Wales’ actively bracing’ for circuit breaker lockout as Prime Minister says Covid pandemic is’ more effectively quelled ‘than in other parts of UK
Following his comments on Wednesday morning, Mark Drakeford announced that Wales would ban entry to people from areas of the UK with high levels of the coronavirus if Boris Johnson does not impose restrictions on nationwide
It came as Northern Ireland announced its own short-term lockdown restrictions, with the PM facing pressure to introduce similar measures
M Drakeford told Sky News the Welsh government « is talking very actively and preparing » for the breaker restrictions
He added that « detailed planning » is underway to determine what measures would be put in place when a circuit breaker would be in place, how long it would last, how schools would be treated and how to get out of it
Which areas of Wales are on lockdown? Map of regions with coronavirus restrictions in place as more than half of the country is affected
The Prime Minister said: « We want to act now to prevent the worst from happening, to give us a better chance of getting through the rest of fall and winter, and if one circuit breaker is the right one way to do it then that’s what we’ll do
Despite M’s assertion Drakeford on the country’s relatively effective response to the pandemic, he said ‘detailed work’ was underway to allow Wales to follow Northern Ireland’s lead if the infection figures continued to go « in the wrong direction » this week
He also said that comments by UK Cabinet Minister Therese Coffey that a circuit breaker was not the right decision « go against Sage’s advice, » and reiterated his call for a Cobra meeting in four countries to discuss experts ‘scientific proof
The Prime Minister said: « I am not announcing it today, but I want people to know that we are planning very seriously, so if we have to do it we will be able to do it and in a position to do it quickly «
He said it would take at least several days before an official announcement was made, explaining that the Welsh government will closely monitor the coronavirus figures in Wales during the remainder of this week to decide whether the circuit breaker is needed
Like Scotland, Wales continued to hold daily press conferences on the Covid pandemic, M Drakeford sharing hospitality functions with various ministers and relevant experts
Later Wednesday, M Drakeford told the Welsh Parliament he had called for work on a travel ban for people from Covid hot spots across the UK to be advanced after the Prime Minister failed to respond to two letters asking him to » introduce the measure across the UK United Kingdom
Welsh government plans will take people elsewhere in the UK in line with measures currently in place in the 17 regions of Wales with local lockdown restrictions
Under these rules, people should not enter or leave an affected area without a reasonable excuse such as work or education
But currently people living in Covid-19 hotspots elsewhere in the UK are free to enter unrestricted areas of Wales where virus levels are low
M Drakeford said: “No response from the Prime Minister was received in response to my request so I requested that the necessary work be done to enable the use of decentralized powers to prevent people from traveling to the Land of Wales from high prevalence areas of the UK »
The PM added: « The timetable for powers we have in Wales is to do it by the end of the week »
He said the deadline would give ‘more time for the Prime Minister of the UK government to do the things we have asked him to do Do the same for people who live in England as for people who live in Wales «
Northern Ireland on Wednesday became the first decentralized administration to agree to a new national lockdown, with the majority of new measures taking effect on Friday
Pubs and restaurants will close for four weeks, except for take out and deliveries, while schools will close on Mondays for two weeks – one of which will cover the mid-term Halloween break
This stops ahead of the full lockdown imposed in March, but these are the toughest measures to be introduced in any of the UK’s four countries to date
Locking Wales
News from the world – UK – Everything you need to know about a possible breaker lockout in Wales