With the end of 2020
drawing near and the UK lock-down ending many people are excited to
look ahead to December and Christmas and the big question on
everyones mind is can I go on holiday during the COVID-19
pandemic?
Throughout December the government has set out the rules for the
tier restriction system, in force from the 3rd December 2020 with a
review date set for the 16th December. At present Devon is in Tier
2 and as such holidays can proceed but with restrictions; these are
detailed below, along with the other tier descriptions that may
apply to your own area you are travelling from.
Tier 1 -
Guests travelling from tier 1 areas can holiday with
people from other households (up to a maximum of 6) in other tier 1
areas. (Devon is currently in tier 2 meaning that only one
household/support bubble can stay in a property even if you are
travelling from a tier 1 area).
Tier 2 -
Guests travelling from/to tier 2 areas are not
permitted to mix with other households indoors and therefore are
only able to travel as one household/support bubble. Up to 6
people can meet outdoors.
Tier 3 -
People living in tier 3 areas are not permitted to
leave home for the purpose of a holiday.
Here at Ocean Cottages we have been working in the background to
ensure that any guests due to visit in December are meeting the
requirements to be able to travel. Unfortunately, this has meant
for some that they have had to cancel their holidays and receive
refunds or for others they have had to change their guest lists, so
they are one household to abide by the tier 2 rules. All this
activity has been necessary to comply with the government laws and
to protect our wonderful North Devon community.
Outside of the above stated rules the government has also
announced the 'Christmas Bubble'. The Christmas bubble is only in
effect between the dates 23rd December to
27th December 2020 and will be in law. Everyone can form
their own Christmas bubble; however, the Christmas bubble is
different to support bubbles and childcare bubbles and should not
be confused.
The rules of the
'Christmas bubble' are such:
- you can form an exclusive
'Christmas bubble' composed of people from no more than three
households.
- you can only be in one
Christmas bubble.
- you cannot change your
Christmas bubble.
- you can travel between
tiers and UK nations for the purposes of meeting your Christmas
bubble.
- you can only meet your
Christmas bubble in private homes or in your garden, places of
worship, or public outdoor spaces.
- you can continue to meet
people outside (not in your garden) who are not in your Christmas
bubble according to the rules of the tier you are meeting in. (so
for those holidaying in Devon, this is Tier 2)
- if you form a Christmas
bubble, you should not meet socially with friends and family that
you do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of
your Christmas bubble.
- You should only travel to
meet those in your Christmas bubble and return home between the 23
and 27 December.
To provide a little context, if you
have an existing support bubble; you are counted as one household
towards the three-household limit. This means that if you are in a
support bubble, you can collectively form a Christmas bubble with
two other households. This applies only to support bubbles as set
out in law (a support bubble is one household plus a single adult
household, with or without children).
The 'Christmas bubble' has of course
been fantastic news for some of our guests who can now visit as
more than one household during the bubble period. We must also
mention that we are very grateful to those guests who feel it is
safer to remain as one household for both themselves and the
community, we look forward to welcoming you all to an Ocean
Cottages property, in what will be a very different Christmas for
many, we are sure!
If you are looking to
holiday in North Devon in 2021, take a look at our website
Ocean Cottages.
