FIRST MINISTER TAKES TOUGH LINE AS VIRUS FEARS GROW:

NEW measures including the closure of hospitality venues at 10pm and a £500 payment for each person on a low income who is asked to self-isolate were announced last night by First Minister Mark Drakeford in a bid to stem the rise in coronavirus cases.

Six local authority areas in Wales are already in local lockdown, with Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Newport and Merthyr Tydfil following Rhondda Cynon Taff and Caerphilly into such restrictions at 6pm yesterday.

Cardiff, Swansea, the Vale of Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire, Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire are now classed as “areas of concern”.

Mr Drakeford, in a television address, said: “In the weeks and months ahead of us, there is a very real possibility that we could see coronavirus regain a foothold in our local communities, towns and cities.

“None of us wants to see that happen again. 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year. We have all sacrificed so much. Families have lost loved ones. People have lost jobs and livelihoods. This is a highly-infectious virus – we cannot let it take a hold of our lives again. We have come too far to let this happen again.”

The new measures announced for across Wales are:

■ Pubs, cafes, restaurants and casinos (and any other hospitality businesses) will have to close at 10pm. They will also have to provide table service only. This applies from tomorrow at 6pm.

■ Off-licences, including supermarkets, will also have to stop selling alcohol at 10pm;

■ A £500 payment will be issued to support people on low incomes who need to self-isolate and regulations will be strengthened to ensure that employers support those who need to self-isolate in this way.

Mr Drakeford also made clear that people in Wales:

■ Must work from home wherever possible;

■ Can only meet six people indoors, and make sure those are all part of their extended household;

■ Must wear face coverings on public transport, in shops, and in enclosed public spaces;

■ Only travel when it is “really necessary”.

The First Minister said: “The fewer people we meet and the fewer journeys we make, the safer we all are.”

It came as fears of a second wave in England led Prime Minister Boris Johnson to bring in a range of new restrictions.

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government’s approach to lifting previous lockdown measures had been “at a different pace and in a different way to that across our border”.

He told the Senedd yesterday this meant Wales starts “in a very different place” to England, with many of the measures spoken about by Mr Johnson, such as the recommendation to work from home where possible, already in place in Wales.

The First Minister added, that following a Cobra meeting yesterday: “The First Ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister and I agreed to take some further co-ordinated action across the UK to control the spread of coronavirus.”

He added: “Because we have taken a different approach in Wales, some of the actions being introduced elsewhere are already in place here.”

Following a question by Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, Mr Drakeford said one of the “central dilemmas” in Wales was the different rates of coronavirus across the country.

Mr Drakeford said there was a “blended approach” in Wales, with national measures such as encouraging people to work from home. He added: “In Caerphilly and the other local authorities where local lockdown measures are concerned, you can’t leave the county borough without a good reason for doing so, but beyond that I think every one of us should be asking ourselves, ‘Is that journey really essential?’ Because the fewer people you meet and the fewer journeys you make, the less danger you are posing to yourself and others. So, I think that as a message to people everywhere about minimising travel and staying close to home as much as you are able to is another brick in a national wall that we can build.”

Mr Drakeford said that following that, he was “of the same mind” as Mr Price that local measures for local circumstances was the right response.

In the six areas now in local lockdown, people must not enter or leave each of them without a reasonable excuse and are only able to meet other households outdoors, including members of their extended households. All licensed premises must close at 11pm tonight before following the national rule of 10pm from tomorrow night.

“We now need to make that difference again across Wales,” said Mr Drakeford. “We need everyone to follow the rules and guidance and to take the steps to protect them and their loved ones. Together, we can keep Wales safe.”

In the weeks and months ahead of us, there is a very real possibility that we could see coronavirus regain a foothold in our local communities, towns and cities

- First Minister for Wales, Mark Drakeford