I really hope the outside mixing part is true.

[Lubiluxe]

I am anxiously awaiting the road map announcement. I had my first niece last year and still haven't met her. It would be my dream to be able to see her within weeks!!

www.itv.com/news/2021-02-20/covid-lockdown-roadmap-outdoor-meet-ups-could-be-allowed-within-weeks-as-coronavirus-restrictions-ease

I know it is only speculation. I know schools are priority. And I know they should be. But the heartbreak is unreal and I really hope this is true.

I suspect you and The Telegraph are right about stay local @RedskyBynight. It's just heartbreaking for those of us who don't live near family though.

I'm reaching the end of my patience with it. I found it so hard at Christmas, living in a tier 3 area when family were in tier 4. All the children's friends were able to spend Christmas Day with family and they couldn't. Now it looks as though Easter will be the same. All their friends will have egg hunts in grandparent's gardens and again my children will see no one.

I know that makes me sound really bitter... I'm really pleased that friends will have the opportunity to see their parents, I'm just so sad for my children and my parents and in laws. This is going to absolutely devastate my MIL who is already in tears most days over it all.

Makes no odds to me as I visit indoors now anyway. As do the majority of my family and friends. I’m flabbergasted so many are still followings rules.

I suspect you and The Telegraph are right about stay local @RedskyBynight. It's just heartbreaking for those of us who don't live near family though.

Indeed. I don't live near family either and we saw my parents and DH's parents one time each last year, when restrictions lifted slightly over the summer. Yet another thing that's not a level playing field.

All those saying travel to visit people increases the risk of spreading the virus, it only does if you have it. We can’t continue to carry on forever more acting as if we are ill when we are not!

The vaccines prevent serious illness and death this stops the NHS being overwhelmed that was the endgame. It now seems like the end game is no one ever having covid. That won’t happen in which case me visiting family 2 hours away in April vs. June makes no difference the risk is the same! We aren’t all blessed with local families and I won’t be waiting for Boris to tell me I can go. I can visit my support bubble who are an hour away now so why shouldn’t I be able to visit my in laws who are 2 hours away in April!?

The vaccines prevent serious illness and death this stops the NHS being overwhelmed that was the endgame. It now seems like the end game is no one ever having covid. That won’t happen in which case me visiting family 2 hours away in April vs. June makes no difference

You've spotted yourself why April vs June makes a difference. Many more people will be vaccinated (as in, had both doses) by June as opposed to April.

@RaskolnikovsGarret

In the park today, there was a different feel. Pretty much everyone was mixing households already. The playground was packed.

I’ve followed all the rules up until now, but am considering breaking them by meeting my parents in the garden.

It’s probably partly to do with half term and better weather but I’ve been in the park a lot with my two and this week there has been a def upwards trend in mums meeting other mums etc. I count myself in that. Meeting my parents later this week for a walk. They were vaccinated 3 weeks ago. How is that not low risk?

@SeldomFollowedIt

Makes no odds to me as I visit indoors now anyway. As do the majority of my family and friends. I’m flabbergasted so many are still followings rules.

I honestly don’t know anyone that isn’t broadly following rules although I know everyone is taking a flexible view on “childcare bubbles”. I don’t have many close friends and suspect many could be doing all kinds of things on the quiet. I live in a semi and having heard nothing for months my dnd definitely had people found the other night for wine and general merriment. No I didn’t report her!

@RedskyBynight yes but if the family I am visiting in my own car have had their vaccines by April and so have I then there is no difference whatsoever!

@ilikebooksandplants

Outdoor mixing is happening already everywhere I go. I would be doing it myself by this point but my family live 300 miles away.

Tbh, I’m so fucking done. I’ve had covid and the vulnerable members of my family have had the vaccine. I’ll probably go and see them at Easter and I might even sit indoors! I’ve followed the rules up until now (caught covid at work bc frontline). I will also have had the second vaccine by then. Enough now.

I hear you. My DPs are 200 miles away and I'm so fed up of not seeing them. It's hard going out and seeing grandparents with their GCs , my DPs have had such a hard time after DM had a stroke last year and they've seen my kids once in 14 months. I'm tempted to go and see them at Easter and stay over one night. I'd have to go alone though otherwise the neighbours would notice us and possibly report and I can't risk that in my job. I'll probably just stick to the rules which means we won't see them for ages yet.

If it's anything like last year, we'll open up to suit the infection rates in London, there'll be loads of mixing, they'll finally allow indoor mixing and just as I can see my DPs again they'll impose regional lockdown in my DPs area. Since last March it's been within the law to see them indoors i.e. to see them at all, for 3 weeks. I think people forget how hard it is for people with family at a distance.

Unless there's a very surprising amount of multigenerational families near the country park we like walking in, people are already doing this.
We even saw a naughty couple sitting on an actual bench to have their sandwiches and thermos of tea. A picnic!

@Shelovesamystery - yes, I wish they'd do number of households too, and even if they can't easily open up events to large groups of people just yet (as my understanding is you risk creating vaccine-proof mutations if a big mix of vaccinated/unvaccinated people get together in the same place), I'm hoping they'll allow greater numbers of vaccinated households to mix together.

Meeting outside makes sense as there really is little risk as long as you stay outside and don't get tempted to 'pop in for a minute'.

