Boris Johnson Announces Merging Of UK Households Into 'Social Bubbles'

Starting Saturday, June 13, two households in England can form support bubbles inside social distancing rules. On Wednesday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally approved the merging of two households into support bubbles, provided that one of them contains only one adult.

This new rule will allow for the reunion of couples living in separate homes, if one of them lives alone. The rule will also allow them to interact as though they belong to a single household, spending time together indoors and not having to abide by the two-meter social distancing rule.

The social bubble will also allow elderly people who live alone to go and stay with their children or have their grandchildren stay at their homes so they can help with childcare. The regulation will also apply to single parents who need the support of their own parents to juggle work and their families.

Scrapping the sex ban that came last June, the social bubble will also allow couples to finally see their partners again and join up with their household, given that at least one of them is living alone. According to Johnson, shops, zoos, safari parks, and drive-in cinemas could reopen on Monday if all Brits follow the social distancing rules. He also hinted at the reopening of churches and other religious buildings for individual worship.

Johnson clarified that pairs of grandparents who hope to see their grandchildren will not be able to benefit from the social bubble if there is more than one adult in each home. The minor relaxation in the limited social bubble arrangements also dashes hopes of those who have not seen their parents, friends, and families for months but do not meet the one-adult-only requirement in one household.

According to Johnson, the social bubble will help the lonely and isolated people of the U.K. who have been most severely affected by the lockdown. “I know how difficult the past months have been for people cut off from their family and friends,” he said. “There are still too many people, particularly those who live by themselves, who are by themselves and struggling,” he added.