Welsh easing of 2021 lockdown restrictions

[AdamWW]

From today

• Self-contained holiday accommodation, including hotels with en-suite facilities and room service, will be able to reopen to people from the same household or support bubble.

• The stay local rule will be replaced by an interim all-Wales travel area, which will remain in place until April 12, subject to the public health situation. For the next two weeks, only those with a reasonable excuse,such as work, will be able to travel into or out of Wales.

And TFW Rail have been straight off the mark announcing that public transport travel restrictions in Wales are now lifted. I can't even see anything about using public transport only if you have no alternative. They even say it's OK to travel through England so long as your journeys starts and ends in Wales.

This is a very welcome change from the situation last year.

 

[sd0733]

And TFW Rail have been straight off the mark announcing that public transport travel restrictions in Wales are now lifted. I can't even see anything about using public transport only if you have no alternative. They even say it's OK to travel through England so long as your journeys starts and ends in Wales.

This is a very welcome change from the situation last year.

The briefs weve been getting confirm that there will be no restrictions on travel.
There will also be an extra 8 units diagrammed on the Valley lines for extra capacity.
It sounds as if there will be Queuing systems set up at the likes of Barry Island and Pembroke for when its sunny days.

 

[AdamWW]

The briefs weve been getting confirm that there will be no restrictions on travel.
There will also be an extra 8 units diagrammed on the Valley lines for extra capacity.
It sounds as if there will be Queuing systems set up at the likes of Barry Island and Pembroke for when its sunny days.

Yes that's what they seem to be suggesting.

Could be fun.

But in my view a great improvement over the "Don't use the train to get to the beach" messaging last year...and the way they used overcrowding on weekend Barry trains as a justification for a blanket ban on non-essential travel anywhere at any time, even though some trains were running near empty.

 

[TravelDream]

Drakeford is an absolute fool. Most commentators have thought Johnson's roadmap was very cautious - its not "highly optimistic". Welsh business groups need to be ripping him to pieces over statements like this and start asking tough questions. I think there is a CHANCE the final England relaxation might be pushed back a week or two to beginning of July if vaccine supply gets constrained (not that I agree with that) - but the idea that Wales will continue some of the main restrictions for all of 2021 is laughable. Expect half of Wales to travel to Bristol, Hereford, Chester and Liverpool for holidays and entertainment if so - and there is nothing he will be able to do to stop it.

I don't think 'most commentators thought Johnson's roadmap was very cautious'. Indeed, many have said it is incredibly overoptimistic. I think you spend too much time in a media/ commentary bubble only looking at things which affirm your beliefs.

I'm firmly of the belief that England will have some sort of restrictions for the rest of the year. Whether that's social distancing, limiting capacity of indoor venues, mask wearing or whatever. To me, it's beyond 'highly optimistic' to think there won't be.

I'm not exactly a lockdown or zero Covid fanatic either. TBH I could go either way on lockdowns. Obviously when the health system is under strain, they need to be put in place. However, today in Wales we had 1 death and 60 cases. Yesterday we had 0 deaths and 94 cases. Over 3 million people live here so those numbers are tiny. Zero Covid will never happen and we need to learn to live with the virus with vaccines etc.


I have to say, this thread comes across as simply the anti-devolution thread. Some people seem to have a great dislike that all decisions aren't taken in Westminster for some indiscernible reason. I'm not sure if some here realise than in other countries, decisions are taken at a far more local level than here. It's not a one-way street either. In Germany and the US, it has been city and state governments pushing against the central government's restrictions.



Edit:
New briefing today. Finally a timetable for pubs and gyms which lots of people have called for. Seems a little ambitious though as cases have stopped falling in Wales.

 

[Bikeman78]

I don't think 'most commentators thought Johnson's roadmap was very cautious'. Indeed, many have said it is incredibly overoptimistic. I think you spend too much time in a media/ commentary bubble only looking at things which affirm your beliefs.

I'm firmly of the belief that England will have some sort of restrictions for the rest of the year. Whether that's social distancing, limiting capacity of indoor venues, mask wearing or whatever. To me, it's beyond 'highly optimistic' to think there won't be.

I'm not exactly a lockdown or zero Covid fanatic either. TBH I could go either way on lockdowns. Obviously when the health system is under strain, they need to be put in place. However, today in Wales we had 1 death and 60 cases. Yesterday we had 0 deaths and 94 cases. Over 3 million people live here so those numbers are tiny. Zero Covid will never happen and we need to learn to live with the virus with vaccines etc.


