END OF THE 5-MILE RULE
FIRST MINISTER CONFIRMS ‘STAY LOCAL’ RULE WILL END ON MONDAY PLUS KEY DATES REVEALED FOR PUB AND CAFE REOPENING
FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford will today confirm that the “stay local” fivemile rule will end on Monday.
For weeks, as part of the lockdown measures to tackle coronavirus, people in Wales have been asked to not travel more than five miles from home – but that is now set to end.
It comes a day after a further easing of restrictions was revealed, with the Welsh Government detailing a timescale for the gradual reopening of pubs, cafes and restaurants – outdoors only at first.
Mr Drakeford is today also due to confirm changes to the rules so families can be reunited again.
From Monday, people from two separate households will be able to join to form one exclusive extended household.
Confirming the changes, Mr Drakeford will also urge everyone to continue to maintain social distancing at two metres, and to respect the places and communities they visit.
It comes just 24 hours after the Welsh Government told bars, restaurants and cafés with outdoor space to prepare to reopen from July 13.
International Relations Minister Eluned Morgan told yesterday’s daily press conference in Cardiff the first phase of the hospitality industry reopening was likely to start from Monday, July 13, if the rate of coronavirus infections across Wales continues to fall. She also laid out a revised plan for allowing self-contained holiday accommodation such as hotels with en-suite rooms, caravan parks and holiday lets with no shared facilities to reopen, bringing forward the proposed date from Monday, July 13, to Saturday, July 11, to enable them to honour week-long bookings from that day and avoid changing changeover dates.
The reopening of outdoor visitor attractions will be able to go ahead from Monday because the requirement to “stay local” will be lifted that day.
However, indoor visitor attractions will have to remain closed.
Baroness Morgan said the reopening of indoor attractions will be considered at the next review of the regulations on Thursday.
She said indoor hospitality would have to remain closed at the moment; however, the Welsh Government was aware of the huge pressure the sector would be under when the furlough scheme starts to taper off from the start of August.
Baroness Morgan said ministers were “intensely aware” of the pressures faced by businesses unable to reopen, but that the health of staff and customers came first.
The first phase would see the reopening of outdoor spaces owned by businesses and subject to existing licences, and will require measures to reduce the risk of transmissions such as pre-booking and table service.
But some, including those belonging to the pub chains Wetherspooons and Brains, will not open until their venues can serve people indoors.
Pubs, bars and restaurants can reopen in England from tomorrow and are allowed to provide indoor service.
Baroness Morgan said: “We’ve been very clear throughout this crisis that the link between health and the economy is one we need to understand.
“If we open too quickly, as we’ve seen in some parts of the world, we’ll just simply have to go back into lockdown and that’s not a place we want to be.
“That’s why we’re taking this stepby-step, phased, controlled approach, working with the sector where we can but understanding the importance of the sector on the Welsh economy.
“We are intensely aware of the numbers of people who work in the sector and the numbers of people who feel very pressurised at the moment.
“We will take every step that we can to make sure this first phase of opening is a success, and then if that is successful we can then move onto further reopening.”
In relation to the two-metre social distance rule which some say will restrict the ability to trade, Baroness Morgan said the “chances are” it
would remain unchanged.
“The scientific evidence we’ve seen so far makes it absolutely clear that two metres is safer than one metre, and so for the time being that twometre rule will stay in place,” she said.
But she added the Welsh Government was working on additional protective measures to support and protect staff and customers, referencing the need of staff to be able to serve at tables.
Baroness Morgan said she believed it will be possible to identify the cause of possible Covid-19 spikes in future, despite the planned reopening coming just two days after the return of tourism, and within two weeks of allowing people to form extended households and scrapping the fivemile travel guidance.
“We will of course be able to keep an eye on where incidents occur, and I think it will be possible for us then to monitor what will be the most likely cause of the rise in incidents,” she said.
“And we will be making sure that guidance is in place to try and restrict the numbers of people who come into contact with each other in a way that could contribute to the spreading of the virus.”
Asked who will be responsible for people keeping to the two-metre rule and who would be penalised, the venue or the customer, Baroness Morgan said: “We are working with the sector to develop the guidelines.
“One of the suggestions is there will be a person within each hospitality sector, industry and facility to be responsible for making sure they comply with the mitigation rules we are putting in place.
“That will be the responsibility of that person to make sure compliance is managed and contained according to the guidelines we will be setting out.”
Asked again if there would be penalties for breaches, for example in pubs, and who would be penalised, she said: “The owner of the pub will have responsibility for making sure compliance is adhered to.”
Baroness Morgan said talks are now being held with police and local authorities to ensure there are rules in place.
Questioned on whether outdoor reopenings would be beneficial considering the unreliable UK weather, Baroness Morgan said the government understands this difficulty, but that it is safer to reopen outdoors rather than indoors.
“We are not apologising for the fact that we are taking this carefully and slowly,” she said.
Guidance to help businesses in Wales’ visitor economy has been published this week. Further guidance for cafes, bars and pubs will follow.
Baroness Morgan said: “Tourism is a vital part of the Welsh economy at a national, regional and local level. I’d like to thank all our industry partners for working with us to carefully reopen the visitor economy.
“A successful, safe and phased return will give businesses, communities and visitors confidence to continue with the recovery of the visitor economy.
“We ask everyone who travels to and around Wales to enjoy their time here, but always to respect local communities. We are looking forward to welcoming visitors back to Wales – but we want everyone to visit Wales safely.”
The Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective called on the Welsh Government to go further.
It said: “A date for reopening outside is welcome but its contribution to the retention of jobs and the survival of businesses is nevertheless very limited.
“Our research shows that less than 50% of independent pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to take advantage of this opportunity and of those the majority expect to achieve less than 25% of their usual turnover.
“Many jobs have already been lost, the numbers involved are daunting. Whilst these losses may seem relatively small on an individual basis, cumulatively they are enormous. As a collective of businesses we are extremely concerned that this collapse of our sector is not being treated with the seriousness it demands. A conservative estimate is that 10,000 jobs in the independent hospitality sector will be lost before the end of the summer.”