The First Minister has set out plans for Wales to move to Alert Level 0 by relaxing some, but not all, restrictions in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
These follow the plans outlined by the UK Government earlier this week that will be in force in England only.
Changes from 17 July
In Wales, some changes will come into effect on 17 July and these mean:
- up to six people able to meet indoors in private homes and holiday accommodation.
- organised indoor events will be able to take place for up to 1,000 seated and up to 200 standing.
- ice rinks can re-open
Social distancing requirements and mask rules remain unchanged.
From the 19 July fully vaccinated people returning from amber list countries will not have to quarantine.
These changes will be reviewed and further changes may be introduced from 7 August.
Proposed Changes from 7 August
If all goes well Wales will move to alert level Zero from 7 august when:
- all premises will be able to open and most but not all restrictions will be removed.
- there will be no limits on the number of people who can meet indoors including in private homes.
- it will still be a legal requirement to wear a face mask indoors in shops and other indoor public spaces, except for hospitality venues like pubs and restaurants.
Some venues may still have restrictions on numbers due to risks identified through a risk assessment that will be required by all premises.
There will be flexibility around social distancing but the requirement to use a facemask indoors except hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants and cafe will remain in place.
The changes follow the success of the vaccine programme which has weakened the link between infections, serious illness and hospitalisation but it has not been broken.
Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council, said: “Whilst we welcome the relaxation of some of the restrictions we’ve all been living under, the risk of harm is still with us and some young, fit people are suffering from long-Covid which is having a major impact on their lives.
“The Delta variant accounts for increasingly high numbers of positive cases but thankfully the numbers of those suffering serious illness from infection remains low with hospital admissions also remaining low.
“We want it to remain this way as we go through the summer months and I encourage everyone to continue to be vigilant and if you haven’t already had the vaccine please arrange to do so as soon as possible.”
Everyone is also asked to respect staff working in tourism, hospitality and leisure industries who are all continuing to do their utmost to look after the health and welfare of those they work for and with.
Thank You.
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