university student dd wants to have a meal with her friends before x mas

[Skipsurvey]

i am not sure if this is a good idea
all in the hometown after time in the rest of the uk, meeting in one of the houses for their X mas.

Same as you skipsurvey tier three coming home to tier two.
Debating with DH here as to whether tier threes can eat out in tier two area 😯 or is it we can’t eat out in tier three area off to google it 😆

In Tier 2 you can only eat out with members of your own household.

We have had the same conversation with DD who is desperate to see her lovely boyfriend. We're in T2 so technically all they can do is meet outside, they can't even go to the pub or a cafe. I'm tempted to ask him to move in for the holidays but I'm not sure his parents would be so keen on that idea!

It really sucks to be a student at the moment.

indeed it does suck to be young

@Skipsurvey

that is daft that you can go for a meal in a restaurant but not in a house?

You can't mix households in a tier 2 restaurant though, so this isn't the case

You can go for a meal out outside in the garden, not inside a restaurant in tier two. The same as they could all meet up in someone's garden (without breaking the rules).

thanks @DameFanny
but that is current rules,
will they change nearer to chirstmas?

just hope for mild weather

daft that you can go for a meal in a restaurant but not in a house?

The difference is that money changes hands in one. This is a Tory after all.

It is the mixing of the households and the number of contacts that would bother me. Presumably each of your daughter’s student friends will also be living in HMOs during term-time, so lets assume at least 4 per household. If there are 6 of them at the meal, that’s immediately 24 close contacts. Some of the student friends or housemates have boyfriends/girlfriends/know how to use Tindr, that visit regularly or stay over so lets round it up to 30 close contacts. Those boy/girlfriends also live in another shared house, so that’s another 20+ close contacts. So that’s 50 potential contacts before you even factor in the ones that have part-time jobs or spent the last week of term partying.

My friend’s student son caught COVID due to an outbreak in a nearby student residence that shares the same catering facility as him & the uni was slow to segregate them/split mealtimes. His only interaction with a student from the other hall was a 10 minute conversation over breakfast.

She’s an adult.

In the eyes of the law - no obviously she can't. I can understand wanting to catch up with her friends but I don't really see why they can't meet outdoors like the rest of us have to.

I suppose on a more pragmatic level you could talk to her about the actual risks e.g.who else are you planning to see over Xmas? But no, I wouldn't be happy about it either.

@HelloMissus

She’s an adult.

well yes, we are all adults but some of us are more vulnerable, older, than others. including christmas day my dm.

daft that you can go for a meal in a restaurant but not in a house?
They can't go for a meal with friends.

In tier 2:
"you must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place."

The only way some (3,) of them could eat together in a pub or restaurant is between 23rd and 27th December if they bubble and then not see anyone else.

thanks for that info @Calmandmeasured1

Like a PP says, she is an adult but I would use this as an argument for her being old enough to understand that everyone has to make sacrifices at the moment to make things as safe as possible for the more vulnerable amongst us and as "easy" as possible for the NHS staff who will be dealing with the fallout from Xmas in the New Year.

It is "sad" as another PP said, but we're all having to make difficult decisions at the moment and there are people in much more upsetting situations than not being able to have a Xmas meal with friends. Everything is relative to each of us and our immediate experiences but we do have to remember those less fortunate if all we are sacrificing is a meal with mates. I'm gutted I can't see any of my family over Xmas but I'm not doing it because it isn't safe.

Wouldn't we all love to go to see friends in their lovely warm houses before Xmas and also have our family round for Xmas too.

I know my uni student Son would, after his spending 6 weeks total for multiple enforced Accomodation self isolations this past term, due to C19 positive students near him. Boy oh boy!- would he love to chill out with his home friends in each other's houses in our hometown, each of them students returning from higher infection rate uni cities.

So would I, my other DC and my 80 year old parents- how lovely to pop round friends houses!
But we don't, as we are not idiots.

I'm glad you said no to your daughter. She is being self interested.

She has an easy compromise available- she & friends can meet in restaurant or pub as you are only Tier 2 there. It's very carefully managed, remind her not to hug and to social distance at all times including outside.

Ah, calmandmeasure said you can't go to pub or restaurant for meal in groups not in your household. Even I'm getting lost with all the rule changes! . I remember that bit now! Mind you we've only been tier 1 before.

Guess your DD and her friends can meet up one by one for a job or cycle ride outside,

I disagree, I think if you allow people to meet in their homes they will stay longer, not be as careful, not be as consistent regarding sanitising tables, chairs, door handles afterwards, tempted to hug, not wear masks at all etc, if meeting for a meal when the meal is finished the table will be needed for the next customer, the staff will have been trained to clean continuously, masks required when not at table, no hanging around chatting in the kitchen etc. If people must meet I wouldn't want it to be in anyone house.

Incubation period is 5 days, but I see now she wants to meet up with "home friends" after travelling so irrelevant really. I was surprised to see ice rinks opening, that might be a nice way to meet up (within the rule of 6 !) Are outdoor cafes ok in tier 2 does anyone know ?

@Skipsurvey

well I did say no, she is not happy

She'll get over it

She can for fo in pub bar with we garden garden with upto 6 and not same household in tier 2. It’s allowed

Restrictions are to indoor

Most restaurants near me now putting gqxwebka up to manage this

Gazeebos

Sorry terrible typos there!

I mean in tier 2 you can go to a restaurant or bar with friends and eat outside. Th ban is all about mixing indoors -private or public. Most places are opening outside areas for this

@Skipsurvey

indeed it does suck to be young

It sucks to be middle aged and on immunosuppressant drugs and not be able to go out at all because it’s hard to be a student at the moment so they socialise anyway, it’s hard to be missing family so people mix anyway, it’s hard to be bored so families pile into their cars and ram themselves into the range on a Saturday afternoon to buy cheap tinsel.....

how do you know they do that @MyPersona, did you read that on mn or in the Mail?

I'd also be going down the route of "if you go to your friend's house, then you can't come back here".

All the teens/young adults round here are hanging round in parks and other public open spaces because it's the only place they can see their friends. It's tough on them, but no worse on your daughter than any of her peers.