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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Sophie McCoid

Lockdown rules people are breaking and the ones that are being followed

A health expert has revealed which lockdown rules people in England are breaking and the one's people are following.

Dr Daisy Fancourt, from UCL's Institute of Epidemiology & Health, is lead author of a study looking at lockdown rules and which ones are the most likely to be broken.

Dr Fancourt said the rule that people are breaking most is meeting up with more people than they are allowed to outdoors.

She told BBC Breakfast: "I think people are thinking they've got that added protection from being outside with increased air and ventilation, which of course is true to a certain extent, but actually I think now we're looking at this new virus we've got to be particularly cautious on this.

"We're finding this across all age groups, so it's not like there's one particular group that are most likely to break this rule, but I think it's one that people, if they're looking to improve their own behaviours at the moment, it's a really good one to try and tighten up on."

It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble and you can't leave home for recreational or leisure purposes (such as for a picnic or a social meeting).

You cannot meet people inside or outside for a social meeting.

But you can exercise with one person from another household when you are on your own, but this is only allowed for exercise and you cannot just meet for a chat outside.

But on the whole Dr Fancourt said that the majority of people are complying with the rules and "playing their part."

She told BBC Breakfast: "I think one of the things we were most struck by is actually how good compliance is at the moment.

"We found that compliance has been improving month on month, and week on week, and actually it's now back to the same levels that it was last May, so whilst we hear the stories of rule-breakers, actually the majority of the population are really playing their part at the moment."

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She said rule flouting such as holding house parties is only being done by a "very, very tiny" percentage of people.

She said: "What we're seeing a bit more of is people bending these rules, so perhaps looking for loopholes, or slightly pushing the boundaries of the rules, and of course that's risky because this is a very complicated virus and some of those behaviours that perhaps we might have got away with a few months ago with the last strain, we're not necessarily able to get away with now."

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