Covid crisis ‘not over’, Drakeford tells PM

FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford has accused the UK Government of suggesting coronavirus is “all over” in England and people can return to normal life.

Mr Drakeford expressed concerns over how Prime Minister Boris Johnson is communicating the easing of lockdown rules in England.

The Labour politician added that he is offering a “much more sober message” compared with Mr Johnson as the Covid-19 pandemic has not ended.

Mr Johnson has announced a broader easing of lockdown rules, with bars, restaurants and other businesses among those to reopen in England from July 4.

Wales does not plan to end its five-mile restriction on travel until July 6, while holidaymakers could be allowed to return from July 13.

There are also no social bubble arrangements in Wales.

Mr Drakeford’s comments yesterday came ahead of a landmark day in Wales, with schools here reopening today for the first time since lockdown – although the move has not been without its problems.

And it follows a week which has seen “ugly scenes” and largescale gatherings on parts of the Welsh coastline and in English cities, which has led to warnings that the easing of lockdown restrictions could be halted if such incidents continue.

Meanwhile, Mr Drakeford told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “We will continue to do things in the way we’ve done things in Wales – carefully, cautiously, one step at a time.

“We put our efforts into planning first and making the announcements second, not making an announcement and then thinking about how you can make those things happen.”

Asked if that is what Mr Johnson has been doing, Mr Drakeford replied: “My concerns with the UK Government are sometimes less with the substance, where I think we’re all broadly trying to do the same things; I’m more concerned with the messaging, the way things are described.

“Here in Wales, I am very keen to continue to say to Welsh citizens ‘Coronavirus has not gone away, it remains something that kills people in Wales every day’. If you don’t stay on top of it, you will see things going backwards and everything we’ve done together thrown away.

“That’s a very different message to the message across the border, where the message seems much more ‘It’s all over and you can go back to doing everything as you did before’.”