More restrictions on the way for our pubs, bars and restaurants
PUBS, bars and restaurants across Wales will face further restrictions from Friday to reduce the spread of coronavirus in the lead-up to Christmas, First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.
The new measures will be finalised over the weekend and announced on Monday, along with a package of financial support for the hospitality sector.
Cinemas, bowling alleys and other indoor entertainment venues will also close as part of the restrictions.
But non-essential retail, hairdressers, gyms and leisure centres will remain open, Mr Drakeford confirmed.
The First Minister told a Welsh Government press conference yesterday that the measures were needed as cases were rising and “headroom” was required before the Christmas period.
He said there had been a fall in coronavirus infections following the 17-day firebreak lockdown in Wales but figures had started to rise again, with the ground gained now “being eroded”. He added that the R number – the rate of coronavirus reproduction in Wales – was now as high as 1.4 meaning the virus is spreading exponentially again.
Pubs, bars and restaurants have been open in Wales since the firebreak ended on November 9, with a 10pm curfew on alcohol sales.
The First Minister said: “The Cabinet has agreed to take further specific and targeted action to reinforce the current national measures we have place. We will focus these on places where we meet and where coronavirus thrives, drawing on the recent evidence from the UK Sage [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] group of experts about what interventions have had the biggest impact on the virus.
“It has highlighted the positive impact of measures in the Scottish level three system and the English tier three restrictions.
“We are already doing many of these here in Wales. Any additional actions we will take will build on the Sage advice but will be bespoke to our unique circumstances.
“Cinemas, bowling alleys and other indoor entertainment venues will close.
“There will be new restrictions in the hospitality industry, which will come into effect next Friday.
“The sector has worked hard to put in place measures to protect the public and I know this will be a worrying time for all working in the industry. We will be working over the weekend with partners to finalise the details of the new arrangements and to put in place a further major package of financial support to respond to those changes.
“I will give further details about the package on Monday.
“Non-essential retail; hairdressers; gyms and leisure centres will continue to operate as now.”
He added: “The new arrangements will apply to the whole of Wales.
“That is necessary because we need a further national effort to bring down the rates in those parts of the country where they are high and to protect those areas from getting any worse where we have sustained the advantages of the firebreak for longer.
“A national approach can continue to protect us all.
“None of us wants to see further restrictions in our daily lives or our economy but we are facing a virus that is both cruel and relentless, especially in its pursuit of the most vulnerable.
“It is speeding up as we move further into winter and it thrives in all those places where come into close contact with one another.
“By adding to the actions that we
are taking now, we can prepare responsibly for Christmas.”
Mr Drakeford said the 17-day firebreak lockdown had brought down Covid-19 infection rates but there has since been a steady rise, especially among the under-25s, a situation which he said he was “particularly concerned” about.
“Over the course of the pandemic, this is how the virus has spread – initially among younger age groups and then to older and more vulnerable groups,” he explained.
Yesterday, 10 of 22 local authorities in Wales recorded rises in their sevenday rolling case rate.
The overall rate for Wales is now 189 cases per 100,000 people, an increase from 160 cases per 100,000 people last week, and is rising.
Mr Drakeford said that during the firebreak, and in the weeks immediately after it, the reproduction rate or R number fell below one.
But the latest calculations suggest this now could be as high as 1.4, giving further evidence that coronavirus is circulating “widely and quickly”.
“The ground we gained during the firebreak period is being eroded as the virus thrives on normal human behaviour,” Mr Drakeford warned.
He insisted that Wales “benefited hugely” from the firebreak but said coronavirus had come back “faster and further than we had anticipated”.
Mr Drakeford told the press conference that he could not rule out such restrictions being used again in Wales in the future.
“The rapidity with which the pattern changes, the speed at which this virus can move means that it just isn’t sensible to rule out any response that we may need to make later on and into next year,” he said.
Hospitals in Wales are now under “sustained pressure”, with more than 1,700 people with Covid-19 being treated.
The First Minister said Wales would not be able to relax restrictions at Christmas unless he took action now.
He said: “Earlier this week, I met the First Ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland and Michael Gove, from the UK Government, to discuss a common set of arrangements for Christmas.
“We agreed a five-day period between December 23 and 27 where travel restrictions would be lifted across the UK and up to three households would be able to form a Christmas bubble.
“Relaxing the restrictions will allow families to be together – maybe for the first time this year – for a few days over the festive period.
“But there is always a risk that when we come together we will spread or catch the virus.
“We therefore need to make sure have as much headroom as possible as we approach this Christmas period to enable us to relax these restrictions.
“This week we have seen restrictions tightened and extended in many countries across Europe.
“The UK Government has announced a strengthened tier regime, which comes into force in England from Wednesday. Northern Ireland today starts a new two-week lockdown and Scotland has extended the highest level restrictions.
“We too now have to use the coming weeks to reduce the spread of the virus and create more headroom for the Christmas period.”
Paul Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, called for more details to be provided for businesses.
“This is going to be a real blow for countless hospitality businesses up and down the country, businesses that have suffered greatly over the last eight months,” Mr Davies said.
“We now need to know the details from the Welsh Government because this will create an even more anxious and worrying time for businesses struggling to keep afloat.”