Mark Drakeford MS, First Minister
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
As Wales enters the second week of the firebreak, Ministers have met through the weekend to discuss the new national measures, which will be put in place from 9 November.
We are continuing to finalise the details of these measures and I will make a further statement to the Senedd tomorrow.
The unexpected announcement by the Prime Minister over the weekend that England will start a month-long lockdown on Thursday has meant that we have needed to make adjustments to some of our plans, but the firebreak in Wales will end as planned on 9 November.
The Welsh Government has considered the impact the English lockdown will have on the next steps in Wales. It will have an impact on people who live in Wales but work in England; on companies operating in both Wales and England and on businesses trading along the border.
When the firebreak ends, there will be a new set of national measures, which will replace the previous local restrictions. We will once again take a cautious approach and will ease restrictions gradually to ensure the firebreak has the maximum possible impact on coronavirus. We will review the situation after a fortnight to see whether we can make further changes to the national measures.
From next Monday, two households will be able to join together to form an exclusive extended household – bubble. To help keep everyone as safe as possible at home, only people from your own household or extended household can meet in your private home.
Beyond November 9, there will be new arrangements for meeting indoors in other settings, such as pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants. As all these places will be closed in England, we are having to think further about how the hospitality sector in Wales, in particular, can operate in these new circumstances. These considerations will continue throughout today.
Up to 15 people will be able to take part in an organised indoors activity and up to 30 in organised outdoors activities, providing all social distancing, hand hygiene and other covid safety measures are followed.
Schools will reopen in full from next Monday.
Working from home will become even more important.
All business premises, which have been shut since October 23, will be able to reopen on November 9.
Local authority services will resume, reflecting local circumstances and places of worship will also be able to reopen.
There will be no travel restrictions inside Wales but during the month-long lockdown in England, travel will not be permitted outside Wales without a reasonable excuse.
I want to thank everyone for all their support during the firebreak so far. Together we are keeping Wales safe.