Stay-at-home restrictions to remain in place in Wales for a further three weeks

Stay-at-home restrictions will remain in place in Wales for a further three weeks as the youngest children start returning to school from Monday, the First Minister will announce today.

However Mark Drakeford will also say that all primary pupils and some older students could return to schools and colleges from Monday 15 March, if the public health situation continues to improve.

The First Minister will say that, thanks to Wales’ team effort, cases of coronavirus are at their lowest level since the end of September, while one in three adults in Wales has had a coronavirus vaccine.

He will talk about “encouraging green shoots of recovery” and look ahead to the next review of the regulations, on 12 March, when he will reassess the restrictions around non-essential retail and close contact services.

Mark Drakeford had previously warned that any changes will be “marginal”. He had however hinted that the tourism economy could reopen for Easter.

“What I think we are looking at for Easter,” he told BBC Wales last week.

“And I want to recognise how important Easter is for the tourism industry, are the sort of first steps that we offered last year where we were able to reopen self contained accommodation first for people and then demonstrate the success of that and move on.”