THIS CHRISTMAS only two families should meet in Wales, as First Minister Mark Drakeford has advised, as he brings in tougher restrictions.
Full lockdown will start on December 28.
The restrictions come in as the second wave of coronavirus hits, with 98 people in intensive care in Wales suffering from the illness.
There are 350 people in hospital with coronavirus in the Hywel Dda Health Board region, with the health board struggling with nearly 1000 staff off sick or isolating.
The new Level 4 restrictions for Wales now mean:
- All non-essential shops cannot reopen after Christmas Eve – meaning no Boxing Day sales on the High Street
- Gyms, leisure centres, hairdressers and other close-contact services must all also shut at the end of the working day on December 24
- Public advised that Christmas bubbles can now only include two families instead of three
- Full lockdown will start in Wales on December 28
- The new restrictions apply to the whole of Wales
- The First Minister said he had been forced to act because of the number of people in hospital with coronavirus.
In Wales, Mr Drakeford told the Senedd “the choice is a grim one” but said the current plans were a “hard-won agreement” that he would not put aside “lightly”. Everything Mark Drakeford said as plans for Christmas discussed.
The First Minister urged everyone who can to work from home, saying it is one of the most important contributions we can all make to controlling the spread of coronavirus and saving lives.
Mark Drakeford said: “We are seeing levels of coronavirus in some parts of the country that we haven’t experienced at any point before in this pandemic. This pandemic is putting our NHS under intense and sustained strain.
“There are more than 2,100 people with coronavirus symptoms in our hospitals – equivalent to five general hospitals fully occupied by people with coronavirus.
“This has been such a long and difficult year. We need to take this action to save lives and control the spread of this awful virus.”
The four UK governments met today to confirm the common arrangements for the five-day Christmas period. Joint advice will be published later today.
In Wales, the position will be that only two households should come together to form an exclusive Christmas bubble during that period.
The First Minister added:
“A smaller Christmas is a safer Christmas and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas.
“The fewer people we mix with in our homes, the less chance we have of catching or spreading the virus.
“None of us wants to be ill this Christmas. And we don’t want to give coronavirus to our close family or friends.”
The alert level four restrictions for household mixing, staying-at-home, holiday accommodation and travel will come into force after the five-day Christmas period on December 28.
