A ban on couples having sex if they don’t live together will continue for anyone living in a tier two or tier three area, Matt Hancock has confirmed.
Mixing with others outside of your household or support bubble is still banned indoors in areas with the toughest restrictions and the Health Secretary says couples should only meet up outside.
It means that a casual sex ban which has been in place in some areas since the tier system was first introduced on October 12, will likely continue for several more months.
People living in Cornwall, Scilly Isles and the Isle of Wight – the only places going into tier one when lockdown ends – can meet up indoors.
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Mr Hancock was asked about rules for people in relationships who live separately as he held the Downing Street press conference on Monday.
Elle, from Southampton, asked: ‘My boyfriend and I are in a long term relationship but live in separate households, so are unsure what rules apply to us.
‘Can we see each other indoors or are we only permitted to see each other outdoors, despite being in an established relationship?’
Mr Hancock pointed Ella to the Gov.uk website to see exactly what’s permitted in each tier.
He said: ‘For everybody watching if you’re in a specific situation, then the best thing to do is to go and look precisely at the rules.
‘Now of course I understand the impact on people who are in a long-term relationship and we have made specific provision.
‘But the general rule for those who are in tier two is that the rule of six applies outdoors, including for instance in a private garden, but indoors you should only be mixing with people who are in your own household.’
It’s unclear what ‘specific provision’ Mr Hancock was referring to regarding those in long term relationships. In September the Government briefly changed the rules to make sex indoors ok for those in ‘established relationships’ but struggled to define what that is exactly.
Come the start of the second lockdown however, the rules stated: ‘From 5 November, you must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household, meaning the people you live with, or your support bubble.
‘This includes anyone you are in an established relationship with but do not live with – unless they are in your support bubble. Couples that do not live together and are not in a support bubble with each other can continue to see each other outdoors.’
Mr Hancock told the briefing the second lockdown had ‘got the virus back under control’.
He said the ‘light of dawn is on the horizon’ as he highlighted that cases across the country have dropped by 30% in the last seven days.
The average number of new coronavirus cases has fallen from a peak of 25,331 in mid-November to 14,778. The R rate – the rate of the transmission of the virus – is now back to just below 1 meaning the epidemic is no longer growing.
But the health secretary warned people to keep following the rules, particularly as one in three people who catch Covid won’t display any symptoms.
He called this a ‘silent danger’ and told people to take a test whenever they are offered one – in contrast to previous government advice that said people should only get tested when they have symptoms.
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