CHRISTMAS ICE WALK SCRAPPED
CASTLE ATTRACTION SCUPPERED BY COVID, AFTER ADVICE FROM CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
AN ICE skating attraction that was due to be one of the centrepieces of this year’s Cardiff Christmas has been scrapped at the eleventh hour due to coronavirus.
The ice walk was to be a key part of this year’s Christmas At The Castle, the festive event that has this year replaced the annual Winter Wonderland in the capital.
The new event has been specially tailored to meet the requirements of social distancing and safety in this year of Covid-19, and its ice skating attraction was due to open last week at the same time as the rest of the site.
But yesterday organisers revealed the Ice Walk – together with a similar attraction in Swansea – has been ditched following public health advice from Wales’ Chief Medical Officer.
A joint statement from Cardiff council and Swansea council said: “Both local authorities appreciate the disappointment this will create for residents and would like to apologise for any inconvenience this will cause.
“However, the safety of everyone during the pandemic remains our main concern and it’s important we follow the latest scientific evidence.”
The walks were supposed to have involved outdoor meandering on skates around a crafted ice trail which would have taken visitors around a 120m ice walk in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, and in Swansea’s Alpine Village.
The statement added: “Anyone who has booked and paid for a slot on an ice walk will receive a full refund from the organisers.
“Customers do not need to do anything to activate the refund, it will be applied automatically. This could take up to five days to show in accounts.”
The food and drink elements of the Christmas attractions remain open.
Christmas at the Castle is being managed according to safety standards designed to allow visitors to enjoy themselves in a Covid-safe, sociallydistanced environment.
The councils added: “It is anticipated that other aspects of the Christmas attractions will open in both cities over the next few days.”
The decision came on a day which saw another 34 people dying with coronavirus in Wales and more than 700 new cases being reported.
Public Health Wales (PHW), in its daily update yesterday, announced that 705 more people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 following a lab test.
This was a decrease on the 892 cases reported on Sunday.
The total number of people in Wales who have now died with lab-confirmed coronavirus now stands at 2,243 according to PHW’s reports. However, the “true” number of deaths reported by the Office for National Statistics using a different methodology was already 2,884 as of October 30.
Wales’ infection rate has also seen a slight increase with 165.8 positive cases per 100,000 people for the last seven days (November 8-14) compared with 164 per 100,000 on Monday.
Blaenau Gwent is now the local authority with the most cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day average with 342.1, up from 303.5 on Monday.
Neath Port Talbot is now the second highest area for infection at 291 after a substantial fall in the Merthyr numbers.
Merthyr Tydfil was once the centre of the virus in Wales, but cases there have now fallen to 286.8 from 303.4 on the previous day.
Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) reported the most cases in yesterday’s figures with 118, followed by Swansea with 79 and Caerphilly with 66.