‘Coronavirus won’t be over by Christmas’
THE coronavirus pandemic will not be over by Christmas, the First Minister warned yesterday as he announced the broadest package of changes so far to Wales’ lockdown measures.
After more than four months of closure venues like gyms, swimming pools and indoor bowling alleys have all been given dates for when they will be allowed to welcome customers back.
In a wide-ranging review First Minister Mark Drakeford also confirmed that children under 11 will no longer have to follow social distancing measures from Monday while groups of up to 30 people from any number of households can meet outdoors from the same date.
The latest set of relaxed measures from Monday means that Wales is moving into the “green phase” of its traffic light system, and will also
include the reopening of indoor service for pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes, along with licensed wedding venues, though indoor wedding receptions are excluded.
But Mr Drakeford warned that there would be a resurgence of Covid-19 transmissions across the UK during autumn and winter.
He said: “We have only been able to lift the restrictions because of everything you have done to reduce the spread of coronavirus you have stayed at home, you have stayed local, and you have kept Wales safe.
“The result is that the virus is continuing to decline in Wales and we can once again, carefully and cautiously, go on lifting the lockdown.
“But coronavirus has not gone away. This pandemic will not be over by Christmas.
“This is why is so important that we all protect ourselves from the virus. That means keeping your distance from other people, washing your hands often, and wearing a face covering on public transport.”
The comments appeared to reference Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suggestion there could be a “significant
return to normality” in time for Christmas.
Mr Drakeford said the latest changes for Wales would “help make life easier for family and friends” but would be restricted to outside locations “because we know it’s much safer to be meeting in the outdoors and the sunlight”.
On scrapping the social distancing requirement for under-11s, he told the Welsh Government’s press briefing: “The scientific advice shows that the risk of transmission is lower amongst this age group.
“It will mean that young children can meet their friends to play out of doors or to give their grandparents a hug again.”
Mr Drakeford also said that swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres and children’s indoor play areas will be able to reopen from August 10 if conditions allow.
The Welsh Government will then look to offer people “more opportunities to meet indoors” from August 15, he said, including allowing people to expand the number of other households they can join into an extended household.
But he warned that allowing more indoor contact is “one of the most difficult areas from a public health perspective” due to the risk of increased transmissions.
Mr Drakeford said that in July more than half of contact tracing cases in north Wales, where there has been a surge in transmissions, were linked to household contacts.
He said: “Today we have seen indoor meetings curtailed in Greater Manchester, east Lancashire, and parts of West Yorkshire following a spike in coronavirus cases. All of this is bound to give us pause for thought.
“Our step-by-step approach in
Wales allows us to weigh up the evidence for each change we make and we will go on doing that for indoor meetings over the next two weeks.
“So, as you see, we are moving into the green phase in our traffic light system and as we do it is becomes even more important we all follow the new ways of working and behaving.”
On a spike in Covid-19 cases in the Wrexham area, he said the situation is “under control” but that further measures will be taken if necessary.
The First Minister also said he does not need to introduce a mandatory face covering rule for shops as has been done in England because Wales has “stronger rules” than its neighbour on social distancing.
“In our regulations we require a two-metres social distance, and we require premises to take all reasonable measures to make sure that a two-metre distance can be observed,” he said.
Mr Drakeford said local environmental health officers in Wales would be given powers to issue prohibition notices to businesses that were not abiding by the regulations.
He said businesses found in breach of the regulations could then be forced to shut if they failed to bring themselves in line within a certain amount of days.
“We all need to adapt to the changes, whether it’s booking an appointment and giving our contact details to support our Test, Trace, Protect system or complying with physical distancing and strict cleaning regimes,” said Mr Drakeford.
“I want to thank all those businesses who have worked with us and are complying with the guidance to work in a Covid-compliant way – you are helping to reduce the spread of the virus and to protect people, ensuring we can go on lifting restrictions in the future.
“But I also want to say this to the small minority – whether they are people or businesses – who aren’t. We will take action to enforce the rules in Wales.
“Ignoring the guidance cannot be an option – we have legal powers which allow us and others to take action if some people’s behaviour becomes a threat to other people’s health.
“We are working with local authorities, with environmental health officers, with the national park authorities, and with the police to ensure the measures to keep us all safe are complied with.
“We will change the regulations to enhance local authorities’ environmental health protection powers. This will ensure premises are complying with re-opening requirements.
“We will also act on intelligence reported to the Wales TUC and its affiliated unions.”
APLANNED easing of England’s lockdown has been postponed a day before it was due to come into effect, as the Prime Minister warned the country “cannot be complacent” amid a rise in the prevalence of coronavirus in the community.
Measures due to be lifted today, including allowing small wedding receptions and reopening bowling alleys and casinos, have been delayed for at least two weeks.
And in a strengthening of precautions, Boris Johnson announced that face coverings will become mandatory in indoor settings such as museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship from August 8.
In a Downing Street press conference yesterday, the Prime Minister revealed what he described as a “pretty punchy” new slogan – “Hands, face, space” – for people to be mindful of in their efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.
Standing alongside Mr Johnson, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that it might not be possible to ease lockdown further, saying the UK has “probably reached near the limit or the limits” of what can be done to reopen society.
