Campsites and all hotels can reopen in Wales tomorrow as tourists flock back

Tourist accommodation with shared facilities, such as camping sites and all hotels will be able to re-open from Saturday as will underground attractions, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced today.

Cinemas, museums and beauty salons will reopen from Monday, as Wales’ coronavirus restrictions continue to be relaxed, he said.

New rules making it compulsory to wear a face covering on public transport, including taxis, will also come into effect on Monday.

This is the latest in the phased re-opening of Wales’ hospitality, leisure and retail sectors. In addition to beauty salons, nail parlours, tattoo shops, cinemas, amusement arcades, museums and galleries, the coronavirus regulations will also be amended to enable the housing market to re-open fully.

But while the removal of restrictions enables all these businesses to reopen, it does not require them to.

“Thanks to the efforts we have all made to reduce the spread of the virus, we are taking further steps to re-open more of Wales,” First Minister Mark Drakeford said.

“More of our retail, leisure, hospitality and tourism sectors, which play such an important part in our economy, will start to welcome back customers and guests from tomorrow.

“As more places start to reopen, we must get used to some changes to help protect ourselves and the people working in these businesses. This may mean having to book ahead or giving our details to the places we are visiting, to help our Test Trace Protect service, in the event there’s an outbreak of coronavirus.

“It’s the responsibility of all of us to follow these new rules so we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

“Coronavirus has not gone away. But if we all work together, we can keep Wales safe.”

 

Deaths

The next formal review of the regulations will be carried out by 30 July. The Welsh Government will consider a range of options, including the options for the opening of pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants indoors if infection rates continue to slide.

Yesterday Wales recorded no new coronavirus deaths for the third time this week.

There have now been no new deaths reported by the NHS trust on nine occasions this month (July 6, 10, 12, 13 and 16, 18, 20, 21 and 23).

Meanwhile, PHW said the number of lab-confirmed positive cases of coronavirus in Wales had increased by 43 to bring the total to 17,030.

Wrexham once again recorded the most new cases with nine, followed by Flintshire with six and Vale of Glamorgan and Powys both with four.

Torfaen had three cases, while Monmouthshire, Denbighshire, Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Pembrokeshire and Neath Port Talbot had two new cases. Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Carmarthenshire had one new case, and the rest had zero.