers ever since that we got away with it.