Wales’ pubs curfew ‘not a stab in dark’
NEARLY 400 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Wales yesterday – the second-highest single-day rise in cases since the start of the pandemic.
First Minister Mark Drakeford warned that the numbers have been rising dramatically, hitting 46.8 cases for every 100,000 people over the past week.
The figures came on the eve of new measures being introduced today, which will see pubs and restaurants shutting at 10pm every night.
But Mr Drakeford denied the policy represents “a stab in the dark” as he faced questions about the Welsh Government’s new coronavirus rules.
Asked about reports that the closure of pubs at 10pm had not been modelled by the UK’s scientific advisory body Sage, he said: “I don’t believe this was a stab in the dark. This was rehearsed [on Tuesday] at Cobra. And we have evidence from here in Wales.”
He said it was vital that action was taken now, adding:
“All of this shows that, after a short couple of months’ respite over the summer, coronavirus has returned to Wales.
“Unless we take some concerted action now, 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.”
The tightening restrictions come after Mr Drakeford, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the First Ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland agreed to take “further co-ordinated action” across the UK.
This means people in Wales should continue to work from home wherever possible, only meet with their extended household indoors up to a maximum of six people, wear face coverings on public transport, in shops and in enclosed public spaces, and only travel when necessary.
Mr Drakeford yesterday also set out further details of how the rules for the sale of alcohol will change. With effect from this evening, hospitality businesses in Wales – including pubs, cafes, restaurants and casinos – will have to close at 10pm. They will also have to provide table service only.
Off-licences, including supermarkets, will also have to stop selling alcohol at 10pm.
Clarifying some of the rules, Mr Drakeford said establishments must stop serving alcohol at 10pm, but that customers do not have to be “out on the pavement” at that time – with people being given a reasonable amount of time to finish up before heading home.
This is in contrast to the situation in England, where Mr Johnson has said hospitality businesses must close at 10pm – rather than just calling for last orders – to help police enforce the rule.
“We could have had an approach in Wales where, at 10pm, all those people were required to leave and stand on the pavement,” Mr Drakeford told the Senedd.
“I think that would have caused real damage to the business model that people have worked so hard to put in place.
“And every time we make these decisions, we are balancing the needs of people in business and in employment with the need to protect public health.
“I think the sector is very used to not allowing people to act irresponsibly in the few minutes leading up to a 10pm closure.
“Our system will allow people to drink up, to eat up, to bring their evening to an orderly close and then make their way home.
“That is the way the vast majority of people who go out for an evening here in Wales behave already.
“I didn’t want to make their lives more difficult, while we continue to bear down on that minority of people in Wales who have, as the evening gets later, found themselves consuming alcohol to an extent that they can no longer remember where they have been or who they have met with, and who in the process cause a wholly disproportionate impact on others.”
He said people who choose to leave the pub at 10pm and carry on drinking in friends’ homes will be in breach of coronavirus regulations, as only six people can meet indoors in Wales and they have to be from the same extended household.
Mr Drakeford also appealed to people in Wales to avoid non-essential journeys but confirmed this was advice only and not a return to previous “stay local” restrictions.
He said this did not mean stopping shopping, visiting hospitality businesses or going on holiday, and later added that there was no evidence that tourists had caused “spikes of infections” in Wales.
“Indeed, the coronavirus continues to be at its lowest ebb in those places that tourists most often visit,” Mr Drakeford said.
Mr Drakeford told the Senedd he had asked Mr Johnson to “echo a message” about people thinking carefully about journeys but the Prime Minister “wasn’t willing to do it”.
“All I’m asking people in Wales to do is to think carefully about journeys that they may make,” he said.
“If it’s possible, for example, to visit a restaurant or to go to a pub close to home, that is more advisable than travelling a distance to do the same thing further away.”
In a statement, the Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective described Mr Drakeford’s comments on avoiding non-essential travel as “the final nail in the coffin” for hospitality businesses.
The body, representing more than 300 businesses, said there was “simply no way the industry can survive” if the advice meant people should not visit hospitality venues outside their immediate area.
“The First Minister must clarify that this was not his intention and draw attention to the fact that the vast majority of hospitality venues are safe to visit and should continue to be supported,” it said.
Mr Drakeford said details of how a £500 payment would be provided to support people on low incomes who are asked to self-isolate were still being worked through.
His comments came on a day when Public Health Wales reported a further 389 positive cases of coronavirus – the highest daily reported number of cases since April 8 – and up from 281 on Tuesday.
Two people with coronavirus died, bringing the total number of such deaths in Wales to 1,605.
Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) had by far the highest number of new cases with 93, followed by Blaenau Gwent with 47, Swansea with 37, Cardiff with 35 and Bridgend with 29.
Elsewhere, Newport and Merthyr Tydfil had 24 each, Carmarthenshire had 19, Caerphilly had 16, Vale of Glamorgan had 10, Torfaen had nine, Denbighshire had eight, Anglesey, Flintshire and Conwy had five, Neath Port Talbot had four, Wrexham had three, Pembrokeshire and
Powys had two, while Monmouthsure had one.
Ceredigion was the only local authority not to record a new positive case.
When measured on the key indicator of a rolling seven-day average, adjusted by population, three local authorities have now recorded more than 100 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days, namely RCT (123.5), Merthyr Tydfil (137.6) and Blaenau Gwent (136).
A town-level lockdown is reportedly being considered for the Llanelli area as Carmarthenshire’s cases are concentrated there.