Is it a case of slowly does it as lockdown lifts again?
SOME Covid restrictions are being lifted slower coming out of the second wave than the first.
Wales has been hit by two significant waves of coronavirus so far and each has required months of severe lockdown restrictions to get us through.
After a lockdown comes the long task of lifting the restrictions, which is a really tricky job to get right. Lift too quickly and there can be a resurgence in the virus.
Lift too slowly and you risk harming the economy and taking away people’s livelihoods unnecessarily.
We have gone through the two waves to compare how long into each lockdown certain restrictions were lifted.
For the first lockdown we have taken March 23, 2020, as the start.
For the second we are using December 19, 2020.
It is important to note that for the December 19 date there had already been hospitality restrictions and the early closure of schools as well as a oneday break on Christmas Day where household mixing was allowed.
We are now 101 days into the second lockdown, which is the equivalent to July 2 in the first one.
It took until July 6 for a day with no Covid deaths in Wales – whereas in the second wave we have had several days already with no deaths. This reflects both the impact of the vaccine but also how much ICU intensive care unit physicians learned about treating Covid patients.
MEETING PEOPLE OUTSIDE
We were able to arrange to meet people from outside our household in Wales earlier in the second wave.
Since February 19, four people from two households could meet for exercise in Wales. This was 62 days in from the start of the second wave lockdown. This is over a week earlier than in the first wave when it was not until 70 days after lockdown, on June 1, that people could see family members in a park for the first time.
THE FIVE-MILE RULE
Unlike meeting people outdoors, the five-mile rule came in far later in the December 19 lockdown compared to the first.
The first lockdown saw the introduction of stay local rules on June 1 – a total of 70 days after the initial lockdown.
By contrast, in the second wave, it took 84 days for “stay home” rules to end on March 13.
However, critically these were only in place for two weeks – whereas in the first wave it was over a month.
GOING TO THE PUB OR RESTAURANT
Really craving a pint right now? Well, you will probably have to wait longer to sit in beer garden in this lockdown than the first.
Pubs opened outdoors in Wales on July 13 in the first lockdown – 112 days after March 23.
By contrast, now, the Welsh Government doesn’t plan to even consider reopening beer gardens until April 22 and the wait could be until May 13. This means that there could be anywhere between 124 and 145 days with hospitality closed.
It is a similar story indoors. Pubs opened indoors in the first wave on August 3, which was 21 days after outdoors.
If the Welsh Government follows the same policy again we could be looking at a wait of 166 days between the day lockdown happened and indoor hospitality reopened.
SELF-CONTAINED ACCOMMODATION
This has opened quicker in the second wave than the first.
Self contained accommodation, like caravans, opened in Wales on March 27 during this wave – 98 days after lockdown. Last time it wasn’t until after 110 days on July 11.
SCHOOLS
This is a much tricker one to do accurately.
All children were not back in school in Wales until September in the first wave – over 160 days. Though there were a few check-in days for some students before then.
This time, the Welsh Government aimed to open them within a month of the lockdown – but shelved those plans because cases were so high. Though most young people have returned to school now, it won’t be until years seven, eight and nine go back on April 12 that they all return to school. This will be 114 days since the lockdown – but even longer since they have been in school as schools closed early for Christmas.
CINEMAS AND THEATRES
Cinemas opened in the first wave after 126 days on July 27. This time around there is no fixed date but it seems likely that it will be after May 13, meaning at a minimum it will be 145 days.
Theatres are a different story as they never even opened in the first wave.
The recent control plan from the Welsh Government suggests they will open this time around the same time as cinemas but will be subject to restrictions on numbers.