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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Sophie McCoid

Rules on meeting people outside who are not in your support bubble or household

England is in a national lockdown, with people urged to stay at home as much as possible, but people are allowed to leave their home for certain reasons.

People are allowed to leave their home to go to work, for a medical need, to shop for essentials and to exercise.

But there is confusion around how far people are allowed to go for exercise and who they can exercise with.

People are being urged to stay local for their exercise, but there is debate around what 'local' actually means.

Boris Johnson was spotted cycling seven miles from his home in Downing Street with some people saying that is not local.

And two women were initially fined £200 for going for a walk at a reservoir five miles from their home, before the fine was later revoked by police.

Here's the rules around meeting other people outside and guidance on what 'local' means.

Rules on meeting people

It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble.

You cannot 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.

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What does 'local' mean?

When you are exercising you should not travel outside your local area.

The guidance does not stipulate a physical distance of what local means, but says "Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live."

In the guidance it says when you take exercise you should say local, which means "avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live."

Police officers are hoping the public will recognise what "local" means for exercise, said policing minister Kit Malthouse.

When asked whether "local" should be defined in England, he told Times Radio: "What we are hoping for is that most people will recognise that local, while it's open to personal interpretation, does have some implications, ie can you get there under your own steam?

"We are trying to strike a balance between maintaining compliance with the rules and elements of public consent to what's happening.

"I think most people would think that was reasonable.

"Where there are unreasonable people who are breaking that rule, police are intervening."

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