Easing lockdown cannot be rushed, says First Minister
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has warned that rushing to ease lock-down restrictions will only risk a second wave of coronavirus, and more problems down the line.
Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government was looking into the possibility of easing rules in some key areas, but said this would be a slow gradual, process taken on medical advice.
Powys has one of the lowest mortality rates from coronavirus in the country, and Mr Drakeford said it was important that people from other areas, where the rate might be higher, did not see the easing of restrictions as a reason to flood into the area.
Mr Drakeford said he believed the virus had now peaked in Wales, largely as a result of the social distancing measures which had succeeded in stopping the spread.
He said it was important that people did not see any talk of exit strategy as a hint that it was acceptable to break the ban on travel.
"Personally, I don't think anybody needs to travel more than two miles," he said. "If you want to get some exercise do it near to where you live, you don't need to drive out to a beauty spot."
Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government had been looking at the possibility of allowing some pupils to return to school, but said they should not expect to see it happen quickly.
"Even if we decided by the end of next week, it would be take two to three weeks to put it all into place, so then you're talking about June anyway," he said.
Mr Drakeford said the reopening of schools would be taken on a gradual, cautious basis.
"We are already making plans for the time when we are advised by our chief medical officer that it will be safe to do so," he said.
Mr Drakeford said he was concerned about the effect the school closures were having on young people, particularly those with special needs, but said reopening was not a matter that could be rushed.
He said he was keen to come to some sort of arrangement for pupils in their final year of primary school, who would be due to start secondary school in September.
"They would normally be going to visit their new school, to see what it's like, it's a big rite of passage, and we would like to see what we could do to prepare them for that big stage of their lives."
Mr Drakeford added that it was important that parents had confidence that is was safe for children to go back to school, which was why such a decision should not be rushed.
He said he was very concerned about the impact the pandemic was having on industries such as farming and tourism, but said the damaged caused by the virus returning would be far greater.
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Mr Drakeford said any support for farming would be look at the problems which applied to specific sectors.
He said dairy farming had been particularly hard hit due to the closure of hotels and restaurants, meaning there was a drop in demand for liquid milk. He said had successfully worked with the UK Government to get some competition rules temporarily relaxed, allowing farmers and dairies to share information.
"We are also working with the industry to look at other ways of using milk, it doesn't have to be in liquid form, it can be made into cheese or sold in other forms. We don't want farmers having to throw it away, that must be heartbreaking."
Mr Drakeford said he was also aware of a shortage of seasonal labourers in the industry, and said the Welsh Government had set up a new service to match workers with vacancies.
Powys County Council has written to the Welsh Government calling for more support, saying the lockdown could potentially cost £3 million a month in lost revenue and extra costs.
Mr Drakeford said local authorities in Wales received £110 million – £95 million from the UK Government, with an extra £15 million from the Welsh administration.
He said the Welsh Local Government Association and the Local Government Association in Wales were working together to lobby the UK Government for more support.
"It is not a Welsh problem, it's a UK-wide problem."
He said industries such as tourism and farming, which rural Wales was strong on, were likely to bounce back much more quickly when the lockdown was eased, than manufacturing industries which could be moved overseas.