I have to say, this thread comes across as simply the anti-devolution thread. Some people seem to have a great dislike that all decisions aren't taken in Westminster for some indiscernible reason. I'm not sure if some here realise than in other countries, decisions are taken at a far more local level than here. It's not a one-way street either. In Germany and the US, it has been city and state governments pushing against the central government's restrictions.



Edit:
New briefing today. Finally a timetable for pubs and gyms which lots of people have called for. Seems a little ambitious though as cases have stopped falling in Wales.

Nothing on there about when indoor dining can resume. Down to about one death per day in Wales.

 

[TravelDream]

Nothing on there about when indoor dining can resume. Down to about one death per day in Wales.

That has to be a low priority vs gyms/ fitness and family/ friend get-togethers?

I can't see it happening in Wales before England either which is supposed to be on May 17.

 

[WelshBluebird]

There's talk about the end of May in time for the bank holiday in terms of indoor service for restaurants and pubs etc and for general indoors household mixing.

 

[Dai Corner]

There's talk about the end of May in time for the bank holiday in terms of indoor service for restaurants and pubs etc and for general indoors household mixing.

Remember Wales will have a different Government after the election on 6 May; quite possibly a coalition one.. Both the main opposition party leaders apparently want earlier relaxation of the restrictions.

 

[TravelDream]

Remember Wales will have a different Government after the election on 6 May; quite possibly a coalition one.. Both the main opposition party leaders apparently want earlier relaxation of the restrictions.

Not to bring too much politics into it, but there is no outcome after May's election where Mark Drakeford doesn't remain first minister.
Whether that's a Labour majority/ minority government or a Labour-Plaid Cymru/ Labour-Lib Dem coalition.
I don't think the roadmap is going to change.

 

[burns20]

I'm not sure where to put this but today I tried booking an AirBnB in Manchester for the night of the 22nd April, I live in Mid Wales.

The response by the host said they couldn't accept my booking as Welsh Guidance says that Welsh Residents cannot stay in self contained accommodation in Blue Areas on the following link

Official UK Coronavirus Dashboard

GOV.UK Coronavirus dashboard

coronavirus.data.gov.uk

When did this become a thing?

I was planning on doing a day on Hulleys of Baslow, Sheffield TramTrain, Scunthorpe Steelworks Tour, Kirklees Light Railway and Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, all of which are in Blue Areas.

I can't find any reference to this anywhere

 

[Bertie the bus]

The response by the host said they couldn't accept my booking as Welsh Guidance says that Welsh Residents cannot stay in self contained accommodation in Blue Areas on the following link

That is just bizarre and completely unworkable. The rates change every day so the area could be green when you book it and blue when the date of your stay comes around or vice versa. The data on that map is also about 1 week out of date so at your time of booking the area might show green but could actually be experiencing a local outbreak. There are also different levels on that map so the area you want to book in could be both green and blue, e.g. Lancashire is green but within Lancashire Preston is blue - which one would count?

As most of the blue areas are close to the green/blue changeover value you could always check again each day and if it turns green book then.

 

[bramling]

There's talk about the end of May in time for the bank holiday in terms of indoor service for restaurants and pubs etc and for general indoors household mixing.

Any idea when hotels will re-open in Wales?

It’s incredible to think that we went away late September / early October last year. The hotel we stayed in closed a few days after we checked out, and has been closed ever since. Feels like an age ago. I feel so sorry for the owners and staff of such places, whose closure will have been over 6 months.

 

[Bikeman78]

Any idea when hotels will re-open in Wales?

It’s incredible to think that we went away late September / early October last year. The hotel we stayed in closed a few days after we checked out, and has been closed ever since. Feels like an age ago. I feel so sorry for the owners and staff of such places, whose closure will have been over 6 months.

Already back open in Wales but only for people living in Wales. I think that might change on April 12th when cross border travel opens up again.

 

[brad465]

Wales has just decided to release a few things a week earlier than planned, including Gyms, Leisure centres and household bubbles indoors now possible on the 3rd May instead of the 10th:

Covid: Wales' gyms and household mixing changes brought forward

Some lockdown restrictions in Wales will be eased earlier than planned due to falling Covid cases.

www.bbc.co.uk

Gyms will be allowed to reopen and people will be able to form extended households a week earlier than planned in Wales, the first minister has said.

Gyms and leisure centres will be able to open from 3 May - instead of 10 May - while two households can bubble up to meet indoors from the same date.

