Don't visit your boyfriend or girlfriend's house, government says

Brits should not visit their boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s house if they don’t live together, Downing Street said today.

Boris Johnson’s spokesman said people must follow “clear” rules that say there are only four reasons why people can leave their homes.

Those rules made no exception for younger or newly-dating partners who do not yet live in the same home.

In fact, the government’s rules explicitly say: “You should be ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked today how that rule applied to boyfriends and girlfriends.

In response, he said: “The guidance was clear yesterday.

“Essentially, what it said was that you should stay at home, and then it just set out four very specific circumstances where you may be permitted to go outdoors.

“And I think those rules should be applied to all scenarios.”

Downing Street did point out two exceptions – key workers are allowed to take their children to school, and children under 18 can move between both parents’ homes if their parents are separated.

However, Downing Street also said people should use “common sense”.

And officials promised to give more clarity on the issue within hours – raising the possibility that the advice will change today.

Asked again if girlfriends and boyfriends couldn’t visit each other’s houses, the No10 spokesman said: “There will be a whole range of particular scenarios you can put to me.

“I think the rules are clear. You should look at those.

“They are an instruction from the government, given for a very specific reason, which is to save lives. People should follow the rules and do so in a common sense way.” 

Asked a third time about boyfriends and girlfriends he added: “I think the rules are clear in relation to when you are out of the house. You should only do so with members of your own house or for work reasons.”

Asked whether boyfriends and girlfriends could still meet in public alone – as gatherings of “more than two” people are banned – No10 said officials would look into the issue further.

Last night’s government advice said you should only leave the house for four reasons:

• Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible

• One form of exercise a day – for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household

• Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person

• Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home

Fines for breaking the Government’s lockdown will start at £30.

But they will “increase significantly” if people do not comply with demands that people not leave their house for unnecessary reasons or gather in groups of more than two.

The fines will be a civil matter not criminal, but failure to pay them could see you end up with a criminal conviction.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “It will initially start at £30 but we will keep this under review and can increase it significantly if it is necessary to ensure public compliance, which is of vital importance to save lives.”

He added that police work will focus “on the dispersal of groups” who gather in breach of the lockdown.