Yesterday’s news came after local lockdown measures were announced in parts of the north west of England and areas of West Yorkshire, banning people from different households meeting indoors or in gardens following a spike in virus cases.
Mr Johnson told the briefing: “As we see these rises around the world, we can’t fool ourselves that we are exempt. We must be willing to react to the first signs of trouble.”
He added: “We cannot be complacent and I won’t stand by and allow this virus to threaten to cause more pain and more heartache in our country.
He said that, with numbers rising, “our assessment is that we should squeeze that brake pedal in order to keep the virus under control”.
The Office for National Statistics said there has been an increase in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England, with Mr Johnson saying the prevalence of the virus in the community is likely to be rising for the first time since May.
According to the ONS, between July 20 and 26 there were around 0.78 new Covid-19 infections for every 10,000 people in the community population in England – equal to around 4,200 new cases per day. This is up from an estimated 2,800 new cases a day in the previous week.
Data released yesterday also showed the R value for the UK is between 0.8 to 0.9, a slight change from 0.7 to 0.9.
On Thursday evening it was announced through Twitter that people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire would no longer be allowed to meet each other inside their homes or in gardens.
The new rules, which came into effect from midnight, also ban members of two different households from mixing in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues, but these businesses will remain open for those visiting individually or from the same household.
Prof Whitty told the briefing: “I think what we’re seeing from the data from ONS and other data is that we have probably reached near the limit or the limits of what we can do in terms of opening up society.
“So what that means potentially is that, if we wish to do more things in the future, we may have to do less of some other things.
“And these will be difficult tradeoffs, some of which will be decisions for Government and some of which are for all of us as citizens to do.
“But we have to be realistic about this. The idea that we can open up
everything and keep the virus under control is clearly wrong.”
Despite the delay to the Government’s road map on reopening, Mr Johnson said he encouraged people “still to think of wonderful staycations here in the UK”.
Other reopenings which will not take place as planned across England today include indoor performances, pilots of larger gatherings in sports venues and conference centres, and close-contact services such as facials and make-up application.
Mr Johnson said that, while most people are following the rules, there will be a “greater police presence” to ensure the public is adhering to the requirements around face coverings and stressed that local authorities can close down premises and cancel events which are not following the guidance.
Shielding advice will still be paused as planned today and guidance around allowing more discretion for employers with regard to staff returning to work will also go ahead, the Prime Minister said.
Accepting that yesterday’s announcement would be a “real blow” to people who had wedding plans or those who can no longer celebrate Eid as they had hoped, Mr
Johnson said “we simply cannot take the risk” but vowed to open up more fully “as soon as we possibly can”.
But friends and families looking forward to attending weddings in England reacted with anger and disappointment at the news that receptions can no longer take place.
Wedding ceremonies can still go ahead, but plans to allow receptions for 30 guests have been scrapped.
Graham Podesta, 53, said his daughter Jamie, who is due to have her wedding on Saturday August 1, was in “floods of tears” following the announcement.
“Literally we’ve got 24 hours to pull the plug,” he said.
“We have to tell people who are travelling not to travel, people who have booked into Travelodge not to do that, it’s just a whole nightmare.
And a hospitality boss said restaurants and pubs in Manchester were facing weeks of cancelled bookings, , as confusion over new restrictions is causing panic among customers.
Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said one restaurant in the city has had 100 bookings cancelled over the next three weeks.
FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford has given the green light for the hospitality industry to reopen indoors from Monday, meaning people will finally be able to enjoy a meal or a drink without having to sit outside or take it away.
A number of venues in Swansea’s Wind Street have been hard at work throughout lockdown to ensure that sufficient safety measures are in place before welcoming customers back through their doors.
In St Mary Street, protective screens have been placed in front of every till along the bar at Hogarths.
The pub, which is popular for its cocktails and selection of gin, will have a new one-way system in place and will have multiple hand sanitisers fixed to the walls throughout.
James Gallagher, one of the managers, explained: “We have been doing a lot of things throughout the lockdown so we’re ready to reopen.
“We have put in protective screens over all the tills which will be there permanently and there will be a one-way system throughout the pub.
“One person from each group can come up to the bar to order and then there will be a collection point for drinks.
“We have installed hand sanitisers. We’ve got six that are fixed to the wall and then other bottles around the pub.
“We have also moved the tables around to increase the amount of room between them and we have signs and bits of information around the pub for our customers.
“Our normal capacity was 1,000 but we’ve had to drop that down to 190.”
There will even be noticeable changes to the pub’s beer garden, with co-manager Beth Hesketh and assistant manager Molly Moore renovating it while it’s been closed.
From next week, Hogarths will be open between noon and 10pm from Monday to Thursday, while on Saturdays it will be open between noon and midnight, and on Sundays you can go between noon and 9pm.
“I think people are going to be more worried about coming back but it’s good that the beer gardens have been open for a while,” Mr Gallagher added.
Swansea council has announced that Wind Street will become a traffic-free zone for 20 hours a day from next week, allowing businesses to trade outside. Vehicles will only be allowed there between 7am and 11am every day, with entry for loading purposes only.