Wedding receptions outdoors for up to 30 people will be allowed from 26 April, also moving forward a week.

A drop in Covid cases has prompted the changes, the Welsh government said.

The dates for reopening the hospitality industry have not changed - pubs, cafes and restaurants will still be able to reopen outdoors from 26 April.

Gym owners had criticised the Welsh government's decision to delay the reopening of gyms during last week's lockdown roadmap announcement.

Individual and one-to-one training will be allowed once they reopen on 3 May, but exercise classes will still be banned.

Opposition parties have welcomed the changes, but the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru called for gyms to be reopened even sooner.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said it was important that people kept sticking to the rules.

While this is Wales, this does perhaps set a precedent and maybe increase the chance of something changing with the England roadmap for earlier easement that doesn't look out of place (but still not certain), especially as I suspect this move maybe influenced by the May elections, not least as the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid have said Gyms reopening should be even earlier than this move.

 

[kristiang85]

Apparently there will be no easing of current restrictions in Wales until mid-July due to concerns about the Delta variant.

Current COVID patients in hospitals in the whole of Wales: 44
Deaths with COVID (28 dayS) in Wales in the last 21 days: 2

Madness.

 

[TravelDream]

Apparently there will be no easing of current restrictions in Wales until mid-July due to concerns about the Delta variant.

Here is the BBC article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-57511769

It's not too surprising really.

Drakeford is going to have a press conference on Friday where we will learn more.

 

[anthony263]

Social distancing on bus and coaches is being eased from Monday. Like England we can now use all but rear facing seats. Some operators not allowing any standing passengers others will if they are with a wheelchair user or a pushchair.

Not sure if tfw and gwr are allowed to do the same on rail services

 

[AdamWW]

Social distancing on bus and coaches is being eased from Monday. Like England we can now use all but rear facing seats. Some operators not allowing any standing passengers others will if they are with a wheelchair user or a pushchair.

Not sure if tfw and gwr are allowed to do the same on rail services

The rules on TFW Rail aren't made very clear.

The "Don't sit here" signs on trains (but not platform benches) vanished a long time ago.

The tedious "travel safer" recording that plays after every single station just says "keep your distance".

I haven't seen anything more informative than that on any signs.

The "travel safer" advice on their web site says that "social distancing measures" should be followed and if you click on those words you're taken to a long web page on which buried in the text are lines saying that you shouldn't sit next to or opposite passengers. So presumably that's the rule but I would say they haven't gone out of their way to get the message across.

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

Social distancing on bus and coaches is being eased from Monday. Like England we can now use all but rear facing seats. Some operators not allowing any standing passengers others will if they are with a wheelchair user or a pushchair.

Is this a change to official guidance or one particular operator doing their own thing?

I can't seem to find any mention of it on the Welsh Government's website, or in the transcript of Mark Drakeford's lunchtime briefing from today

 

[Markdvdman]

TFW are a nightmare!!!! Sometimes nothing is said then they bang out that social distancing thing relentlessly! I despise Drakeford for his nonsense we are in danger - we are NOT - no DEATHS!!! Merthyr no cases and all that. We should now be opened up everywhere or we will never stop business dying

 

[TravelDream]

TFW are a nightmare!!!! Sometimes nothing is said then they bang out that social distancing thing relentlessly! I despise Drakeford for his nonsense we are in danger - we are NOT - no DEATHS!!! Merthyr no cases and all that. We should now be opened up everywhere or we will never stop business dying

I don't want to be the one to jump to Drakeford's defence, but if you despise him them you have to despise Johnson, Sturgeon and whoever is in Northern Ireland as all four places have essentially the same policy.

I'm sympathetic to Drakeford as the last Welsh election went well for Labour because of his cautiousness. Clearly there's a minority which don't like it, but the majority do.

Now, I'd like to see things open further yes, but a bit of the bigger picture tells us that's unlikely for a while and Wales probably won't lead the pack out of lockdown. England looks a bit unlikely too as they look like to are going even more conservative on it than Wales.

 

[anthony263]

Is this a change to official guidance or one particular operator doing their own thing?

I can't seem to find any mention of it on the Welsh Government's website, or in the transcript of Mark Drakeford's lunchtime briefing from today

I was surprised too but other bus operators in Wales are doing it too from screenshot I've seen from colleagues in the industry

 

[Jamesrob637]

One thing Drakeford got right that no others did, was the phased return of children to schools in the Spring.

 

[TravelDream]

One thing Drakeford got right that no others did, was the phased return of children to schools in the Spring.

