Tier 4 - can I form a support bubble and go stay with my parents?

[yellowtail1]

I live in London with my DH and our 10 week old baby. Can we go and stay with my parents (who live in a tier 2 area) over Christmas by forming a support bubble and if so, how long could we stay with them for? Sorry if this is a stupid question - my head is all over the place and I’m just so confused. Can anyone help?

You need to go tonight

Boris said that tier 4 doesn’t effect support bubbles (so presumably you are allowed to travel to your support bubble) You are entitled to form a support bubble because you have a baby (regardless of how many adults you have in your household)

Even if you can should you? I would be battening down the hatches not travelling. A support bubble is a support bubble not a Christmas bubble. If you haven't needed them for support yet I wouldn't be travelling possibly spreading this new variant virus to another area.

People with a child under the age of 1 can form a support bubble.

I don't think you can travel outside tier 4 for anything surely? If your support bubble is also in tier 4 then crack on and see them, but travelling to another area is off isn't it?!

But the OP isn’t forming the bubble for support, they are doing it for Christmas!

Think we should wait for the .gov.uk website to update before advising either way.

I don't think 'tier 4 support bubbles can continue' is a synonym for 'I'm going to stick to my Christmas bubble plans but call it something else'

It's a dick move for potentially infectious tier 4 residents to travel.

No you can't. Nobody may leave or enter tier 4. According to what I just heard.

@SlippersForFlippers

Doesn't that mean just for childcare as the child isn't old enough for state nursery then.

What are you on about and what is state nursery? It also clearly says it's a support bubble not a childcare bubble, which is a separate thing and applies to older children

There is very clear guidance on what / who qualifies as a support bubble on the govt website , I don’t think you qualify .

It looks like I do though according to the link above? I just wanted to check that I haven’t misinterpreted it?

Wow, pile on much?
Having a baby in this shitstorm definitely qualifies you for a support bubble, what was shocking was how long it took boris to see this.
I'm in one with my parents who are now tier 4 and 100% will see them over Christmas. Being able to form this bubble has been and will be a lifeline for me and my family.

There have never been location restrictions on support bubbles, even during proper lockdown

I am a single adult in tier 4 and will continue to bubble with my sisters family (who have been my bubble since rhey were first introduced - June?)

Nothing I see tells me I can't still do that, or that Tier 4 rules trump my ability to be able to travel to them

They’re showing Boris on tv again. He actually says that support bubbles are still there for people at particular risk of loneliness or isolation.

That doesn’t sound like the op or her parents.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat

But the OP isn’t forming the bubble for support, they are doing it for Christmas!

This. This isn't a support bubble. This is you travelling to spend Christmas with family. They're not your support bubble as they're too far away.

"I don't think you can travel outside tier 4 for anything surely?"

Of course there will be allowed reasons.

If op qualifies, which it seems she does, then support bubble rules apply to her regardless of what anyone thinks.

This thread is going the way of the ones in first lockdown telling people off for buying such frivolous foodstuffs as milk and honey.

No, please don’t travel. I know this is rubbish. But you really don’t qualify.

@delishdelosh

Wow, pile on much? Having a baby in this shitstorm definitely qualifies you for a support bubble, what was shocking was how long it took boris to see this. I'm in one with my parents who are now tier 4 and 100% will see them over Christmas. Being able to form this bubble has been and will be a lifeline for me and my family.

Lifeline is an interesting term. Are you happy putting them - and you - at increased risk of infection?

I’m not at risk of loneliness but my mental health is rock bottom. I had a terrible time with the birth of our baby, DH and I are facing massive financial struggles due to COVID. I feel so hopeless.

www.itv.com/news/2020-12-19/covid-what-are-the-new-tier-4-rules-for-london-and-south-east-england-and-what-does-it-mean-for-christmas

Are there exemptions to Tier 4 restrictions?

Support bubbles or childcare bubbles are still allowed in Tier 4, including over Christmas.

Op, do you already have a support bubble or will this be your one and only support bubble?

This. This isn't a support bubble. This is you travelling to spend Christmas with family. They're not your support bubble as they're too far away.

They’re an hour’s drive away, so not too far. I didn’t realise support bubbles had to be in your immediate area?

For all those stating they can’t travel out of tier 4, Boris said that it didn’t effect support bubbles so that’s incorrect. For those saying Op is only doing it for Christmas - having a baby is bloody hard (as I’m sure the majority of posters know) Having a baby during a pandemic is probably 1000% harder. The baby is only 10 weeks - maybe OP has been “hanging on for Christmas”, maybe she didn’t know about support bubbles.

If Boris didn’t want people to travel for support bubbles, he should have made them the rulez. He didn’t so, Op can do it.

OP do what think is best for you and your family. We aren’t walking in your shoes

OP is entitled to form a support bubble, that is clear. There are no restrictions on where that bubble needs to be - the wording says "local wherever possible" but it is not mandatory.

So yes, OP, you can travel to your parents and be tested as a single household