Coronavirus: Girl, 5, gives grandmother first hug in three months as new ‘support bubbles’ start
A five-year-old girl has hugged her grandmother for the first time since the lockdown began in March as the new “support bubble” scheme came into effect in England.
Heidi, from Worthing, West Sussex, was able to embrace nana Pam after she paired up with her son Gareth Snow’s home.
From Saturday people can pair with one other household for support without observing social distancing rules.
Heidi’s father Mr Snow filmed the moment the “best friends” were reunited.
Mr Snow said: “Today we have been able to reunite Nana Pam with her granddaughter and best friend Heidi.
“It has been a long three months of FaceTime and doorstep hellos at a distance, which has been hard on both of them as they are usually so close.
“For those living alone this will make life so much easier – a little bit of ‘normal’.
“They can now go for a walk along the seafront, picnic in the park together… Simple things that have sadly not been possible during lockdown.”
Susan, from Ashtead, Surrey, was also reunited with her grandchildren, including Emily, 10, Daisy, seven, and Benjamin, four, who had travelled from Bromley to see her.
The grandmother is retired and has been knitting jumpers for the trio during lockdown but it was the first time she had seen her grandchildren since March.
The new scheme means adults living alone or a single parent with children under the age of 18 can be treated as a single household for the purposes of following lockdown rules.
That means they can visit each other indoors in their homes – even staying overnight if they wish – and they will not have to observe the previous two-metre social-distancing rule.
The move comes ahead of a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England, with the reopening of non-essential shops on Monday.
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