SHOPS TO OPEN THIS MONTH?
WALES’ Economy Minister has hinted that non-essential shops could reopen in less than two weeks’ time.
Ken Skates said yesterday he would “absolutely” like to see non-essential retail open in Wales on June 22 if coronavirus infections continue to fall.
Guidance is being published for all types of businesses to support the effort to get them opened.
It came as Public Health Wales said a further nine people had died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 1,419, while the total number of cases increased by 38 to 14,518.
Mr Skates also went on to detail the dates of the three next lockdown reviews in Wales and the types of businesses the Welsh Government is hoping to get back working at each one – provided the ‘R’ rate of infection remains below one and the virus is still declining.
Mr Skates said: “It would be a very welcome boost to the economy but it is entirely dependent on the R number and the number of infections.
“This is why the people of Wales have welcomed the sensible and cautious approach taken by the Welsh Government.
“If we do have that headroom when we consider the June 18 review point, then non-essential retail would be foremost in our minds.”
However, Mr Skates warned businesses not to reopen before they were certain they could make it work because, he said, it would be hard for them to go back into hibernation or access the furlough scheme afterwards.
In the last review, First Minister Mark Drakeford told shops to prepare for possibly reopening after the next review of lockdown rules, which is due to take place at the end of next week.
Supermarkets, corner shops, banks, pharmacies and petrol stations have been able to remain open during the coronavirus lockdown, but that list could grow in Wales.
This could include shops selling items such as clothes, toys, books and electronics, as well as indoor markets.
Mr Skates said he hoped non-essential retail “took the alert” at the last review, but warned the big challenge for reopening businesses will be getting people through the doors.
“If businesses don’t have customers, then they are not going to be able to generate revenue and they will not be able to operate, even if they open with generous opening hours and on the terms the same or similar to that we went into coronavirus with,” he said.
“Without public confidence, without public health, there will be no healthy economy in Wales.”
Asked when tourism and hospitality may restart in Wales, Mr
Skates said the Welsh Government hopes “to be able to say something positive for that important sector” this summer.
He said Wales was planning to continue relaxing lockdown in one area at a time, provided the rate of spread of the virus continued to slow.
Suggesting that shops would be the next area the Welsh Government planned to reopen at its review on June 18, he hinted tourism could follow on the subsequent review date of July 9 or July 30. But Mr Skates said non-essential retail is “foremost in our minds”. “Guidance is being published for all types of businesses to support the effort of ensuring that businesses are safe to re-open,” he said.
In England, non-essential shops have been given the go-ahead to open their doors again from Monday.
Mr Skates also spoke about the reopening of zoos and animal parks in Wales, after the UK Government announced zoos will be reopening in England from Monday. The minister said the Welsh Government is determined to do everything it can “to help the 30 licensed zoos across Wales”.
He said he was delighted to report the Welsh
Mountain Zoo had been able to access almost £350,000 of support that would not have been available in England.
And he said there have also been eight other offers of financial support in grants to zoos across Wales.
“There will come a point where zoos can open safely and I hope that is sooner rather than later,” Mr Skates said.
“We have to make sure they reopen in a safe way and the public have the confidence to access them.”
Speaking about the UK Government’s U-turn decision to reopen zoos, Mr Skates said: “Here in Wales we never legislated to keep zoos closed.
“The key challenge for zoos in Wales is not in terms of legislation, it is in attracting people through the gates – and you only get one shot at reopening an attraction – and you have to make sure that you do it in a way that draws in sufficient numbers, who are paying the ticket prices, to make sure you are
viable.
ister Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Parliament was looking at easing social lockdown measures.
Currently people from two households can meet outdoors, as long as they do not travel more than five miles “as a general rule”, and observe social distancing.
The rules are looser in England, where you can now meet up to six people from separate households, in outside spaces.
And, from Saturday, couples kept apart by lockdown restrictions could be reunited and some grandparents will be able to hug their grandchildren under plans set out yesterday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The latest move to ease England’s coronavirus lockdown will allow adults living alone or single parents to form a “support bubble” with one other household.
They would then be allowed to mix as though they were one household, spending time together indoors, not having to follow the two-metre rule and would be allowed to stay overnight.
Yesterday, Mr Drakeford told a plenary meeting that a key indicator of whether the restrictions could be eased would be the reproduction level – the so-called R number – and how the virus was circulating in Wales.
“I share that hope that people in Wales have that we will be in a position at the end of next week to further lift some of the restrictions we’ve all had to abide by over what is now nearly three months,” he said.
“As we go into this week, the figure is around 50 new confirmed cases every day, and that number continues to fall.
“So, your chances of meeting somebody, as you leave your own home, who is suffering from coronavirus, is about an eighth of what it was when we went into lockdown.
“We will continue to have to emphasise to people, is that as they exercise those freedoms, they have to exercise them really carefully.
“Because even if there are only 50 new confirmed cases a day, you have no way of knowing, as you leave your home, whether you are going to be in contact with one of those 50 people.”
Mr Drakeford told Senedd members the Welsh Government was hoping to be able to resume parts of the tourism industry before this year’s season ends, but it had to be done with “community consent”.
“If it is possible then, beginning with self-contained accommodation, where people are not sharing kitchens and toilets and showers and so on, seems to be a sensible and safe way of thinking about how we can resume activity in the tourism industry,” he said.
“So, as we move, if we are able to, to allow tourism to resume in Wales, people who travel to those communities can be sure that they would be welcome, and that the industry will once again be demonstrating to people everything that Wales has to offer.”
Meanwhile, Mr Skate revealed business support grants worth more than £680m have reached businesses across Wales to help them respond to the financial challenges of the pandemic.
It comes as a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Britain’s economy was likely to slump by 11.5% in 2020 – but could contract by 14% if there is a second wave of Covid19 later this year – a harder blow than every other Covid-hit European country.