Wales could start to return to alert level zero if improvements continue

The Prime Minister will explain tomorrow (Friday) how Wales plans to return to the zero alert level if the public health situation continues to improve.

Mark Drakeford will present the two-week plan to ease the Alert Level Two restrictions that have been in place since Boxing Day at his press conference.

The Welsh Government is able to start removing the protections put in place in response to the omicron wave, thanks to the support of people across Wales and the successful recall campaign – over 1.75 million people have received the additional booster dose.

The move to the zero alert level will be staggered, with restrictions on outdoor activities being removed first.

Ahead of tomorrow’s Welsh Government review of coronavirus restrictions, Welsh Conservatives are calling on Labor Ministers to:

• Abolish the two meter distance and the rule of six in Welsh hospitality;

• Remove restrictions on supporters on sports grounds and outdoor activities such as Parkrun;

• Make more money available for businesses that have suffered as a result of the Labor Party’s response to Omicron;

• Reduce the period of self-isolation from seven to five full days (after negative lateral flow tests on day five and at the start of the first day after the end of isolation)

• Commit to holding weekly reviews until all restrictions have been lifted.

Welsh Conservatives believe such moves would bring us closer to life with coronavirus as an endemic disease and reduce pressure on public services, liberate society, improve mental and physical health and drive the economy forward.

This lunchtime, MP Sajid Javid reduced the self-isolation period to five days in England from Monday, as data from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that two-thirds of people are no longer infectious by the fifth day.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Leader Andrew RT Davies MS said: ‘It is good to see that the Labor Government has given up on its attempt to avoid justifying why its rules are in place and have stuck to weekly reviews. This should remain in place until all rules have been removed, as any limitation of our freedoms should be regularly proven to be necessary.

“Labour Ministers must use tomorrow to remove their economically cruel and clinically unnecessary rules on businesses so they can recover from the restrictions they have imposed on Wales in recent weeks, while increasing compensation for businesses affected.

“The absurd and bizarre rules about watching and participating in sports must be removed given the negative effects on physical and mental health, not to mention their perverse consequences, which is evident in pushing people to indoors to watch games instead.

“The Prime Minister must also consider reducing the period of self-isolation from seven to five days, especially since scientific data shows that most people are not contagious after five days. This will ease the pressure of labor in our public services, stimulate the economy and keep us alive with the virus.

“Labour’s response to Omicron turned out to be a mistake and they decided to keep the strictest possible restrictions in place in the UK to save face, whatever the consequences for business finances and the good -mental being of people across the country. .

“Ministers have made Wales an outlier which has put livelihoods at risk. They must now change course and at least publish an unrestricted roadmap tomorrow.

Speaking about the current restrictions on outdoor sporting events, following news that Wales could ‘turn a corner’ on the latest wave of coronavirus, Plaid Cymru health and care spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said: “Being proportionate and appearing fair has been an essential part of the regulations – for this reason, especially if we have reached the peak of cases, the limit on outdoor sporting events must now be lifted.

“Surely the benefits of participating in events such as parkruns and watching sports outdoors outweigh the risks?”

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