Zoom scrapping 40-minute limit for Christmas calls
Users will have unlimited calls for a number of days!
Although most Christmas plans in England, Scotland and Wales have been scrapped due to the new strain of the Coronavirus, here in Northern Ireland the Christmas rules remain the same, but with the First and Deputy First Ministers calling on the public to keep bubbles as small as possible, the festive season is certainly going to be different this year.
As people are being urged to consider only meeting up on Christmas Day, and the six-week lockdown starting on 26th December, many households will be hoping to see their family members with the use of technology this year, and thankfully American company Zoom have made it a lot easier.
The video service, which was used by millions across the world during lockdown in 2020, have announced they are scrapping the 40-minute time limit, to allow users to call their loved ones for as long as they like over Christmas.
If you use the free version of Zoom, usually the video cuts off after 40 minutes, but the company have said the time will be unlimited across Christmas and New Year celebrations.
In a statement, Zoom bosses said, "As a token of appreciation to our users during an extraordinary time, we’re removing the 40-minute limit on free Zoom accounts for all meetings globally for several upcoming special occasions.
"Whether coming together on the final day of Hanukkah, celebrating Christmas, ringing in the new year or marking the last days of Kwanzaa, those connecting with friends and family won’t get cut short."
The unlimited meetings will begin on Wednesday 23rd December and run until Saturday 26th December. The 40-minute limit will also be dropped the following week, between Wednesday 30th December and Saturday 2nd January.
All of the fondest memories from the UK's full lockdown in 2020:
Clap for Carers
Taking place every Thursday night at 8pm, households across the UK and Ireland stepped outside their front doors to thank all key workers throughout the pandemic, clapping along for one minute with neighbours!
The final Clap for Carers took place on the 28th May with the campaign's creator Annemarie Plas thanking everybody for taking part in their masses.
The Daily Coronavirus Briefing
It became the highlight of the day, switching on our TVs at 5pm to see the daily Coronavirus briefing live from Downing Street!
Whether it was Boris himself, Chris Witty, Matt Hancock or Rishi Sunak, million tuned in everyday throughout lockdown to get an update on the figures and rules.
Captain Sir Tom Moore
He was the army veteran who stole the hearts of the nation in lockdown, raising over £30 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden ahead of his 100th birthday!
Captain Tom has now received a knighthood from the Queen, and there's going to be a movie made about his amazing life!
PE with Joe Wicks
Ahh... The lovely Joe Wicks! The Body Coach become the nation's PE teacher with his daily workouts on his YouTube page, with people of all ages getting involved throughout lockdown to keep fit!
Joe decided to donate all profits made to the NHS, with the fitness fanatic going on to raise a massive £580,000 following 78 workouts and 80 million views.
Rainbow pictures in windows
They brightened up our windows, doors, walls and let's face it, our days during lockdown!
The colourful designs first started to pop up when Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, with children being urged to create the pictures to 'spread hope'.
Furlough
A word most of us had never heard of before 2020... But 'furlough' was one of the most-used terms throughout lockdown, after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the scheme would pay for 80% of wages for people who were unable to work during lockdown.
Working from home
For those of us who weren't furloughed, working from home became the norm for a LOT of people!
Rolling out of bed five minutes before your shift, wearing your PJ bottoms in Zoom calls, and watching Netflix whilst 'working' isn't too bad after all is it?
Toilet roll shortage
Absolutely nobody saw this one coming! A world pandemic and people start hoarding... TOILET ROLL!
Yep, we still can't get our heads around this one!
Tiger King
It was the crazy Netfix series that had the world hooked during lockdown... Even if it feels like years ago since we watched the rivalry between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin!
Homeschooling
After Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, many parents were left having to homeschool their children, making us all realise just how hard Key Stage 2 maths really is!
Daily walks
It was the one time of the day we were allowed out of the house, so millions of people in the UK made the most of their daily walks!
Baking
If you were lucky enough to find flour on the supermarket shelves, you probably baked some form of banana bread, cookie or brownie during lockdown!
We are basically all Mary Berry now yeah?
Cutting each other's hair
Admit it, you had a go either cutting your own hair or somebody else's hair during lockdown, and it wasn't always 'salon standard'.
Panic buying
Not only was toilet roll sold out practically everywhere, people started to panic buy items such as pasta, rice, flour and eggs, leaving supermarket shelves empty!
Chanel the Parrot
For about three days, everyone in the UK was obsessed with the parrot Chanel, after her owner Sandra Hannah posted a video on Facebook asking for people in her local area in Liverpool to keep an eye out as Chanel had flown away. Thankfully, she was found soon after, and the pair even appeared on This Morning together for an interview with Holly and Phillip!
Zoom quizzes
"Who is making the quiz this week?"
Quizzes become the main source of entertainment through lockdown, with many people making and participating a variety of different daily quizzes.
There's one thing for sure, our IQ has improved!
Normal People
If you didn't fall in love with Normal People's Connell and Marianne during lockdown, were you even in lockdown?
DIY
Our homes were given about 50 makeovers and have never been cleaner!
BBQs
Albeit it was with members of your households, but due to the lovely weather we received in lockdown, BBQs were a very popular choice for dinner!
Bingo
Whether it was over Zoom, in the street, or just a game with your household, classic game Bingo helped us kill some hours during lockdown.
FaceTime with friends and family
As Boris announced we couldn't socialise with anybody outside of our households, Zoom calls and FaceTimes with family and friends were the only way to keep in contact with loved ones!
Whether it was 10 minute catch-up or a three hour de-brief, where would we be without them?
Wardrobe sort-outs
We finally had time to clear out our wardrobes and find items of clothing we actually forgot about!
Spending valuable time with family
Although lockdown had a lot of negatives, the shining light of the pandemic meant we could spend valuable time with our families, something our usual hectic lifestyles don't often allow.
If you are thinking about using Zoom to contact your loved ones this festive season, don't panic, you'll automatically be given unlimited time during the set days.
Stay safe and have a lovely Christmas. ❤️
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