It never made sense when the government said kids don't spread the virus. Anyone who knows young kids knows that coughs and colds spread like crazy through primary schools. To me, it was pure theatre to 'put the public's mind at ease'.


Though I don't think schools should close unless it's really the last resort. There are many consequences to shutting them which hit the poorest the hardest.

 

[AdamWW]

It never made sense when the government said kids don't spread the virus. Anyone who knows young kids knows that coughs and colds spread like crazy through primary schools. To me, it was pure theatre to 'put the public's mind at ease'.

I think it's a bit more nuanced than just assuming that coronavirus will spread in the same way as coughs and colds. Unlike with coughs and colds children are much less likely than adults to become ill with Covid, so it's plausible that they may also be less prone to passing coronavirus on.

For example from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:

1. How likely are children to catch and transmit the virus in school settings?​

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can occur within the school setting and clusters have been reported in all types of schools settings (preschool, primary and secondary school). However, school outbreaks have not been a prominent feature in the COVID-19 pandemic. Transmission in the school setting appears to be affected by the levels of community transmission. Where epidemiological investigation has occurred, transmission in schools has accounted for a minority of all COVID-19 cases in a given country.

The majority of children do not develop symptoms when infected with the virus, or they develop a very mild form of the disease.

No evidence has been found to suggest that children or educational settings are the primary drivers of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission. However, research has shown that children can become infected, and can spread the virus to other children and adults while they are infectious.

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

One thing Drakeford got right that no others did, was the phased return of children to schools in the Spring.

Eh?

Nicola Sturgeon did exactly the same with the phased return of schools starting in late February, and a full return in mid-April. Scotland's cases followed a similar trajectory to England, where all schools opened in early March, so if it made any difference it was negligible.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Eh?

Nicola Sturgeon did exactly the same with the phased return of schools starting in late February, and a full return in mid-April. Scotland's cases followed a similar trajectory to England, where all schools opened in early March, so if it made any difference it was negligible.

Drakeford and Sturgeon then. No doubt someone from/with knowledge of Northern Ireland will say that their leader did likewise!

 

[TPO]

I don't want to be the one to jump to Drakeford's defence, but if you despise him them you have to despise Johnson, Sturgeon and whoever is in Northern Ireland as all four places have essentially the same policy.

I'm sympathetic to Drakeford as the last Welsh election went well for Labour because of his cautiousness. Clearly there's a minority which don't like it, but the majority do.

Now, I'd like to see things open further yes, but a bit of the bigger picture tells us that's unlikely for a while and Wales probably won't lead the pack out of lockdown. England looks a bit unlikely too as they look like to are going even more conservative on it than Wales.

At least Drakeford didn't whip up hope and expectation in the run-up, rather he always said he'd listen to the medical advice. Nor could he have done a great lot without England opening.

The Welsh announcements have always been rather more nuanced.

In real life, being out and about on work business in England last week, compliance with masks and social distancing has dropped a lot over the past week or so.

TPO

 

[Bikeman78]

The rules on TFW Rail aren't made very clear.

The "Don't sit here" signs on trains (but not platform benches) vanished a long time ago.

The tedious "travel safer" recording that plays after every single station just says "keep your distance".

I haven't seen anything more informative than that on any signs.

The "travel safer" advice on their web site says that "social distancing measures" should be followed and if you click on those words you're taken to a long web page on which buried in the text are lines saying that you shouldn't sit next to or opposite passengers. So presumably that's the rule but I would say they haven't gone out of their way to get the message across.

Whatever the rules, the public are voting with their feet. The 0830 Manchester-Milford three car 175 was full from Abergavenny to Cardiff. 90% of seats taken and people filling the door vestibules. Mask wearing was hit and miss to say the least. A lot of the people looked like they were dressed up for a night out on the town. Long day out starting at noon!

 

[TravelDream]

Whatever the rules, the public are voting with their feet. The 0830 Manchester-Milford three car 175 was full from Abergavenny to Cardiff. 90% of seats taken and people filling the door vestibules. Mask wearing was hit and miss to say the least. A lot of the people looked like they were dressed up for a night out on the town. Long day out starting at noon!

I know some people will say opinion polls still show strong support for restrictions, but this is definitely true.

Trains, roads, buses, bars, restaurants, shops are the busiest they have been since pre-Covid in my experience - noticeably busier than last summer.

Mask use is still high in some places (the security guard at Tesco still stops people who aren't wearing one unless they have a lanyard), but in others where there is no active enforcement, use has dropped.