‘Continue following Covid rules’

PEOPLE in Wales need to continue following current Covid rules or stricter measures could be brought in.

That is the stark warning from Wales’s chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Frank Atherton.

It comes just days after Wales’s coronavirus infection rate hit record high levels - making it the fourthhighest in the world.

Dr Atherton, who advises the Welsh Government on its Covid response and attends many of the key Sage meetings, told BBC Wales Breakfast on Monday: “A very significant proportion of the Welsh population is still behaving with extreme caution and realises that we are not out of the woods with this yet, but there is a sense other places that it is all over.

“When we see people not using face coverings, even though it’s a legal requirement to do so, that worries me.

“When we see people crowding into taxis without face coverings and not being challenged, that worries me.

“When I see leisure centres which are overcrowded and people not social distancing, that really worries me.”

Dr Atherton added that if people don’t start to follow the rules the Welsh Government may need further restrictions in order to contain the virus.

He said: “This is how the virus is spreading and, unless we can, as a society, organise ourselves in a way that we follow the guidance that we know will stop transmission of the virus, then unfortunately some of those more draconian measures and the legislative requirements may have to be brought back in. But that’s for ministers.

“As a community we need to continue to use those things that we know keep us safe – face coverings, hand sanitisation, and social distancing. From a government’s point of view and the NHS point of view, getting booster doses into the people as quickly as possible is really important.”