Wales could see all restrictions lifted by end of March, minister claims

Wales could see all Covid restrictions lifted at the end of March, the country’s economy minister has revealed.

Vaughan Gething said regulations could be set aside next month if public health conditions continued to improve.

During a Welsh Government press conference on Friday, Mr Gething accused Boris Johnson of ambushing devolved governments and his own Cabinet members with his announcement that self-isolation rules in England could be scrapped early.

He also criticised reports the UK Government is considering defunding universal lateral flow tests, saying scrapping free LTFs would be a “significant mistake”.

Mr Gething confirmed Wales would be remaining at Alert Level 0 and that Covid passes for indoor and outdoor venues would be scrapped on February 18, and the requirement to wear face coverings in certain venues ended 10 days later on February 28.

He said: “The improving public health situation in Wales, together with the ongoing success of our vaccination programme, means we can now begin to gradually and carefully relax some of the protections we have in place at alert level zero.”

However, the minister said infection rates remain with the ONS Coronavirus Infection Survey showing 4% of the population, or about one in 25 people, were infected with the virus in the first week of February.

There have been 246 cases of the more transmissible form of Omicron, BA.2, detected in Wales.

Mr Gething said: “I can say to anyone and everyone, the measures we are taking are on the back of expert scientific advice and public health advice from our chief medical officer.

“And we’ll continue to take that advice as we do look forward to a time when there can be no restrictions in place.

“It is possible that will come at the end of March if the public health position remains positive.”

Addressing a question about why the Welsh and UK Governments were not working closer together to introduce changes to Covid restrictions, such as the self-isolation rules, in unison, Mr Gething said: “We have always wanted to work alongside all of the other governments. When we’ve had alignment on our rules and timing and content I know it’s easier for the public to understand and do the right thing.

“But we can hardly align and work more closely together when we are ambushed by surprise changes.

“The Prime Minister didn’t speak to the First Minister before going into the preamble for Prime Minister’s Questions and announcing a move that took many people by surprise.”

He added: “I was on Question Time with George Eustice last night and it was pretty obvious that he didn’t know about the change before the Prime Minister went into the House of Commons.

“When previous major changes have happened there’s normally been a conversation between the four health ministers across the UK.

“There’s normally been a conversation between the chief medical officers of the UK, and they didn’t discuss and agree this in advance.

“And there’s normally been some kind of advice from Sage, now Sage themselves were surprised.

“The real question is why is England doing this on their own?

“Why has the Prime Minister chosen to go it alone in a surprise announcement immediately before Prime Minister’s Questions?”

He then claimed that polling suggests people in England prefer the approach the Welsh Government has taken to Covid-19 regulations.

“We know from the polling evidence that not only is the gradual approach of the Welsh Government supported by people in Wales in overwhelming numbers, but the majority of people in England prefer the Welsh approach too. If anything, people are more concerned that we’re moving too quickly,” he said.

“This is about moving in time with the advice we get, bringing the public with us, and being honest about the fact that this really is supported by the latest public health advice.”