Look, straight gen from somebody actually here. Short version: people are not dropping like flies; there are no carts being pushed around by people shouting "Bring out your dead!"

Most of us are vaccinated, and a lot are boosted. Masks should be worn in shops and other public buildings, but given the cold weather, it's not really a problem. There is no current lockdown. For most of us, it's business as usual.

There are restrictions in some places. If I have to go to the care home my mother is in, I have to do a Lateral Flow test first and show negative. The test is simple to do and the kits are free to obtain from pharmacists. It takes about 20 minutes to get a result. Quite generally, doctors' surgeries, hospitals, care homes and so on have tighter regulations because of the vulnerable people who necessarily visit or live there. This might well affect your husband if his relative is in one of these places.

In the unlikely event of testing positive on a lateral flow, the process is to self-isolate while obtaining the materials for a PCR test which must be sent away . If that test proves positive, then the person is required to self-isolate for ten days. If by that time, symptoms have not developed, or if (as in the case of my daughter and granddaughters) they have developed and then gone away, then they are free to come and go again.

All your husband needs to do is to wear a mask in shops and on public transport, keep social distancing where possible, have proof of vaccination handy, keep physical contact to a minimum and obey any specific rules applying to places he may go. He should be fine.