PEOPLE in England are looking forward to hugging loved ones, dining inside restaurants and fleeing the UK for their overseas holiday.
But when Boris Johnson urged Brits to indulge in “cautious cuddles”, the baffled Huffington Post admonished, “for hug’s sake, it sounds like a mid-noughties indie band!”
When will hugging be allowed?
“Cautious” hugs are officially back on from May 17, with the Prime Minister leaving it up to Brits to decide if they want to embrace family and friends.
Mr Johnson said current data indicated it might also be possible to scrap the “one-metre plus” social distancing rule.
If so, this would greatly increase flexibility for businesses to increase capacity.
Downing Street said in a statement: “People will be urged to remain cautious about the risks that come with close personal contact such as hugging, as we know this remains a direct way of transmitting the disease.”
As part of the May 17 changes in England, people will be free to choose whether to stay two metres from family or friends, meaning they can once again hug and shake hands.
Mr Johnson warned during his speech on May 10, 2021: “This doesn’t mean that we can suddenly throw caution to the winds.
“We all know that close contacts such as hugging is a direct way of transmitting this disease,” .
What are the risks?
Those who have received at least one Covid jab will be less at risk, with people receiving two vaccinations the most protected.
Officials have suggested that people consider getting tested for coronavirus before hugging.
Brits are also advised to wear face masks or ensure a room is well ventilated before completely ditching social distancing measures.
The Covid-19 alert level in the UK has been downgraded after a “consistent” fall in cases, hospital admissions and deaths.
The four chief medical officers of the UK have said the threat level should be lowered from “level 4” to “level 3”, thanks to the success of the jab programme and social distancing restrictions.
This means that the epidemic is in general circulation, but transmission of the virus is no longer deemed to be high or rising exponentially.
The PM said: “I urge you to think about the vulnerability of your loved ones – whether they have had a vaccine, one or two doses, and whether there has been time for that vaccine to take effect.
“Remember outdoors is always safer than indoors. And if you are meeting indoors, remember to open a window and let in the fresh air.
“Keep getting tested regularly, even if you don’t have symptoms, so you don’t spread the virus without knowing it.
“And whatever you decide, I must ask that you continue to follow social distancing when not with friends and family, including in workplaces, shops, pubs, restaurants and other settings.
“We only have to look at the very sad situation in other countries to see the lethal potential of this virus, and we must continue to fight the spread of variants here in the UK.
“While we have no evidence yet to believe these variants are completely vaccine resistant, we must remain vigilant.
“So please remember hands, face, space and fresh air.”
What is a cautious cuddle and how should I hug others?
Asked what “cautious cuddling” means, mental health minister Nadine Dorries told BBC Breakfast with a laugh: “I don’t think you can cautiously cuddle.”
Concerned Sage scientists have warned that embraces should be kept to a minimum, and Brits should avoid face-to-face contact as much as they can to stay safe.
Professor Cath Noakes, who sits on Sage, has urged caution ahead of the relaxation, saying that too much hugging could “perpetuate” the further spread of Covid.
Gurch Randhawa, a public health expert at the University of Bedfordshire, spoke to ABC News in the US about the government’s potentially confusing messages.
He said: “It is no doubt tempting to relax social distancing, offer the glimmer of a much needed hug, and lift restrictions on international travel, but this could be a big mistake at this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a minimum, the government should be advising only those have received both vaccination doses to be hugging each other, and even, a short hug, with faces directed away from each other to minimise risk of Covid-19 transmission.”
What is a cautious cuddle?
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at UEA and an expert in infectious diseases, gave HuffPost UK these tips:
- Hug people you live with: “If you live with someone or are in the same bubble then you have been able to hug them anyway, so don’t stop now and hug them however you and they want.”
- No rampant hugging: “If you don’t need to hug each other, then don’t.”
- Don’t embrace everyone
- Jabs aren’t a 100% guarantee:“If both of you have been vaccinated then the risk of transmission is actually very low but not zero.”
- ‘Side hugging’ is safer: Keep your faces away from each other so that you are “not re-breathing each other’s air”.
Can I hug my fully-vaccinated granny?
If you want to embrace each other, you can from May 17 – but remember that some people are more vulnerable to Covid than others.
Officials have suggested people should consider getting tested for coronavirus before hugging.
They’ve also recommended we wear face masks or ensure a room is well ventilated before ditching social distancing measures.
The PM set out a new approach to tackling the virus, giving people greater responsibility for their own choices on whether to observe social distancing with friends and family.
Using our own personal judgement, from May 17 we are able to decide whether to hug our grannies – remembering that even if both sides are fully vaccinated, the risk from the coronavirus is not fully eliminated.
Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) urged people to “act responsibly” when restrictions are lifted further.
He told BBC Breakfast: “I think it’s actually very important for our mental health and wellbeing that we can hug our loved ones, but to me the key message is, if and when this comes in, we need to remember that the pandemic hasn’t gone away.
“We are still a few steps away from normality, so it’s really great that we can hug our loved ones, but what we need to remember is we need to be a little bit careful.”
He added: “The key thing for me is what we want to avoid is hospital admissions going up and [the number of] people dying going up.
“And if we can keep those out of the low levels they are, then hopefully this resumption of hugging can be done safely and we can proceed again to the June 21 relaxation.”
Dr David Nabarro, special envoy on Covid-19 for the World Health Organisation, urged Brits to maintain social distancing and keep using face masks.
He said: “Please be really careful, maintain that physical distance of between one metre and two metres, especially indoors, and don’t forget to wear your face masks because that really can give extra protection.
“It’s these simple things, but all done together that will really make the difference as to whether or not future spikes are huge or future spikes are small and easily contained.”
Professor in Medical Microbiology Sally Jane Cutler told Times Radio: “I think we have to be very conserved about who we choose to hug.
“Personally I’m going to restrict my hugging to family members and not beyond.”
The Duchess of Cornwall, 73, has revealed she enjoyed “half a hug” with her grandchildren, despite this being forbidden until the official easing of restrictions from May 17.
When asked if she had been able to do that more recently as Britain continues to reopen, Camilla replied: “I am doubly jabbed so we’ve had a sort of half a hug.
“It has been so lovely just to be able to see them again and talk to them.
“Telephones and machines and these Zooms are fine, but nothing is ever the same as being able to give somebody a good hug.”
Are handshakes allowed?
As part of the May 17, 2021, changes, people will be given the choice whether to remain two metres from family or friends, meaning they can once again hug and shake hands.
In March 2020, after the coronavirus had established its terrifying presence in the UK, Mr Johnson declared that it would not stop him greeting people with a handshake.
Days ahead of ending up in intensive care, battling Covid, the PM also said that he had shaken the hands of everyone at a hospital where infected patients were being treated.
