Mumbles in lockdown for another three weeks as Wales remains at alert level four

Mumbles, like the rest of Wales, will remain in lockdown for another three weeks, First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.

Speaking at a press conference today, Mr Drakeford said there were "sure signs" of improvements.

Wales will remain at alert level four for another three weeks at least.

"We're seeing steady falls in Coronavirus case numbers across Wales," said the First Minister.

"This is really encouraging and is a result of your efforts and the sacrifices the people of Wales have made to turn back the tide.

"We know that the majority of new cases will be of the new highly contagious strain. And, although the number of people with coronavirus admitted to hospital is starting to stabilise, the NHS is still under significant pressure.

Shielding has also been extended.

"The advice for people who are extremely clinically vulnerable – the shielded group – not to go to work or school outside the home is also being extended to 31 March," said Mr Drakeford.

"We will all need to stay at home – and work from home – for a little while longer.

"This will give us more time to bring cases of coronavirus under control and reduce rates to even lower levels as the vaccine continues to be rolled out to even more people in the top priority groups.

"When it comes to lifting restrictions in Wales, we will take a gradual and cautious approach towards relaxing the restrictions – just as we did after the first lockdown.

"If we move too quickly, there's a very real risk cases will immediately shoot back up and everyone's hard work and sacrifices over the winter will be lost."

Authorities review the restrictions every 21 days. On Wednesday chief medical officer, Dr Frank Atherton, said easing of lockdown restrictions in Wales is unlikely until the end of February at the earliest.

Mr Drakeford also announced some changes to bubble support groups and exercise restrictions.

"We will allow people to dissolve the bubble they are in, wait 10 days, and form a different bubble with another household," he said.

"You will be able to exercise with another person outdoors as long as that person lives locally to you."

Schools

The First Minister also explained plans to return pupils to the classroom.

"We understand the real difficulty and distress you have been through this year being in and out of school away from friends. Getting young people back into school and college for face-to-face learning is our priority," said Mr Drakeford.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the headroom to do this yet. As soon as we do, we want schools and colleges to begin to re-open.

"If infections continue to fall, we want to see children to be able to return to school after half-term – from 22 February – starting with the youngest children in our primary schools.

"I'm confirming this intention today to give plenty of notice to parents, teachers and pupils.

"We will spend the next weeks working with teachers, local authorities and unions and we will make sure parents are kept up to date.

"We will also work on plans for older pupils and more college students to return to schools and colleges in a phased and flexible way after half-term."

Economic relief for businesses

Mr Drakeford also gave an update on what economic support would be available to businesses.

"Last week, I said we would be making a further £200m available through the Economic Resilience Fund to help non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses with their operating costs," said the First Minister.

"Today, I can give you further information about the package. This is an extension of the funding package, which we put in place in early December. It brings this latest phase of support to £650m to the end of March.

"We will link this funding to the non-domestic rates system – this is the quickest way to top up support for businesses.

"Firms which have previously received support will not need to apply again. It is also open to new applicants.

"Businesses receiving Small Business Rate Relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less will be eligible for an additional £3,000 payment.

"Businesses with a rateable value of up to £150,000 will be eligible for an additional £5,000 payment.

"Supply chain businesses will be able to apply for support if they have had a reduction in turnover of more than 40%.

"A further £30m is being put into the discretionary fund to provide up to £2,000 grants for businesses not on the non-domestic rates system.

"This support is in addition to that provided by the UK Government and all the details are available on the Business Wales website.

"We continue to provide the most generous scheme of business support anywhere in the UK to help firms and their employees through this crisis."

Vaccines

Across Wales, 362,253 people have received a Coronavirus vaccine.

In Swansea, the number of vaccination doses administered up to January 24 is 36,150.

"I want to say a heartfelt thank you to that small army a small army of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, council staff, military personnel and volunteers have been working round the clock and in all weathers to vaccinate people against this awful virus," said Mr Drakeford.

"We are getting faster and faster at vaccinating people in Wales.

"This is an incredible effort, and we can be rightly proud of what our health service is achieving for us in Wales."