Britons oppose plan to relax COVID-19 rules for Christmas - survey

Reuters
·1 min read
The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London

LONDON (Reuters) - More people in Britain oppose the government's plans to relax COVID-19 restrictions for five days around Christmas than support them, a poll published on Wednesday showed.

Fifty percent of respondents in the poll conducted by Kantar said they opposed or strongly opposed the planned relaxation while 40% backed it.

Two influential medical journals made a rare joint appeal on Tuesday, arguing the government should reverse the decision to allow up to three households to meet at home for five days over Christmas.

Britain has recorded more than 64,000 deaths from COVID, the second highest number in Europe.

The Kantar poll also showed 65% of respondents would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccination, up two points from a previous poll in November, while 23% would definitely or probably not get a jab, up one point.

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Alistair Smout)