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Pubs and restaurants would be banned from serving alcohol and forced to close after 6pm if Wales adopts restrictions similar to Scotland’s Level 3 rules.
It is understood that Welsh government leaders are considering introducing restrictions similar to those adopted in Scotland’s third four-tier coronavirus lockdown system.
Scotland has been the most successful UK country in controlling the virus with a seven-day infection rate of 126.4 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 157.2 in Northern Ireland, 198.5 in Wales and 200.4 in England, according to UK government data. .
Under Level 3 rules in Scotland, restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars can be open indoors and outdoors, but only for the consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages cannot be served. The last entry is at 5 pm and all venues must be closed and all clients must be off the premises before 6 pm.
Scotland’s rules differ from those of Wales in that at its level 3, up to six people from two households can meet indoors or outdoors. In Wales, the maximum is four people, but it can be from more than two households.
At the Welsh government press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said more hospitality restrictions will be announced on Monday to ensure there is enough scope for Wales to relax coronavirus restrictions in time for Christmas. He said the R number in Wales is now as high as 1.4, which means the virus is spreading exponentially again.
The Scottish rules are one of the options you are believed to be considering. The hospitality restrictions you decide to introduce will be introduced on Friday of next week. Cinemas, bowling alleys and other indoor entertainment venues will also have to close in Wales, although a date has yet to be set.
At the press conference, Drakeford said: “We will work over the weekend with the partners to finalize the details of the new arrangements and put in place a major new package of financial support to respond to those changes.”
“I will elaborate on the package on Monday. Non-essential retail, hair salons, gyms and leisure centers will continue as they do now. These new agreements will apply to all of Wales.”
Infection rate increases in Wales
Another 21 people have died from coronavirus in Wales and more than 1,100 new positive cases have been confirmed.
The latest statistics released by Public Health Wales (PHW) on Friday show 1,105 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Wales, a slight decrease from the 1,251 cases reported on Thursday.
There were also 21 new confirmed deaths from Covid, which was down from the 28 announced 24 hours earlier by the NHS trust.
It means that the infection rate in Wales continues to slowly increase after the firewall is blocked.
South Korea sees spike in coronavirus
South Korea has reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, and the rate of viral spread has not been seen since the worst wave of the outbreak in the spring.
The nation was one of the countries to control the virus most effectively in the spring, but the new cases come after social distancing restrictions were lowered to the lowest levels in October to support a weak economy, allowing it to High-risk venues like nightclubs and karaoke bars reopen and spectators return to sports.
The 504 cases reported by Korea Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday brought the number of national cases to 33,375, including 522 deaths.
About 330 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, home to about half of the country’s 51 million people, where healthcare workers are fighting to stop transmissions linked to hospitals, schools, saunas, gyms and army units.
Levels needed to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed, says Gove
All hospitals in England could be overwhelmed with coronavirus cases if new level restrictions are not introduced, warned Michael Gove.
The Cabinet Office minister, writing in The Times, urged MPs to “take responsibility for tough decisions” to curb the spread of Covid-19, amid anger from some conservatives that much of England will face strict restrictions.
Gove said the decision to impose the restrictions was necessary to “pull on the handbrake” and avoid the “disaster” of NHS hospitals – and the private sector and newly built Nightingale hospitals – being filled to the max with only Covid patients. and emergency cases.
“Keeping our hospitals open, available and effective was not only crucial in dealing with Covid-19. It was imperative for the health of the entire nation,” Gove wrote.
“But the only way to make sure that we can care for cancer patients, give radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and help stroke victims and treat heart attacks is by protecting the NHS,” he wrote.
Survey: We are only a few weeks away from the final Brexit date when the transition period ends; we want to know how you feel now
Massive test plans criticized
Ambitious coronavirus rapid testing plans for England threaten to become a distraction from other key goals, such as launching a vaccine, senior health officials have warned.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised that the rapid mass community testing systems carried out in Liverpool, which yielded results in about 20 minutes without the need for a laboratory, will be replicated in level three areas after the shutdown ends. . This covers areas with a combined population of about 23 million people.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Liverpool, where 300,000 people have been tested in the pilot scheme, has shown how effective the measure can be.
Johnson pointed out Thursday that mass community testing was the way out of Level 3 restrictions, saying it involved “everyone working together to kick Covid out.”
But the School of Public Health and the Association of Public Health Directors said in a joint statement that this would be a massive undertaking that would expand the country’s resources in the fight against Covid-19 in such a way that other priorities could be compromised.
“First, substantial resources, human and financial, are needed to perform lateral flow tests at scale,” the two agencies said.
“The additional logistical capacity provided to Liverpool to establish and manage test sites on its own has been enormous, and it is hard to imagine how or even if this could be replicated at the rate that it is being proposed across the country.
“This threatens to be a distraction from other activities, like planning and launching vaccines.”
People on the protection list receive the same vaccine priority as people older than 70 years
People at very high risk of contracting coronavirus, who were forced to protect themselves during the pandemic, have been given the same priority as those over 70 in line to receive a vaccine.
The provisional list of priority vaccines published by Public Health England has placed people aged 18 and over who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable in the same priority group as those aged 70 and over.
It means that people with conditions such as blood, bone or lung cancer, chronic kidney disease and Down syndrome have been placed in priority group four out of nine.
Gemma Peters, Executive Director of the Blood Cancer UK charity, said: “This is very good news.
“Putting people with blood cancer at the same priority level as those over 70 better reflects the fact that they are especially vulnerable to coronavirus.”
Hospitals in England expect the vaccine in 10 days
Hospitals in England were told to prepare for the launch of a Covid-19 vaccine in just 10 days, it was reported.
According to The Guardian, hospitals could receive the first deliveries of a vaccine created by Pfizer / BioNTech between December 7 and 9.
This vaccine, which reported the first results suggesting that the injection is 95% effective, must be stored at extremely low temperatures.
The newspaper said a senior hospital executive had been told to expect the vaccine to be administered on December 7 to staff for the following week.
But this period will depend on if and when the puncture is approved by the Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Health Products (MHRA).
The PA news agency understands that NHS England has not confirmed a date for the jab’s release as there are still several steps to be taken, including approval from the MHRA.
However, it is also understood that 10 days would be a reasonable period of time if the vaccine was approved soon.
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