Warning, caution ahead! Lockdown restrictions are slowly being relaxed but it's still vital we all follow the rules to keep the threat of Covid at bay…

 It was an amazing start to the week – we can now meet up outside again with friends and family, and start enjoying each other's company once more.

But it's not the time to let your guard down. Covid is still a threat and there's the real possibility of a third wave unless we continue to be cautious.

Here, experts explain why lockdown is being eased so slowly, and why we still need to respect 'hands, face, space and fresh air'.

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Restrictions are slowly being eased but now is not the time to let your guard downFrom now on, up to six people can meet outside and two households can get together in the fresh air.

Outdoor sports can resume, with facilities such as tennis courts and lidos reopening. But you should still minimise travel and work from home where possible while continuing social distancing.

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Professor Brooke Rogers OBE, Professor of Behavioural Science and Security, King's College London

What should I do if I show symptoms?

All other rules remain the same. So if you're told to self-isolate or someone in your household or support bubble is suspected of having Covid, you must stay at home for 10 days. If you show symptoms, you should only leave home to get a Covid test.

What can we do to minimise risk as restrictions lift?

'It's not about meeting people without any of the rules,' says Professor Brooke Rogers. 'It's about following all of the 'hands, face, space and fresh air' advice with six people or another household.'

Key is to plan with your friends and family how you will stay safe. 'Actually have those conversations,' she says. 'People are more likely to stick to plans made in advance.'

Why can't we meet up indoors?

Covid can be spread in three ways: breathing in an infected person's water droplets; touching something those droplets have landed on; and inhaling smaller airborne particles of the virus.

And we are far less likely to breathe in the virus outdoors, as fresh air naturally sweeps away and dilutes Covid.

'There was a Chinese study that found only one out of hundreds of cases of transmission occurred outside,' says Professor Tim Sharpe.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of the Centre of Climate Repair, Cambridge

There are fewer things to touch outdoors that might be infected, and the weather is on our side, with rain washing the virus away and the sun's ultraviolet light drying it out, which may help.

'Being outdoors is safer when you think about the different factors that eliminate the virus,' says Dr Shaun Fitzgerald.

So why can't spectators go to outdoor games?

There are just too many people, says Prof Sharpe.

'Where you have crowds, people get pushed in together, they are singing, chanting, shouting – all of those are aerosol-generating events,' he says.

'It's not just the event itself. It's getting to and from the event, going to the bathroom, and eating. With crowds, you are multiplying the risk.'

The vaccination schedule is going well – so why can't we open up faster?

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Professor Tim Sharpe, Head of Architecture, University of Strathclyde

'Although a lot of people have been vaccinated, many have not and are still at risk,' says Prof Sharpe.

'Until a much larger number of people are vaccinated, there will still be those at significant risk.'

Is it OK to make occasional exceptions to the rules?

The simple answer is no.

'If we each make exceptions and you multiply that across everyone, that's when there's potential for transmission to skyrocket,' says Prof Rogers. 'Ask yourself if you'd feel safe if everybody else made small exceptions in the same way.'

■ For more information, go to gov.uk

'I'VE ALREADY PLANNED OUR FIRST MEET UP'

Jo Threlfall, 28, is a fashion blogger from Leeds. She says:

'I have made plans already - I'm meeting my sister, her partner, and two other friends, and we're going to go for a socially distanced walk and a coffee together for the first time in months.

'I've always valued my friends, but they are scattered all over, so the restrictions have meant we're not able to see each other. I'm a social person, and I have missed them all and can't wait to see them again to have a catch up.

'And I'll finally be able to meet up with my friend Jess, who's pregnant. It's so exciting because she's the first of my friends to be having a baby, and there's so much I want to ask her.'

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Jo Threlfall, 28, has missed seeing her friends and can't wait to catch up with them