Government explains why you can go to the shops but not see family

The government have revealed why the public will be able to go shopping in non-essential shops but not see family. 

The announcement on Monday said that non-essential shops are able to reopen to the public from June 15th, but saw no update on when people will once again be allowed to visit their loved ones.

There was outrage following this, so the question was addressed on Tuesday’s daily press briefing. Due to the social distancing restrictions, most people have gone months without seeing their closest family members.

During the briefing, led by health secretary Matt Hancock and Professor John Newton, director of health improvement for Public Health England, the officials were asked why schools and shops could return to normal but people still couldn’t visit another household.

Ellie from Kent asked: “If people can start to shop for un-essential items and kids can go back to school when we don’t know where those people have been, why can’t we visit another household who we know have been self-isolating such as grandparents and partners?”

Professor Newton, explained that the risk of catching the virus within households is greater. He said: “The issue here is all about risk. We know that if social distancing measures are being implemented well in places like supermarkets, the risk is really quite low.

“We know the highest risk of transmission is within households, so the people you are most likely to infect are the people in your own household. That’s why the advice has to be different for meeting people in households compared to other places.”

He added that there is a still a degree of risk in opening shops, schools and other public places, which are all planned for June. 

He said: “The gradual increase in contact is what will get us all back to normal. But we do have to bear in mind that everything we do has risk attached to it and the objective is to reduce that risk as much as possible.”

He told Ellie he ‘entirely understood’ where she was coming from in asking for an explanation, adding: “There is a yearning to see people in another household. We are looking at how we can make this happen in a safe way.”

Ministers have previously said that government advisers are looking into the idea of a household bubble, which would allow two households to spend time together.  But during a press conference last week, Professor Van-Tam said he was not in a position to comment on how far Sage had got in terms of reviewing the advice.

According to a Downing Street spokesperson, further advice on social contact between families will be released in ‘due course’.