MATT Hancock awkwardly tried to explain what coronavirus restrictions mean for casual sex during an interview with Kay Burley this morning.
The Tory minister laughed and struggled to keep a straight face as he was pressured to explain what an “established relationship” means.
Under coronavirus guidelines across the UK people should remain socially distant from anyone outside their own household – the exact measurements differ between one and two metres throughout the nations.
However there are some exceptions. The UK Government has updated its guidelines in England to say that people in “established relationships” do not need to socially distance, similar to rules already in place in Scotland.
Hancock was asked how an “established relationship” is defined on Sky News this morning.
He told Burley: “In these rules that we have to bring in, there have to be boundaries, to coin a phrase.
#KayBurley asks the health secretary, 'how long will the ban on casual sex last?'
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) September 24, 2020
Matt Hancock says sex is "ok in an established relationship" but adds people need to be "careful".
Get live updates on #coronavirus: https://t.co/K1H8hIapJW pic.twitter.com/2uFJlEiMa4
“If you’re saying that two households shouldn’t mix, which we are in some parts of the country – in the North East, the North West, in Scotland, in parts of Wales – then you have to then define what is the boundary of that.”
The journalist then joked with the uncomfortable Health Secretary, asking “If I say, ‘I love you’?” counts as an established relationship.
Hancock told Burley: “I think we should stick to the letter of it, which is it is OK in an established relationship.
“It just means that people need to be careful, they need to be sensible.
“If you’re in a relationship that is well established, what it means is people realising that coming into close contact with people from other households, then that is how the virus spreads.”
In Scotland, couples who live apart have been able to meet without social distancing since June.
Under new rules household mixing indoors is not allowed for the vast majority – exceptions are in place for couples not living together, childcare, tradespeople and those in extended households groups
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