Covid: Wales to bring back restrictions including rule of six for hospitality venues from Boxing Day

Wales will introduce new Covid restrictions from Boxing Day, including the “rule of six” for hospitality venues, first minister Mark Drakeford has announced.

Moving to “alert level two”, the Welsh government said they were facing a “very serious situation” as a result of the Omicron variant, with “many thousands” of new cases expected per day after Christmas.

Effective from 6am on 26 December, the government will introduce a “general requirement of 2 metre social distancing in all premises open to the public and workplaces, where reasonable”.

Gatherings in venues such as pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres will be limited to six people while all licensed premises will be required to re-introduce table service. Face coverings will also be mandatory apart from when customers are seated.

Mr Drakeford added on Wednesday that large events will not be allowed indoors or outdoors, with the maximum number of people of people who can gather at indoor event being capped at 30 and 50 outdoors.

The Welsh government said it will not be making rules about mixing inside households and private gardens in small numbers, instead issuing guidance strongly advising people to “limit the number of people visiting your home” and taking lateral flow tests before visiting others.

However, a separate offence will be created for large gatherings inside homes with more than 30 people or 50 people outdoors.

Mr Drakeford, the first minister, said: “We are facing a very serious situation in Wales. A wave of infections caused by the new, fast-moving and very infectious omicron variant is headed our way.

He added: “This new form of coronavirus could infect large numbers of people in Wales, disrupting daily lives and businesses and could cause an increase in the number of people who need hospital care in the coming weeks.”

“We will do everything we can to protect people’s health and livelihoods in Wales – this means taking early action to try and control its spread.

Mr Drakeford added that £120 million would be available for nightclubs, retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses affected by the move to alert level two - double the £60 million package announced last week.

Last week, new measures were announced for workplaces and retail - these will now come into force on Boxing Day, including the closure of nightclubs.

Mr Drakeford added: “The most important thing we can all do to protect ourselves against Omicron is to be fully vaccinated - that means also having the booster. If you are eligible for a booster then please make getting it a priority in the coming weeks.

“As we enter our second winter of the pandemic, we have high vaccination coverage and tens of thousands of extra boosters are being given every day. We also have access to the rapid lateral flow tests to help us all identify signs of infection without symptoms.

“Both of these, together with everything we have learned over the last two years, will help to keep us safe at home without the need for new rules and regulations about mixing at home.”