Mark Drakeford “concerned” people may think Christmas rules are “an instruction to get together”

Up to three households will be able to meet up during a five-day Christmas period of 23 to 27 December in the UK.

The move was announced yesterday as part of a broad set of UK-wide measures to help people come together during the festive period, in a way that has been described as “safe as possible.”

Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford met the first ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland and Michael Gove from the UK Government on Tuesday to agree a common four-nation plan for the festive period.

The plan also includes the relaxing of travel restrictions across the four administrations to provide a “window” for households to come together over the five day period.

Speaking the BBC Breakfast this morning Mark Drakeford said he was “concerned” that people might think the measures announced yesterday were “somehow an instruction to get together, rather than permission to get together.”

He said they have created a set of rules “that will allow people to celebrate Christmas in a way that is still respectful of the fact that coronavirus remains amongst us and is a real threat, particularly to elderly people and people with underlying health conditions.”

Mr Drakeford said: “I think this is a sensible and modest way of allowing people a sense of how you can celebrate Christmas, but to do so responsibly.”

Up to three households will be able to form an exclusive ‘bubble’ to meet at home during the 5 day period.

When a bubble is formed it is fixed, and must not be changed or extended further at any point.

Each Christmas bubble can meet at home, at a place of worship or an outdoor public place, but existing, more restrictive rules on hospitality and meeting in other venues will be maintained throughout this period.

Mr Drakeford said the decision to allow three households to meet up was “led by the science” and clinical advice.

He said the choice “we faced yesterday was not between a risk free option, saying to people I’m sorry Christmas is canceled there’s nothing you’ll be able to do during that period.

“It was very clear to us – and we had behavioral science information about this as well – that too many people simply would not have been prepared to have gone along with such an instruction.”

“So the decision was not between a risk free option and allowing some freedom, it was between organised freedom, a set of rules that people can understand and go along with or a free for all and a free for all would have created more risk more hospitalisations.”

“We decided that the right course of action was to recognise the very special nature of Christmas in so many people’s lives and offer a set of rules that still allows us to not face a situation in which coronavirus has simply taken off again.”

The first minister said:

My message to people in Wales is absolutely this, that we can use this brief period of additional relaxation in a sensible way, in a way that we have thought about carefully.

Where we don’t look to meet with people who will be particularly vulnerable, where we do get an opportunity to meet with people who are really special to us in our lives at the end of this dreadful year.

We have to do it in a way that continues to be cautious and continues to be careful, we need to think about the risks we are posing to ourselves and others.

Provided people are willing to use the five day period in that way, then we will have been able to offer a relaxation that doesn’t lead to an exponential rise in risk.

The first part of the message, using this period sensibly, thinking carefully about it in advance, I know there will be many families in Wales who will choose not to use any of these freedoms because they will think that this is not the year to put themselves under those at risk.

For people who do want to meet others at Christmas, please think carefully, use it responsibly and then we will not face the consequences in the new year that could overwhelm our NHS and lead to real consequences in the lives of people who matter the most to you.