By Lucy Caulkett-
Brits have been warned against ‘mistletoe snogging’ this year by the UK government, as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking with ITV’s Robert Peston, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey was questioned about whether or not members of the public should limit their festive socialising in the coming weeks.
Emphasising the government’s commitment to the public having a good ‘knees-up’, Peston stressed that party goers should avoid kissing people they don’t know. ‘I don’t think there should be much snogging under the mistletoe.’
You don’t need to do things like that. But I think we should all be trying to enjoy the Christmas ahead of us, and that’s why we’re working so hard to get the deployment of as many vaccines as possible”.
It remains to be seen how much the British public will respond to the warnings after the series of hypocritical breaches of lockdown rule by government ministers and advisers in the last year.
However, the warning is unlikely to fall on deaf ears as many who are weary of falling victim to the virus will likely take heed to the warnings for their own absolute safety.
Reiterating her point in a tweet, Coffey said:
”Science Minister George Freeman has also advised the public to ‘exercise some common sense’ when it comes to who they kiss this Christmas season, telling LBC that it is ‘up to all of us’ to help stop the new Omicron variant from spreading.
Freeman stated that his team would be holding a virtual gathering for Christmas drinks via Zoom, adding that it ‘slightly depends on the nature of the business’ as to whether others choose to do the same.
These warning come amid fresh fears over the new variant, with new restrictions now in force as part of efforts to curb its impact.
Those arriving in the UK are also now required to take a PCR test within 48 hours of coming into the country, and must self-isolate until a negative result is received