The first part of lockdown is over from today as the rule of 6 is implemented. But is it as straight forward as that? No, of course not.
The rules, taken from the Gov website state:
From 29 March:
- you can meet outdoors either in a group of 6 (from any number of households), or in a group of any size from up to 2 households (a household can include an existing support bubble, if eligible)
- you can take part in formally organised outdoor sports with any number of people (outdoor sports venues and facilities will be able to reopen)
- childcare and supervised activities are allowed outdoors for all children
- formally organised parent and child groups can take place outdoors for up to 15 attendees. Children under 5 will not be counted in this number
The rules then say:
- You should stay 2 metres apart from anyone who is not in your household or support bubble where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place
If anyone has bothered to read that lot on full, then it is probably as clear as mud! So for example, if two households have 10 people living in each, can twenty people meet up? Well apparently so, but only if you are two metres apart. Therefore in theory, you will need to find a field that is at least 40 metres wide.
But, if you decide to hold a formally organised sports event, then any number can appear. Game of tug-o-war anyone?
If its an organised child event, then feel free to invite even more children, as you can have as many as you want, as long as they are under 5 years old! Do they have to leave their parents at home at this point?
So when we get the nice weather, which is due to arrive by mid-week, jsut how many group of 6 are going to meet at your local park? About 5,000 groups at a guess! Which will equate to around 30,000 people all squashing into a one acre grass square. Perfect!
Brighton council have already warned of a ‘visitor surge’ over the weekend if the warm weather remains. With some lockdown rules still in place, there will be less people doing long journeys, with no domestic or international holidays, meaning there will be more ‘local’ gatherings.
So it is looking to be a great Easter break, where we can get outside and actually meet people that we do not live with. Expect lots of fun and expect the weekend evening news to be showing lots of people getting arrested – or being allowed to get away with breaking the ‘rule of 6’! Don’t say we didn’t predict it!
