Wales to face shops closures and a lockdown over Christmas

The Welsh Government has made new major changes to restrictions over the Christmas period after the rise in covid cases.

Wales will face new rules over the Christmas period after the Government has decided to make huge changes to rules amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

New Christmas rules in Wales

All around Wales, new major changes will affect the Welsh population, including the number of households being able to mix, shops closures and a further lockdown. The First Minister, Mark Drakeford announced major changes after the huge spike in coronavirus infections.

He confirmed: “…I explained that if we didn’t see a change in the current course of coronavirus in Wales, then a move to tighter restrictions would be inevitable. Since then, we have seen a sustained rise in coronavirus in our communities and in our hospitals.”

The new Christmas rules

• Two households will be allowed to mix in Christmas during the five-day period;
• All non-essential shops will be forced to close on Christmas Eve, including fitness and leisure centres, hairdressers and other services with close contact;
• Hospitality will also have to shut from 6 pm on Christmas Day;
• A new lockdown will be applied on December 28, with tight restrictions on household mixing and travel;
• Everyone is advised to work from home;

After the surge in coronavirus infections in the recent weeks, the Welsh First Minister warned the situation might become very serious and therefore the Government had to take stricter decisions.

He announced: “The situation we are facing is extremely serious. We must move to alert level four and tighten the restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus and save lives… This has been such a long and difficult year. But that cannot lift the responsibility from us to act now. We need to take this action to save lives and control the spread of this awful virus.”

This comes as English Government is also facing criticism for not having tougher restrictions over Christmas after the huge rise in coronavirus infections in the North and in the capital. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now under big pressure for not having rules ‘strict enough’.

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