Social Bubbles For COVID-19

Yesterday I came across a report on some latest COVID-19 guidelines in the UK. Amid all the do’s and don’ts was a new(at least for me) term : Bubbles.
A bubble is a group that you make with one other household/family during the current pandemic. The British report gives quite stringent guidance about who to include in your bubble and how to proceed once you have done so.
What I managed to follow from the detailed instructions is that you can make a bubble with a small group of adults living relatively close to you. Then you socially distance from all others except those in your bubble.
You cannot form a bubble with more than one household/family. Once formed, your bubble must not be changed. The logic behind this seems to be to enlarge your group of safe contacts.

Advantages of Bubbles

In these times of isolation and social distancing,  the number of your human contacts increases and gives you lots of benefits.
Psychological and emotional support is the most important advantage.
Sharing or swapping of household chores and childcare can be a lifesaver for parents with young children since schools are closed while parents need to either go to work or work from home.

Disadvantages of Bubbles

Since you are in constant contact with your “bubble fellows” you will be sharing whatever befalls them. If one member of the bubble tests positive for COVID-19,  all the others must self isolate.
Another problem may be that if there are two sets of grandparents both within bubble-making distance, you can only choose one. I can’t even begin to imagine the complications that may arise in such a situation. If a bubble does not work out with one family, you can’t just switch to another one. You would have to wait fourteen days.

My personal experience

On reading about Bubbles in this report, I realised that I have been living in one all through. My parents live at a driving distance of 5 to 10 minutes from me. I go to see them every day and manage to share some chores with them. It is quite nice to be able to interact with someone outside my house while maintaining the same precautions pandemic wise.

DISCLAIMER

I do not profess to be an expert on Bubbles, I have merely expressed my personal opinions and experiences. To read the article that was the basis of this post you can click here.


Have you formed a bubble with some friends, neighbours or extended family ? I would love to know.

Please let me know in the comments section below.

Featured image credit https://www.riversideca.gov/press/expand-your-social-bubble-take-care-yourself-and-those-around-you