May 17, 2021 - 931 views
Wales will move into alert level 2 today as coronavirus levels remain low and vaccination rates remain the best in the UK.
Indoor hospitality businesses will be able to re-open, indoor entertainment venues will also re-open and there will be an increase in the number of people able to attend organised indoor and outdoor activities.
International travel will resume but extra safeguards will be put in place for people returning from some countries to prevent coronavirus re-entering Wales.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "Thanks to everyone’s hard work and ongoing efforts, we can take another step towards relaxing the coronavirus restrictions".
"Indoor hospitality will be able to reopen, a move that will be welcomed by many of us as we look forward to enjoying a drink, a meal and the company of friends and family in a café or pub.
"By sticking with the rules and our successful vaccine programme, we are making really good progress in controlling the virus and keeping rates low.
"But the pandemic isn’t over – the new, so-called Indian variant of concern is another unwanted twist in this pandemic, which we are monitoring closely.”
The changes to the coronavirus restrictions, which will come into force from Monday 17 May include:
- Indoor hospitality can re-open – 6 people from up to 6 households (not including children under 11) can book
- All holiday accommodation can re-open fully
- Entertainment venues, including cinemas, bingo halls, bowling alleys, indoor-play centres and areas, casinos, amusement arcades, and theatres can re-open. Cinemas, theatres concert halls and sports grounds can sell food and drink as long as it is consumed in a seated area for watching the performance
- Indoor visitor attractions, including museums and galleries can re-open
- Up to 30 people can take part in organised indoor activities and up to 50 people in organised outdoor activities. This includes wedding receptions and wakes.
- International travel will resume. A traffic light system, aligned with England and Scotland, will be introduced. Countries will be classified as green, amber and red. This means people living in Wales will be able to travel to a small number of foreign destinations without the need to quarantine on their return. Mandatory quarantine for countries not on the green list remains in place.
From Monday 24 May, a paper-based vaccination status will be available for people in Wales who have had 2 doses of vaccination and need to urgently travel to a country that requires covid vaccination proof.
However, the Welsh Government continues to advise people to only travel abroad for essential purposes.
If public health conditions remain positive, the next 3-week review will consider:
- Further changes to meeting people in private homes
- Increasing the number of people who can meet outdoors and the number of people who can attend organised activities and events, including wedding receptions, to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors
- Permitting larger-scale events to take place indoors and outdoors.