TBH, I am tempted to say we'll go to IL's over Easter as they have had first jab and they almost certainly had COVID at the start of the year (never tested, but SIL, who is in a bubble with them, got + test about a week after they started feeling better) - the risk seems minimal, certainly if it's just us and them.

@MaxNormal

Unless there's a very surprising amount of multigenerational families near the country park we like walking in, people are already doing this. We even saw a naughty couple sitting on an actual bench to have their sandwiches and thermos of tea. A picnic!

At a playground last week I saw 2 childminders sit with a flask of tea each and a tub of haribo to share. Absolutely disgraceful and completely immoral. They definitely killed at least 2 grannies.

(I secretly wanted the haribo).

Ooo! @TwirpingBird and @MaxNormal, I had a picnic in the week when the sun was shining. Well, I say picnic... DCs and I ate a takeaway sandwich on a bench by the river.

The bench was well set back from the path and the DCs were so happy but I still got a passive aggressive head shake from a passerby.

I have a fear of sitting down outside in cold weather as I was told growing up it would give you piles

So no freezing damp benches for my bottom, not even if they do come with haribo.

@SeldomFollowedIt

Makes no odds to me as I visit indoors now anyway. As do the majority of my family and friends. I’m flabbergasted so many are still followings rules.

My family and friends aren't visiting indoors. We're obviously very stupid, and you and your friends are so much cleverer than us.

OP just go and see your niece. Covid doesn’t know what Boris is saying.

It’s either safe for you to see her or not.......... going when Boris tells you will have no impact on whether Covid gets you or your family.

She’ll never be a small baby again.

How is two households with a total of 8 people more risky than 6 individual households meeting up?

Or, to turn it round, why would three friends who hardly see anyone be more of a risk than 2 households of 4 people - which might involve 4 different workplaces and multiple contacts in different classes at school.

I still think children should be prioritised to go back to school, but then parents seem to not only want this but also to be mixing in large groups. It’s starting to seem a bit unequal, and if I feel that way I can’t imagine how it looks to young unmarried people in their twenties.

@BloodyCovid

OP just go and see your niece. Covid doesn’t know what Boris is saying.

It’s either safe for you to see her or not.......... going when Boris tells you will have no impact on whether Covid gets you or your family.

She’ll never be a small baby again.

Apart from infection levels of course.....

*Or, to turn it round, why would three friends who hardly see anyone be more of a risk than 2 households of 4 people - which might involve 4 different workplaces and multiple contacts in different classes at school.

I still think children should be prioritised to go back to school, but then parents seem to not only want this but also to be mixing in large groups. It’s starting to seem a bit unequal, and if I feel that way I can’t imagine how it looks to young unmarried people in their twenties*

Because chances are if someone in the family has it they all might
So if i go and meet my friend on my own and my child has covid which i don't know , I could also have it.
So if me and my 2 kids go and meet my friend and her 2 kids and myself and child have it we will still
Likely pass it on.

@MrsFezziwig

How is two households with a total of 8 people more risky than 6 individual households meeting up?

Or, to turn it round, why would three friends who hardly see anyone be more of a risk than 2 households of 4 people - which might involve 4 different workplaces and multiple contacts in different classes at school.

I still think children should be prioritised to go back to school, but then parents seem to not only want this but also to be mixing in large groups. It’s starting to seem a bit unequal, and if I feel that way I can’t imagine how it looks to young unmarried people in their twenties.

Adults have been able to meet with one person outside their house all through this. Kids aged 5-11 haven’t been able to. At all. Imagine you had been stuck in with someone in the generation above you for 2 months. Not seen anyone else at all. Now, the rules relax and 6 people are allowed to meet outside. Horrray. Except not for you. Because your friend has a brother and a sister and a mum who needs to be there when you meet. And unfortunatly you have a baby brother who can’t be left at home. You look out of the window and see 6 kids age 12 walking past laughing and sharing a bag of sweets.

I so hope the rule of 6 is abolished. We are a family of 5 and haven't seen anyone for so long. It's hard.

@Pastanred

I don’t know why you would wait months to see your niece

I know it’s a rule but in real life I don’t know anyone who’d let a rule like this stop them meeting a new family member

My daughter was born at the beginning of the first lockdown. Literally day one. We didn't see our friends or family for 2 months apart from grandparents waving through the window. I think this is pretty common for people who had babies during lockdown 1.

Once rates were lower, we saw grandparents but didn't see siblings or wider relatives for a further month.

@MaxNormal

Unless there's a very surprising amount of multigenerational families near the country park we like walking in, people are already doing this. We even saw a naughty couple sitting on an actual bench to have their sandwiches and thermos of tea. A picnic!

I hope you called the police

Two households able to meet would be great, and I wouldn't be surprised if they bring this in by mid March / April. Rule of 6 may be more likely, but hopefully they have listened to the number of people in households of 5+ who haven't been able to meet anyone.

Excluding under 12s from social distancing would be fantastic, but less likely I think. However, I won't be making my 1 and 4 year olds stick to it (how can I?) And I didn't last year either.

"Stay Local" guideline may still be in place, but as it is a guidelines and not a law, I won't be following it. Once mixing of more than 2 is allowed I will be travelling 40 miles to visit my grandparents.

I will be travelling even if the guidance tells people to stay local. I don’t have any family or friends nearby that I want to see and due to being in different tiers from my parents last year, I didn’t see them then either. Last time was the summer. So I’ll be travelling to see them, even if we meet halfway somewhere outdoors.