When and where can I meet friends and family? What the lockdown roadmap means for socialising now

From Monday, 29 March, the next stage of the Government’s roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions began in England. For many, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press briefing, it was “the first chance to see friends and family outdoors”.

From this date, friends in groups of six or two households are once again allowed to meet up outside in public spaces and in their private gardens.

Outdoor sports facilities can reopen and weddings can take place, with the number of attendees totalling no more than six.

So what exactly do the latest measures look like and how do they affect families and friends?

What does the roadmap plan mean for friends and families and what can I do now?

There are four different ‘stages’ of the roadmap plan, and the changes that take effect from 29 March comprise the second phase of the first stage, which began on 8 March.

From that initial date, all children in England were able to return to school, both primary and secondary, and people were allowed to meet friends one-to-one outside in public spaces to socialise and not just to exercise. What exactly can I do from 29 March?

From this date, the "rule of six" has been reinstated, which allows six friends from up to six different households to meet outdoors, not only in public spaces but also in private gardens.

Two households are also allowed to meet outside from this date. This means that extended outdoor family get-togethers can happen by Easter Sunday, for instance. Also from 29 March, organised outdoor sport for adults and children is permitted again.

From this date, it is no longer a legal requirement to stay at home. It is therefore possible to travel beyond one's local area from 29 March, meaning a longer drive in a single day to meet a friend or relative outdoors is allowed.

However, people are still encouraged to minimise travel as much as possible and are still advised to work from home where they can.

When does the next stage of the roadmap plan take effect and what will it mean for friends and families?

Stage two of the roadmap plan is due to be implemented no sooner than 12 April. From that date it will be possible to meet outdoors at pubs and restaurants under the same "rule of six" or two-household rules.

Also from that date, the limit on the maximum number of attendees at weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15. Family-focused outdoor hospitality venues such as zoos and theme parks can also open.

When step three of the roadmap plan is implemented, no sooner than 17 May, and provided the scientific data allows it, groups of up to 30 people will be able to attend weddings, receptions, wakes, funerals, and other major life events.

When can we meet friends for a drink again?

At the Conservative Party conference on 27 March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “I'm finally going to be able to go to the barbers, but more importantly than that I'm going to be able to go down the street and - cautiously but irreversibly - I'm going to drink a pint of beer."

He and others will be able to do that from 12 April, when pubs and restaurants will be allowed to reopen, but only for outdoor drinking and dining.

Groups can gather, but with the same limits as above: either up to six people or two households. Pubs will be allowed to serve takeaway pints, and there will be no curfews or any requirement to serve a meal with alcohol.

When will we be able to meet friends and family indoors again?

Though there have been circumstances throughout lockdown in which you could meet people indoors, for instance, providing voluntary or charitable services, informal childcare assistance and providing emergency assistance, socialising has not been allowed for other purposes.

Adult care home residents are now able to nominate a named visitor to visit them regularly. The visitor and care home resident are allowed to hold hands, but other close contact is not allowed.

The visitor must get a Covid test beforehand and wear PPE. From 17 May, the start of the third stage of the roadmap plan, groups of up to six people and two households will be allowed to meet indoors, so people can enter each other's homes from this point.

In addition, loved ones may be able to hug each other, according to Matt Hancock. According to the roadmap plan, the earliest date for the reopening of indoor hospitality (including pubs and restaurants) will be 17 May, and only if the scientific data allows it.

Will the vaccine roll-out affect the roadmap plan?

The Prime Minister previously announced that every person aged over 18 will have been offered a coronavirus vaccination by the end of July. As the vaccination programme reaches its final stage, ministers and scientists hope infection rates will have returned to the levels seen last summer.

At this point, greater relaxations for indoor mixing are likely. The ongoing dispute with the EU over a potential export ban has cast some uncertainty on the future of the vaccine rollout.

However, the Prime Minister has reassured the public that any potential shortage of supplies will not affect the rollout of second vaccine doses.

Can grandparents look after their grandchildren?

Households are currently not allowed to mix indoors with the exception of the current support bubbles, which allow one other person, such as an elderly relative, to visit.

This means a grandparent that provides childcare while a parent works, will still be able to continue to do so.

The Prime Minister has encouraged family and childcare bubbles to get tested regularly. Can grandparents hug their grandchildren after they've had the vaccine?

Hugging grandchildren and other family members may still not be advisable for some time, even when people have received the vaccine. Professor Janet Lord, director of the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham, has pointed out that the vaccines "take several weeks before they are maximally effective".

Social distancing rules will be updated by 17 May. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has previously said that loved ones will be able to hug each other from the middle of May at the earliest, stating that people must remain "cautious" until this point.

Will I be able to go on holiday with friends and family this year?

From 12 April, “staycations” will be allowed, but in a limited form. One household will be allowed to stay overnight somewhere in the UK, but not with members of another household.

“Self-contained accommodation” will be available to rent, including cottages, Airbnb rentals and campsites. However, hotels and B&Bs cannot reopen until 17 May. Non-essential travel abroad is currently not permitted until July.

Travellers to the UK from "red list" countries must now quarantine in a hotel for 10 days. But a review into restarting international travel will conclude by 17 May, meaning family holidays abroad could yet take place this summer in some form.

For individuals with family members overseas and who are unable to visit them due to travel restrictions, the Prime Minister said on 29 March that there will be no further decisions on when internationally separated families can see each other until an announcement from the Government's global travel task force on 5 April.