Wales firebreak lockdown ends but chief medical officer warns ‘behaviour must change’

Wales has emerged from its firebreak lockdown after 17 days of tougher coronavirus restrictions.

But the country’s Welsh chief medical officer warned people should not “simply go back to the behaviour” which preceded the shutdown.

“We still need to work differently," Dr Frank Atherton said.

The "short, sharp" lockdown saw people ordered to stay at home while pubs, restaurants, hotels, gyms, hairdressers and non-essential shops were closed and travel was restricted to only essential journeys.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about travel between England and Wales, Dr Atherton said there was no reason for people to cross the border while England remained in lockdown.

"As England comes out of its lockdown we will absolutely have to reconsider how people travel,” he added.

Businesses on the border have said they fear people crossing over into newly opened pubs, bars and restaurants in Wales while those in England remain shut until 2 December.

One pub manager from Wrexham, north Wales, told The Guardian he would be checking the ID of customers to ensure they lived in the country.

“We’ll be asking the question ‘Are you from Wales?’ and giving them a form to put their name and address on. If they are prepared to lie to have a drink of beer, more fool them,”  said Mark Finlay, who runs the Fat Boar.

The Welsh government said last week that police forces on both sides of the border may have to take action if English people attempt to cross into Wales.

Those in Wales are able to travel freely within the country, but will not be allowed to journey to England or abroad unless they have an essential reason.

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said last week: “It is really important as we open up Wales doesn’t become an escape for people seeking to circumvent the tighter restrictions imposed by the prime minister.”

He added whether a second lockdown will be necessary in Wales is entirely dependent on “people's behaviour” over the coming weeks.

But Mr Drakeford said progress made from the firebreak lockdown “will give us a path through to Christmas without needing to go back into this extraordinary period of restriction” in Wales.

Though cases remain high in Wales, the country’s health minister insisted on Sunday that numbers were “levelling off.”

Vaughan Gething added that mass testing, currently being trialled in Liverpool, would be considered for areas in Wales still seeing high numbers of new infections.

The number of people in hospital with coronavirus is at its highest in Wales since the height of the pandemic in April. However, ministers say the impact of the 17-day lockdown on admissions will not be seen for at least two weeks.

The country’s medical officer said on Monday there were "early signs of stability" as the country comes out of its firebreak lockdown.

Dr Atherton said: "We always recognised that there would be a lag in terms of the indicators we look at as to how successful we have been.

The medical office noted the positive impacts of restricted travel in Wales on the numbers of coronavirus cases detected in testing rates.

Under the new coronavirus guidelines in Wales, two households are allowed to form a bubble while outdoor organised activity may now involve up to 30 people.