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Change to Christmas Covid rules would ’cause confusion’ but later restrictions possible

09 Dec 2020 2 minute read
Dr Frank Atherton. Photo by Life Sciences Hub Wales Via YouTube

It’s too late to change the Covid-19 rules over Christmas without confusing people but further restrictions beyond that are possible, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer said today.

But Dr. Frank Atheron said that people should take take “personal responsibility” in their “personal decisions” over the holidays as cases rise quickly in Wales.

“We’ve made a commitment to the people of Wales, the people of the UK, that those rules will change over the Christmas the five-day period,” he said.

“So, no, we’re not going to change those rules. That would just confuse everybody, for sure.

“The rules are as we agreed across the four nations, but we will really have to look very carefully, as we come out of that period over Christmas, [about] what the rates are, what the hospital activity is looking like, and how resilient we are as a nation, and we will have to decide about whether we need further restrictions beyond the Christmas period.”

 

‘Risk’

Dr. Atherton did, however, say that people should take extra precautions and avoid mixing before Christmas, and could reduce contact over the festival itself to a single day.

“Although there are five days of relaxation of the rules over Christmas, it doesn’t have to be five days,” he said.

“It may be bringing your elderly relatives around just for a couple of hours over Christmas.

“Obviously that’s safer than an extended period of time.

“So there are ways that people can think to manage the risk and reduce the risk even if, as many people want to, they feel the need to spend time with loved ones over Christmas.”


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