COUNCIL bosses in Bolton have given a mixed reaction to the announcement that people may be able to see each other and mix over Christmas.

Boris Johnson announced yesterday that families will need to make a “careful judgement” about visiting elderly relatives over Christmas.

He told MPs: “We all want some kind of Christmas, we need it, we certainly feel we deserve it. But what we don’t want is to throw caution to the winds and allow the virus to flare up again, forcing us all back into lockdown in January.

“So to allow families to come together, while minimising the risk, we’re working with the devolved administrations on a special time-limited Christmas dispensation, embracing the whole of the United Kingdom.

“This virus is obviously not going to grant a Christmas truce, it doesn’t know it’s Christmas and families will need to make a careful judgement about the risk of visiting elderly relatives."

Mr Johnson pledged that fresh guidance would be published.

Cllr Martyn Cox, deputy leader of Bolton Council, believes the government would be taking the sensible approach by allowing people to mix over Christmas.

He said: “People don’t want to break the rules so if boundaries are set people should be more likely to follow them.

“I think the government is taking the sensible approach as it would be impossible to enforce people not mixing over Christmas and the police would run into all kinds of problems trying to enforce houses not mixing.

“The government is taking the sensible approach to what is a very important time of year to many people.”

Cllr Cox also believes it is right to move towards a policy of asking people to behave “according to their own circumstances”.

He added: “The government has got to move towards asking people to behave according to their own circumstances and the risks that are applicable to them.

“If people feel they are particularly vulnerable or at risk families can decide that for themselves and act accordingly. Circumstances are changing and the government approach has to change with it.

“With a vaccine hopefully on its way I think we can keep relaxing, first with the tier system to a point where we are hopefully back to normal soon after the new year.

But Bolton Labour group leader, Cllr Nick Peel, has urged caution, and warned the widespread mixing of households over Christmas could cause another spike in coronavirus infections.

He warned that coronavirus infections in Bolton have mainly come from households mixing indoors and that allowing this on a large scale for Christmas could lead to a third national lockdown.

He said: “If it’s not handled properly by the government you’ll have lots of people having large gatherings and parties at home feeling it’s just a one off and a ‘reward’ for everything that’s been done.

“This could undo all the good work that has been done with everything unravelling."

“The government and the public would then need to be prepared for potentially another spike and another large-scale lockdown as we go into winter.

“The most worrying part is that it could lead to more vulnerable people becoming exposed if many different people are mixing.

“People who would have been shielding more or less since March may be put in danger again if people are given the false sense of security that people can mix because of Christmas which unfortunately could lead to more people in hospital.

“The danger with all of this is that it could see a spike in the numbers of people needing hospital treatment which we have seen in Bolton recently."