What is the logic behind the 5 day Christmas rule?

[Sandyplankton]

Just that really because I don't get it. If I choose to bubble up with my mum and sister's households for Christmas and we only see each other between the 23 and the 27, how does it make any difference if I don't leave my mum's house til the 28th, 29th or 30th?

Genuine question.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

We're doing Xmas on 2nd January after we've had 2 weeks out of school. Screw the rules, my plans are safer.

Safer for you and your bubble but not for your children’s teachers And class bubbles etc

It's nice for the vast majority of people that are not from any serious risk from Covid, to be able to return to normality for a few days. But I don't understand how it works for the clinically vulnerable or elderly - how is it any less dangerous to take your 80 yo mother with dementia out of the care home, just because it's between the 23th and 27th? And if you are willing to accept that level of risk now, what was the point of obeying the rules before? All these people saying they'll get to see their elderly parents for the first time since March - I don't get the rationale behind it.

There is no logic, but they knew many people would be seeing families whatever the rules, so tried to relax the rules in the hope that the people who were going to mix will try and do it more carefully.

They really don't want people mixing as mixing households indoors is one of the worst things you can do for the spread of the virus, hence all the precautions they are giving @RandomMess

The chances are hospitals and schools are going to be carnage in January and February, but as so many people have said on MN they have done their own risk assessments and will be meeting family, regardless of this fact.

I probably wouldn't see family if I weren't able to isolate before and after.

But I totally understand why others want to.

It will be interesting to see how many relatives who have effectively been shielding for the last few months will get ill when mixing inside with other family members for the first time. And I don't necessarily mean with COVID. How many children went off sick after the first weeks back at school in September as they hadn't been meeting other people for so many months, their immune systems were shot.

And now I see it is all kicking off about the tiers and the half the MPs don't agree with these strict measures now the case numbers are going down....... so if he said absolutely no mixing what so ever at christmas he would be seen as a total miser and if he said do what you want he wolud be told he didn't care. He is damned what ever he does!!!

There is no logic. The virus won't magically stop working over those 5 days.

I'll be one of the people paying the price for this non-sense in Jan/Feb, when we go back into lockdown and all my work is cancelled again. Because it's sooooo unsafe to sit 2m apart for 1h, with masks and temps checked at the door... But it's ok to have drunken arguments with the ILs at Christmas dinner and give Covid to the whole family

I really feel for the people working over Christmas who won't get this "opportunity" and will be picking up the pieces afterwards

My SIL is one of those. She's a nurse.

She's intending to see her family on the 29th I believe.

There isn't.
We won't see anyone over Xmas but might at new year after isolating.

TBH it'll be mainly to let MP's off the hook when they go galavanting off to see family.

There's no logic. Boris is just trying to appease the anti lockdown brigade in his own party and win some popularity contest so he can be the Boris who saves Christmas rather than Boris the Grinch.

I just think they ought to have done it for two weeks but told people if possible to isolate beforehand, then do, particularly if family includes elderly or vulnerable.

[quote OverTheRainbow88]@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

We're doing Xmas on 2nd January after we've had 2 weeks out of school. Screw the rules, my plans are safer.

Safer for you and your bubble but not for your children’s teachers And class bubbles etc[/quote]
Exactly.

My conspiracy theory: everyone takes to the roads on days 1 and 2. Roads gridlocked. Virus doesn't spread further because nobody actually gets to their destination.

Yes, we've forgotten what the roads are like in a normal holiday period. This could be bedlam.

I can't believe people still don't get that the rules are an attempt to reduce transmission overall, not protect individuals.

I can't believe people still don't get that the rules are an attempt to reduce transmission overall, not protect individuals.

I think people do understand that actually, its just for most the individual is often the more important.

Boris has had a word with the virus and told it to be a good chap and not infect anyone for those 5 days so jobs a goodun enjoy.

Oh fgs I do know that the risk still exists over the Christmas period. That's exactly why I'm pulling my son out of school early.

Yes you're being sensible about it but I feel you're in the minority, many people are going to really let their guard down over those 5 days with little or no thought to the consequences in January just because the government has said have at it and do what you like.

The logic is that Boris and his mates all want to see their families over the Christmas period. If they didn’t change the rules, then when the media found out they had broken the rules, they would all be slated, the same as when Cummings broke the rules all those months ago. The best way to keep Boris and mates out of trouble with the media is just to let everyone see their families for a few days. Hopefully the politicians will be able to follow that to prevent any more embarrassing incidents with the cabinet team.

Because he doesn’t want to be the Prime Minister that cancelled Christmas so is bowing to pressure to ease.

I don’t think Boris can see all his family under the Christmas rules. Even the ones he does admit to being related to.

There’s no logic. It’s lip service to the fact that people will do what they like anyway

It’s new year I’m more concerned about - are they really expecting people to stay in their own little bubbles?
Drunk people hugging all and sundry ?- yeah that’s a great idea

The five days is a deadline not a target. It couldn’t be 25th only as not fair on shift workers. They’ve given a window big enough for most people to arrange a day off work. Why do you have to complain and demand more days?

This just about sums it up.