Covid restrictions to be eased in Wales from January 15th

The government has outlined a two-week roadmap for the nation


First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced a return to Alert Level Zero which allows for minimal coronavirus restrictions. This is set to be carried out over the next two weeks. 

The First Minister has announced a four-stage process to ease the restrictions: 

• 15th January – Outdoor events will be allowed to host 50-100 people 

• Friday, January 21st All outdoor activities will move to Alert Level Zero, including sporting events. Outdoor hospitality would operate without additional reasonable measures. The Covid Pass will be required for entry to larger outdoor events.

• Friday, January 28 – Wales will move to Alert Level Zero for all indoor places and nightclubs will re-open. The Covid Pass will be required for entry to indoors events such as nightclubs, cinemas, concert halls and theatres. Self-isolation (for those who test positive) and face covering rules will remain in force after 28 January.

• Thursday 10 February: Wales will move to a three-week review cycle while the country remains at Alert Level Zero.

Wales has been under Alert Level Two since Boxing Day 2021. Restrictions were imposed on the hospitality department, with nightclubs shut, allowing groups no larger than six people in pubs and restaurants, no more than 30 people for outdoor gatherings, and a ban on crowds for sporting events.

Having been placed under stricter rules due to the Omicron variant, restrictions are said to ease because of the falling numbers of cases and an increasingly better public health situation. 

Drakeford was interviewed on BBC’s Radio4’s Today programme over his swiftly changing stance on restrictions and declined that this was a ‘U-turn’, saying that decisions were and will always be based on scientific evidence and data that fully agree with the easing of restrictions.

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