Warning to Wales visitors
THE First Minister has warned people living in England against travelling into Wales to exercise.
Mark Drakeford said
“in Wales it is Welsh law that applies” following concerns after Boris Johnson relaxed travel restrictions there.
THE First Minister has warned people living in England against travelling into Wales to exercise.
Mark Drakeford said “in Wales it is Welsh law that applies” following concerns traffic from England could increase after Prime Minister Boris Johnson relaxed travel restrictions there.
As of this Tuesday, Public Health Wales said a further 16 people had died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths to 1,132.
Nationally, 32,415 people have now died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK.
Mr Drakeford said police had reported a “distinct increase in activity” in Wales over the bank holiday weekend, including alcohol-related violence and increased traffic, following reports the lockdown in England might be eased.
Mr Drakeford said: “Now they and we have concerns that traffic flow into Wales could continue to increase as a result of the Prime Minister’s announcement that travel to exercise will be allowed in England.
“Now I just want to be clear. In Wales, it is Welsh law that applies. Travelling to Wales to exercise is not to exercise locally. We will use whatever means are available to convey this message.”
Mr Drakeford said these could include signs on major roads and motorways, and Welsh Government-paid articles in regional newspapers across the Wales-England border.
Current rules in Wales allow people to exercise more than once a day – but unlike in England they must do so locally, with the exercise not involving any significant travel.
Those who are in breach of the rules can be fined £60, rising to £120 for second and subsequent offences. First offences fall to £30 if paid within 14 days.
The First Minister raised doubts about the rule changes announced by Mr Johnson, which include allowing people to spend more time outdoors for leisure purposes and being able to drive to parks or beaches within England.
Mr Drakeford said: “I think we have got it right in Wales and I don’t think they’ve got it right over the border.
“Our restrictions on people’s ability to travel are there because we don’t want the virus to travel and the further people go, the bigger the risk is that coronavirus will start to spread again. That’s why we say to people in Wales ‘stay local’, because that reduces the risk.”
Mr Drakeford said he had “huge sympathy” for people who had relatives across the border, but said the “sacrifice” of not having direct face-to-face contact with them was being made to protect people from the virus.
He revealed he and the first ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland had asked Boris Johnson to be clear when he was speaking in a UK capacity and when he was speaking only for England in his address on Sunday.
“I think all of us asked for clarity about when he was speaking in that UK capacity and when he was making announcements that apply in England,” Mr Drakeford said.
He said he had written to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove three weeks ago asking for a “regular pattern of engagement” between the devolved administrations and Westminster, but that over the past three weeks that communication had only been in “fits and starts”.
Mr Drakeford also said the chief medical officer Frank Atherton had now advised there was a “marginal public health case” for non-medical face coverings, but would not be making their use mandatory.
“It doesn’t protect you, the wearer, from anybody else but it may protect other people from the risk of you infecting them,” he said.
Elsewhere, the leader of the Senedd’s Welsh Conservative group, Paul Davies MS, challenged Mr Drakeford to outline his plan to end lockdown in Wales.
He said: “The big difference between England and Wales after [Sunday] night is that the Prime Minister has set out his clear plan for recovery, which is based on science and is conditional on the R number reducing further.
“Sadly, so far, the First Minister hasn’t laid out his plan for Wales and yet this is something that Sir Keir Starmer has been demanding in Westminster.
“We also need clarity from the First Minister on the reopening of schools in Wales. Whilst in England it will be based on the progress of reducing the R number, in Wales the Welsh Government has ruled out the reopening of schools in June altogether.
“All governments need to be flexible and listen to the science.”
Boris Johnson on Monday told the Commons that any divergence on lockdown measures across the UK should only be for a short period of time.
The Prime Minister, facing questions from MPs, acknowledged that a “flexible response” to Covid-19 is needed for the home nations. But he insisted that defeating the virus and taking on the challenge of recovery must be faced “together”.
Mr Johnson has faced a barrage of criticism following his speech to the nation on Sunday night in which he announced an easing of the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, but the rules only affect England.
Police chiefs voiced concern at the “total shambles” and “utter confusion” over easing lockdown restrictions in England.
The concerns came as: the First Minister said further statements would be made this week about when children in Wales might be returning to school; and
the Welsh Government said there was not enough scientific evidence to make wearing face masks mandatory – despite England now following Scotland’s lead in recommending their use.
Mr Drakeford said reports from top police officers had caused concern, adding: “They reported a distinct increase in activity over the bank holiday weekend, particularly after many
UK national newspapers reported major easing of the lockdown was on the horizon.”
He said they had reported an increase in “alcohol-related violence”, particularly linked to Friday’s VE Day commemorations, and also said there had been an increase in traffic on the roads.
Over the weekend Mr Drakeford said we “saw things I’m keen we don’t see repeated”, but added they were “the exception” and that it was the intention of the Welsh Government to take the “right measures at the right time” and draw on the “enormous reservoir of willingness to act collectively to solve common problems” in lifting measures.
Mr Drakeford also said conversations with the UK Government had “not been reliable and routine enough”, adding he did not feel that Cobra meetings being held twice a month was “sufficient”.
The developments came as minor changes to the lockdown came into force in Wales, with people now being able to exercise more than once a day and garden centres reopening.
The First Minister announced on Friday that lockdown restrictions in the country would continue for a further three weeks, but three minor adjustments could be made.
These included people being able to exercise more than once a day – but they must do so locally, with the exercise not involving any significant travel.
Garden centres have been allowed to reopen if social-distancing rules can be followed.
And local authorities have started planning how to safely reopen libraries and municipal recycling centres.
Mr Drakeford said the changes were “very small”, adding: “Coronavirus has not gone away.”
Meanwhile, the number of individual tests for Covid-19 carried out in Wales has hit 48,583 since the outbreak began.
Mr Drakeford said latest figures showed a significant rise in Wales.
“Conclusively, things are moving in the right direction and there is some acceleration in this movement,” he said.
However, he said more needs to be done to ensure the best use was being made of the testing capacity.
The First Minister said the Army has been helping in Wales “to iron out some of the blockages there have been in slowing down” testing.