Wales to go into national ‘firebreak’ Covid lockdown

A temporary national lockdown will be put into place in Wales, the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has announced.

The Welsh government believes a two-week lockdown, or firebreak, from Friday at 6pm is vital to help bring the virus under control.

Already about 2.3 million people in Wales are living under local lockdown rules – 15 of Wales’ 22 counties plus Bangor and Llanelli.

The Labour-led Welsh government has also banned people from travelling into Wales from tier 2 and tier 3 areas in other parts of the UK.

But the government believes it needs to go further. It argues that a sharp lockdown now will give it and the NHS in Wales breathing space ahead of a difficult winter.

Before the announcement, Plaid Cymru said it remained “steadfastly supportive” of a firebreak, arguing it was necessary to buy time to address ”the weaknesses of the test, trace and isolate system”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the party’s shadow minister for health and care, said: “I want as few restrictions as possible to be imposed, but properly enforced, and with clear support for people and businesses affected.

“But regrettably, because of the failure of policies by Welsh and UK governments to date, to reach that point we need a firebreak now to get the virus under control and to start afresh.”

Plaid has published a 14-point plan explaining how it would try to drive down infections ranging from increasing the speed of testing to cancelling GCSEs and A-levels in 2021.

The Conservatives in Wales have called for the science behind the government’s decision to be published in full.

Leaders of the Welsh hospitality industry warn a lockdown could put jobs at risk for almost a third of its workforce.

Meanwhile, police in Gwent, south-east Wales, said they stopped people hundreds of people suspected of breaking the Welsh government’s travel ban over the weekend.