Will Scotland Christmas bubble rules change? What Nicola Sturgeon has said about Xmas Covid restrictions

From December 23 to 27 up to three households in Scotland will be able to mix as part of ‘a Christmas bubble’.

Health experts had raised concerns that the loosening of restrictions represented a “rash” decision.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had earlier warned that a change to restrictions may be necessary, arguing that there was a “case” to abandon the Christmas bubble plans.

Speaking on December 16, Sturgeon issued a series of warnings, asking people to reconsider any Christmas plans.

What did Boris Johnson say?

Though the UK government aren't set to u-turn on the loosening of restrictions, all governments are now expected to urge greater caution to those celebrating Christmas with loved ones in 2020.

Speaking to the House of Commons, Mr Johnson said: "We should exercise extreme caution in the way we celebrate Christmas."

He explained that all four governments had reached a “unanimous agreement” to go ahead with the increasing of freedoms over Christmas.

Mr Johnson, urged caution however, stating that it was "absolutely vital that people should, at this very, very tricky time, exercise a high degree of personal responsibility".

What did Nicola Sturgeon say?

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that her government would be issuing stronger guidance to Scots to adhere to over the Christmas period.

She advised that the best way to stay safe this Christmas was to stay within your current household.

Where possible people should limit the numbers of people they spend time with and the duration of time which they spend with them.

Sturgeon added that the five day window should be viewed as a “maximum, not a target”.

She said: "I hate with every fibre of my being trying to regulate how you spend Christmas… the reality is this Christmas simply can't be normal, but we have every hope that next Christmas will be."

The First Minister also advised against travelling from an area of high prevalence to an are of low prevalence.

What did the journal say?

In a rare joint editorial, the British Medical Journal and Health Service Journal called for the “rash” decision to relax social distancing measures over the festive period to be scrapped.

They said that the Government “is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives”.

The joint editorial warning, authored by HSJ editor Alastair McLellan and BMJ editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee said: “When Government devised the current plans to allow household mixing over Christmas it had assumed the Covid-19 demand on the NHS would be decreasing.

“But it is not, it is rising, and the emergence of a new strain of the virus has introduced further potential jeopardy.

“Members of the public can and should mitigate the impact of the third wave by being as careful as possible over the next few months. But many will see the lifting of restrictions over Christmas as permission to drop their guard.

“The Government was too slow to introduce restrictions in the spring and again in the autumn.

“It should now reverse its rash decision to allow household mixing and instead extend the tiers over the five-day Christmas period in order to bring numbers down in the advance of a likely third wave.”