Sage advice for Christmas: How your Covid-safe festive period could look

The highlight of many a family Christmas is a heated game of Monopoly – but that tradition could be off the cards this year after Sage scientists suggested board games should be avoided to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Boris Johnson has already made it clear that Christmas will "not be normal" in 2020, and members of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have predicted that household mixing over the festive period would result in a potential Covid surge on a "parallel" with the one that followed the return of students to university.

Many people were jubilant at the news of five days of relative freedom – but some Sage scientists have suggested that families should be more reserved than the Covid "bubble" guidelines suggest.

From avoiding pubs to bringing your own cutlery, its experts have suggested small ways to make Christmas as low-risk as possible.

While the Christmas "bubble" rules do not start until Christmas Eve, the period of Advent is important in preparing to be safe on the big day.

In meetings earlier this month, Sage advisers concluded that family members planning to see elderly relatives should minimise their contacts in the preceding week.

Professor John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it might be wise to consider avoiding pubs altogether for five to seven days beforehand, adding: "If you're a young person and have been to the pub for a few nights with your mates and then you're going to see granny, it's probably wise to have a week off from going to the pub."

This is because the incubation period of coronavirus is about five days, although could be up to seven and occasionally longer.

Schools, particularly secondary schools, are another high-risk setting, and Prof Edmunds suggested waiting a week after they have shut before children see vulnerable relatives.

Professor Mark Woolhouse, the chair of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, went further, saying the "single most important thing" he would want to do before visiting family at Christmas would be to get a test.

Some care homes have been advised by local infection prevention control teams to use wipeable decorations and consider placing Christmas trees outside so they are less likely to be touched. Gifts should also be received unwrapped, according to the advice, allowing staff to wrap them, but the National Care Forum said it thought that advice went too far.

Outside care homes, the advice on wrapping is that people should wash their hands before they start in order to avoid spreading germs.

Festive activities such as carol-singing outdoors can go ahead as long as the singers socially distance and face in the same direction, with Conservative MP Andrew Selous, who speaks on behalf of the church in the Commons, saying they had been given the green light.

Dame Anne Johnson, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, said: "If carollers ring the doorbell, they need to back away and sing from the street and not into your house."

While the Government's guidance says three households can mix over Christmas, Dame Anne said people should seriously think about the rule.

"The more people you mix with, the more likely you are to bring the virus into the family, so limit your numbers. Three households could be 18 or it could be four people," she said. "The fewer people you've got around the Christmas table, the better." Instead, she suggested celebrating with the people you live with if possible.

People can limit the number of households in a "bubble" as this is more effective than limiting the number of people, Sage said.

Prof Woolhouse said he would be "very cautious" about sharing cars and staying overnight in other households, adding that families should consider whether they can shorten the time spent in other homes. For those deciding to share Christmas Day with loved ones, it's important to "open the windows and keep the place well ventilated".

Ensuring respiratory hygiene is crucial, and Dame Anne said: "If people are really worried, they can do exactly what you do in restaurants – come in with your mask on until you sit down."

As for grandparents and grandchildren finally having a long awaited hug, the chief medical officer says don't. Speaking alongside Boris Johnson in Downing Street on Thursday, Professor Chris Whitty told the public to "take it really seriously during Christmas. Don't do stupid things". He said: "Would I encourage someone to hug and kiss their elderly relatives? No I would not... if you want them to survive to be hugged again."

As is the law, if a person has been in contact with a Covid case, they should quarantine. If they feel unwell in any way, they should avoid mixing with elderly relatives.

It's important to consider seating arrangements for Christmas lunch and, while it might make for a chilly meal, Dame Anne suggests putting granny by an open window. "The oldest most vulnerable person might sit at the end of the table in the best ventilated space," she said.

Relatives and friends should try and sit two metres apart to "reduce face-to-face contact" and the risk of transmission, she said, adding: "That sounds kind of bonkers, doesn't it, but I guess you can have a nice Christmas dinner spread out in your sitting room with your turkey on your knee."

If people are mixing two households, it might be wise to have two tables. But too many chefs in the kitchen should not be a problem, with Dame Anne suggesting leaving it up to one person who can also keep all the surfaces clean.

In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, has urged people meeting up indoors to "avoid sharing cutlery or crockery if possible", and Prof Edmunds said they should put their own plates in the dishwasher to avoid cross-contamination.

After lunch, board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble should be avoided because they risk spreading infection through "lots of shared game pieces", Sage experts have said, and non-contact family games such as quizzes should be played instead.

Charades could be an option as long as "you can manage to space people out and people don't shout too much", said Dame Anne. But singing carols round a fire would need to be socially distanced because "loud singing and loud shouting will increase the amount of secretion you put out."

The Queen's speech or the EastEnders special could be traded for drinks outside around a firepit, Dame Anne said, suggesting: "You might, if you've got two little children, light the fire pit and have pre-Christmas drinks in the garden."

How will you be making sure your Christmas is Covid-safe? Let us know in the comments below.