Slimming World members have breathed a huge sigh of relief after being told the Government’s new rules on meetings of six people will not affect their newly-opened classes.

Team leaders sought to reassure members that Boris Johnson’s new legally-binding “rule of six” will not mean they have to make do with virtual meetings. In some cases it is only a week since the groups across the Huntingdonshire area has returned.

They are just getting back to a new normality after more than five months where Slimming World’s weight loss regime was reduced to an online support service and weekly attendances slipped to half the normal numbers.

Hearts sank earlier this week when it was revealed the Prime Minister intended to ban gatherings of more than six people meeting up and enforcement of the rules will include fines of at least £100.

The PM’s multi-pronged attack on the virus comes amid fears of a spike in the number of new Covid-19 infections and in a week when it was announced that nationally, the R number is now above one.

A spokeswoman for Slimming World said that as a corporate business it had already undertaken a whole raft of safety measures to ensure protection for class-goers and consultants alike.

She added: “While the tighter guidance announced this week means that some social activities are being limited, I want to reassure you that our groups can still get together.

“That is because we’re going to extra lengths to ensure that all hygiene and social distancing measures are firmly in place, including wearing face coverings during group and extra time for cleaning before and in-between sessions to make sure we’re all safe and sound.”

For the time being members are being asked to: wear a face covering; use the sanitisers provided and keep shoes on for the scales.