First Minister Mark Drakeford has explained why he is lifting the laws compelling people with Covid to isolate when cases are rising so fast.
People will also no longer have to wear masks in shops or on public transport in Wales from Monday, March 28, despite hospitalisations at the highest rate in 2022 and skyrocketing cases. There were 30,712 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up substantially from 21,212 the previous week and the highest weekly figure ever recorded.
Speaking at the Welsh Government press conference Mr Drakeford was sombre in his assessment of the Covid situation. He was the challenged that his tone seemed out of step with decision to lift restrictions.
Read more: Full updates of the Mark Drakeford press conference
Explaining his rationale Mr Drakeford said: "Well, there are a number of reasons why we struck that difficult, but careful balance where we have struck it. We do have to find a way of living safely with coronavirus. It is going to be with us not just for the next few weeks, but through the whole of this calendar year. And we can't go on relying forever on the force of the law to keep us safe from it.
"We're able to move forward on some of the measures because we have other protections in place. The vaccination program, which we saw on the slides is the single most important protection that we have, and the rates of vaccination we have in Wales continue to provide the strongest protection for us all.
"But because we've seen the numbers rising, we're not able to do what we had hoped to do on the 28th of March. There are still some protections, which we think because they will operate in those places where the greatest vulnerabilities are to be found, need to be in place for a further three weeks. So it's a challenging balancing act.
"You could cut it in different ways, of course, but we think that we have tried to find that spot where we recognise and respond to the growing numbers, but keep us on the basic journey to where we will be living with coronavirus but not on the emergency basis that we've needed for the last two years."
And he had a message for people who are concerned about the impact on them of Covid rules changing. He said he absolutely recognised the fears people who had taken great care to protect themselves had.
He said: ""I have more letters from people anxious that protections are being lifted too quickly than I do from people who think we're going too slowly in Wales. And I absolutely understand that. If you have an underlying health condition and you've been operating your own life very carefully that you are anxious at the thought that you might be re-entering a world where other people no longer take coronavirus seriously.
"It's why I've been at such pains this morning to emphasise the fact that although we will be relying more in future on good advice, strong advice, and we are on the law, doing the right thing, doing the sensible thing still has to be part of the everyday repertoire of all of us and we've learned all those things, haven't we, so carefully over the last two years: hand hygiene, the keeping a respectful distance, wearing a mask."
He added that everything didn't need to be in law for people to do it. He said that if someone had measles "you don't go to work with it. You don't go out and about with it".
He said: "There's no law that tells you you've got to do that. It's just that we understand that it would not be the right thing to do. To be out there spreading a contagious disease to other people. And the same needs to be true about coronavirus as well and it's really important for those people that you mentioned that when they go out, they feel that they are re-entering society in Wales where people are still thinking about them are still thinking not just what can I do for myself, but how can my actions help to keep other people safe as well. We've done I think, incredibly well to sustain that way of behaving over the last two years and we need to go on doing it that way.
Asked whether he feared people would stop taking tests where needed because of the change in rules, Mr Drakeford said: "While I agree that that is a risk but it's a risk I think we can mitigate. We can mitigate it by the seriousness of the messaging that we will provide and by relying on that sense of responsibility that has been the hallmark of the response to the pandemic here in Wales.
"So interestingly in Scotland, self isolation was never a legal requirement all the way through. It has simply been strong advice to people in Scotland that if you suffer from coronavirus of course, you should stay at home. You should not be out spreading it knowingly to other people.
"And there's no real evidence that levels of self isolation have been lower in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. So as we make the move away from relying on the law, to rely in on our sense of responsibility and the strong advice that we will get through the chief medical officer and others then I think we have to be optimistic that we will be able to keep that sensible responsible way of behaving in place here in Wales. And as a government, we will do what we can to support that.
"The 500 pound self isolation payment will be there over the next three weeks and beyond to help those families who without it would face those invidious choices between being able to have the income they need, or not being in work."
What is ahead for Wales in the next three weeks?
For the next three weeks:
- It will still be a legal requirement to wear face coverings in health and social care settings.
- The First Minister said they we will continue to strongly advise everyone to wear face coverings in crowded indoor public places, including in shops and on public transport.
- It will also be a legal requirement for businesses, organisations and workplaces to carry out a specific coronavirus risk assessment and put in place reasonable measures to reduce the risk of spreading the virus on their premises.
- Self-isolating after a positive test will still be something they strongly recommend rather than being a legal requirement.
- A £500 self-isolation payment will continue to be available to people on lower incomes and parents until June, to support self-isolation.
- The guidance to schools will remain unchanged until the end of term. The advice is that face coverings should be worn by staff, secondary school learners and visitors in communal areas outside the classroom.
