Social bubble could be limited to 10 family & pals until next year as weddings & birthdays are ‘super-spreader’ events
SOCIAL bubbles could be limited to just 10 people until next year as weddings and birthdays are “super-spreader” events, scientists have warned.
Health experts have found large family events are among the deadliest ways to spread coronavirus.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
They claim gatherings of between 10 and 30 people allow one person carrying Covid-19 to infect up to 10 others.
Senior epidemiologist Adam Kucharski said Britain faces “exponential growth” and risks “being back where we started” once lockdown measures are lifted.
He told “'Look at where these super-spreading events occur, it's often at family gatherings and meals and weddings and parties and all these things that socially we want to happen.
“As soon as measures are lifted, we risk being back where we started, facing exponential growth.”
Dr Kucharski, a senior epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said these gatherings could pose a threat well into 2021.
Look at where these super-spreading events occur, it's often at family gatherings and meals and weddings and parties and all these things that socially we want to happen.
Adam Kucharski
He added: “These kinds of meals and gatherings and parties of 10 to 30 people seem to come up again and again in the data.
“We are seeing 10 or so people getting infected [by one person] instead of the usual reproduction number, which is about two or three.”
Celebrations such as birthdays, office parties and Christmas dos may have to have restrictions later this year.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom. Research shows that outdoor activies, such as visiting parks and possibly non-contact sports, seem to be low-risk.
Dr Kucharski added: “The hope is that new measures can give us as much freedom as possible.
“But, we’re going to have to have some form of social distancing in place for a long time.”
MOST READ IN NEWS
Meanwhile, a study by the Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine (DMCM) at the University of Dundee, found social groups should be limited to five people.
They told “Lockdown can barely contain the disease’s spread.
“Brits will have to 'substantially' reduce their 'normal' level of social interaction to ensure the number of cases doesn't start to rise out of control.
“Our data is more consistent with a need to adopting a ‘new normal’ that can provide the optimal balance between allowing economic activity while ensuring very substantial reductions in prior social contacts - 90 per cent reductions according to our best estimates.”
Give now to The Sun's NHS appeal
BRITAIN’s four million NHS staff are on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.
But while they are helping save lives, who is there to help them?
The Sun has launched an appeal to raise £1MILLION for NHS workers. The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need.
We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it.
The Sun is donating £50,000 and we would like YOU to help us raise a million pounds, to help THEM. No matter how little you can spare, please donate today here: .