PEOPLE living alone will be allowed to form “support bubbles” with another household from Saturday, PM Boris Johnson announced today in a change he said would help alleviate lockdown loneliness.

At the daily Downing Street press briefing on the coronavirus, he said the move will allow adults living alone or single parents of children aged under 18 to socialise indoors with members of one other household.

They will not be legally obliged to follow the two-metre rule and would be allowed to stay overnight.

“Support bubbles must be exclusive, meaning you can’t switch the household you are in a bubble with or connect with other households,” Mr Johnson said.

He added if any member of the “bubble” developed coronavirus symptoms, all the members would have to follow the normal advice on household isolation.

The move could allow children in single-parent households to see one set of grandparents, and a grandparent living alone would be allowed to visit the house of their child and grandchildren.

But the move would not allow a couple to visit both parents as neither household would comprise a single adult.

Mr Johnson admitted the “targeted intervention” was not going to benefit everyone but would help those isolated in the lockdown.

He also announced that all shops, whether essential or non-essential, will be allowed to open from Monday, as long as they are “Covid-secure.”

It comes after warnings that Britain is on course to suffer the biggest economic hit of any developed country from the coronavirus.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the economy was likely to drop by 11.5 per cent in 2020 – but could fall by 14 per cent if there is a second wave of Covid-19 this year.

Meanwhile the number of deaths involving Covid-19 in Britain has passed 52,000, according to analysis of the latest available data.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 41,128 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in Britain as of 5pm on Tuesday, up by 245 from the day before.

The government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across Britain, which is thought to have passed 52,000.

The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Wednesday, 1,003 more people tested positive for the coronavirus compared with the previous 24-hour period.

In total, 290,143 tests for coronavirus have returned positive results.