Don’t dash to shops for the sales, urges First Minister
PEOPLE are being asked not to dash out to post-Christmas sales as they risk spreading coronavirus.
Urging retailers to think carefully about enticing large crowds in for traditional Boxing Day and January sales, First Minister Mark Drakeford also asked people to think about how and when they shop.
While he fell short of telling people not to go shopping, he asked retailers to alter the dates for traditional after-Christmas sales this year.
“If people think that dashing out to the shops because of some enticement from the retail sector.... then I’m afraid the impact of that will be felt not just in those people’s lives but what we will all be facing as a result,” Mr Drakeford said.
He said, that while “most retailers are responsible”, sales also carry the risk of the virus spreading when large numbers travel to shops and mingle outside.
“There is nothing time critical about sales in the post Christmas period,” he added at yesterday’s Welsh Government coronavirus briefing.
“We have worked very hard with the retail sector, and others, to try to find a pathway through to Christmas where those shops can stay open because, I understand, if you are selling goods for Christmas you need to sell them by December 25.
“But beyond Christmas, to me, there is much less of a case for trying to encourage people to come together in large numbers and run the risks that will inevitably be there.
“So I am hoping our retail sector will go on doing all they have done, very carefully, already, but also think carefully whether or not patterns of sale beyond Christmas can be smoothed out and done over a longer period rather than encourage people to all rush to the shops together.”
FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford has provided the very latest update on how the Welsh Government is preparing for rules around Christmas in Wales.
He was speaking during a Welsh Government lunchtime briefing yesterday, on the back of reports that people in the UK could be set for five days of loosened restrictions around Christmas to enable families to get together.
The reported trade-off would be an extended period of lockdown thereafter. The four governments of the United Kingdom are working on a consistent plan so that families who live in different countries can get together.
It is 10 days since the firebreak lockdown in Wales came to an end and Mr Drakeford said there is “good evidence” that it has had a positive impact on the number of cases in Wales.
Mr Drakeford said: “This week the Cabinet reviewed the national measures we have in place and decided not to change them. They will remain the same for the next two weeks.
“We need everyone – every single one of us – to play our part to make sure we continue to build on the progress of the firebreak and keep coronavirus cases falling.
“This means reducing our contact with people as much as possible; not travelling unless it’s necessary and working from home whenever we can.
“If we all do this together, we can have a path through to Christmas.
“I know many people are planning for Christmas and will be hoping to see family over the festive period.
“We are working closely with the Scottish, Northern Irish and UK governments to develop a common fournation plan to help bring people together safely over the holiday period.
“There’s been a lot of speculation in the press about what a plan may look like, but it’s still being worked on.
“Here in Wales, we continue to respond to this global crisis by planning first and then announcing those plans. That has to be the case for Christmas arrangements as well.”
But there is no guarantee that Wales will make it to the Christmas period without facing another firebreak lockdown, the First Minister has said.
He warned that people must continue to follow the rules, rather than “behaving in ways that will drive those numbers back up again”.
And he said that the only way Wales could avoid another firebreak lockdown was by people not acting as though coronavirus had gone away.
“So my message to people in Wales today is very much that the firebreak succeeded thanks to everything that you and we did together,” he said.
“We can go on succeeding but we only do that by not acting as though coronavirus has gone away, not lapsing back into the ways that were driving up the numbers earlier in the autumn.
“And provided we do those simple things together, there is a pathway through to Christmas.
“But it’s not guaranteed because it really does absolutely, fundamentally depend upon every one of us playing our part.”
The warning comes as it was confirmed that the rules Wales brought in after the firebreak lockdown will remain in force for another two weeks.