Wales set for ‘sharp and deep’ 17-day lockdown

ATWO-WEEK “firebreak” lockdown will be introduced across Wales from 6pm on Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.

Mr Drakeford told a Welsh Government press conference in Cardiff that the measure was necessary to reduce the spread of coronavirus and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed.

The “sharp and deep” lockdown will begin at 6pm on Friday and last until November 9, with everyone in Wales “required to stay at home”.

“The only exceptions will be critical workers and jobs where working from home is not possible,” Mr Drakeford said.

Non-essential cross-border travel in and out of Wales “will have to end” during the firebreak period, Mr Drakeford added. Gloucestershire and Herefordshire share a border with Wales and many people commute between Bristol and South Wales.

Mr Drakeford said the lockdown would be a “short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock, slow down the virus and give us more time”.

There were 4,127 new confirmed cases of coronavirus recorded by

Public Health Wales between October 9 and 15, though the real level of infections is believed to be much higher.

The R value – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – across Wales is currently between 1.1 and 1.4, while the seven-day rolling incidence rate for Wales is more than 130 cases per 100,000 people.

“There are no easy choices in front of us, as the virus spreads rapidly in every part of Wales,” Mr Drakeford said. “We know that if we do not act now, it will continue to accelerate and there is a very real risk that our NHS would be overwhelmed. The number of people being taken to hospital with coronavirus symptoms is growing every day, our critical care units are already full. Unless we act, the NHS will not be able to look after the increasing number of people who are falling seriously ill.”

Mr Drakeford said that “even more extreme measures”, such as an openended lockdown, would have to be implemented if action was not taken now.

Under the “firebreak” lockdown, all non-essential retail, leisure, hospitality and tourism businesses will close, just as they had to during the March lockdown.

Community centres, libraries and recycling centres will also shut, as will places of worship, other than for funerals or wedding ceremonies.

However, childcare facilities will stay open, with primary and specialist schools reopening after the halfterm break.

Secondary schools will also reopen after half-term for children in Years 7 and 8, as well as for the most vulnerable students. Pupils will be able to go in to take exams but others will learn from home for an additional week, Mr Drakeford said.

People will not be able to meet indoors or outdoors with anyone they do not live with, with exceptions for those living alone. They must stay at home, except for limited purposes such as exercise, and must work from home wherever possible.

Planned holidays in Wales will also have to be cancelled, with Mr Drakeford saying: “Regrettable as it is, as much as we look forward to welcoming people from outside Wales back to Wales again, this is not the time to do it.”