The new rules for having friends and family visit your home

The Government is changing the rules in England

Lockdown rules will be changed in England from Monday allowing you to meet up to six people at a time.

And where before any meeting with a friend or family member had to be done in an open public place such as a park - from next week you will be able to meet up in your garden.

But strict rules will still apply.

The rules state that you should stay two metres apart from each person who is not a member of your household at all times.

People who are in the most vulnerable category - those with specific medical conditions - are still required to 'shield', stay at home and avoid unnecessary contact.

People visiting someone else's home cannot go into the house - except to walk through to get to a garden or to go to the toilet.

Physical contact - hugging shaking hands - is still against the rules.

You cannot stay at someone's house over night.

Boris Johnson said: "It's very, very important that people understand the really limited nature of what we're saying.

"We do want people to be able to see their friends and family, we do want people to see two grandparents at once but it's got to be socially distanced, there's got to be a maximum of six people."

He added: "We don't want people to stay overnight, we don't want people to go to other households and stay there, I'm just afraid we're not at that stage.

"What you certainly can imagine is there could be meetings of families in a garden, you could even have a barbecue provided you did it in a socially-distanced way, provided everyone washes their hands, provided everybody exercises common sense."

Mr Johnson also urged people to avoid "seeing too many people from too many households" in quick succession, but said further guidance would follow.

And he warned that if there is a rise in infections, strict measures will be brought back in.

The PM said: "There will be further local outbreaks, so we'll monitor what's going on very carefully.

"We'll put on the brakes as required and where necessary we'll reimpose measures."

The rules are also different in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Outdoor gatherings will also be allowed in Wales from Monday, however there is no limit on the number of people who are allowed to meet.

Scottish citizens do not have to wait until Monday to visit family and friends, with restrictions being eased from Friday to allow gatherings of up to eight people.

Meanwhile groups of up to six people are already allowed to gather outdoors in Northern Ireland after some restrictions were lifted earlier this month.