People living alone in England will be able to stay at one other household as part of a further easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that, from Saturday, single adults can spend the night at another house in a “support bubble”.
No 10 said the change aims to help combat loneliness and that people are being trusted to observe the rules.
The relaxation does not apply to those who are shielding, or other UK nations.
Mr Johnson told the daily Downing Street briefing the new rule applies to single adult households or single parents with children under 18.
“All those in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household, meaning they can spend time together inside each others’ homes and do not need to stay two metres apart,” he said.
He added: “I want to stress that support bubbles must be exclusive, meaning you can’t switch the household you are in a bubble with or connect with multiple households.
“And if any member of the support bubble develops symptoms, all members of the bubble will need to follow the normal advice on household isolation.”
Mr Johnson said the new rule is “not designed for people who don’t qualify to start meeting inside because that remains against the law”.
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