No big changes to coronavirus rules planned this week, Welsh Government reveals

The Welsh Government has revealed it has no plans to significantly increase coronavirus restrictions this week after claims the First Minister called for a full lockdown during a private telephone call with UK Government minister Michael Gove and other leaders.

Political blog Guido Fawkes has claimed Mark Drakeford demanded a complete lockdown between Christmas and the New Year in a phone call on Wednesday night with Mr Gove and the Scottish and Northern Irish first ministers.

The site said a government source claiming to be privy to the discussion had accused Mr Drakeford of making “Ebenezer Scrooge look like Santa Clause”.

Government officials said they would not comment on leaked reports from confidential discussions.

But a spokesperson said: “While there is increasing concern about the omicron variant, we do not anticipate making significant changes to the existing regulations at the moment.”

The claims were published on Thursday, a day before the Government’s three-week review of coronavirus regulations.

Mr Drakeford has said this week he expects a “formidable wave” of Omicron cases to hit the country.

Health minister Eluned Morgan told journalists on Tuesday that cases were expected to reach their peak by the end of January.

There are currently nine confirmed cases of Omicron in Wales.

Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that England would be moving into Plan B, with people being asked to work from home again and wear face masks in public indoor venues.

The Prime Minister also said Covid passes will also be needed to get into nightclubs and large venues from next week.

The new rules are in line with the current regulations in Wales.