Coronavirus: what are the Christmas Covid-19 rules?

Up to three households will be allowed to mix for a five-day period

Boris Johnson speaks with a man dressed as Father Christmas in 2019
(Image credit: Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Multiple households will be able to celebrate Christmas together under one roof after an agreement to ease lockdown restrictions was struck between the government and devolved first ministers.Between 23 and 27 December, restrictions will be lifted to allow up to three households to form a Christmas “bubble”. Under the temporary measures, people can mix in homes, places of worship and outdoor spaces but cannot visit pubs or restaurants together.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.