Wales moves to alert level 2
Wales will move into alert level 2 on Monday, the First Minister has confirmed today as coronavirus levels remain low and vaccination rates remain the best in the UK.
Indoor hospitality businesses will be able to re-open from 6am Monday 17 May; indoor entertainment venues will also re-open and there will be an increase in the number of people able to attend organised indoor and outdoor activities.
The First Minister has also confirmed international travel will resume from Monday but extra safeguards will be put in place for people returning from some countries to prevent coronavirus re-entering Wales.
Earlier this week, the Welsh Government announced additional financial support for businesses still affected by coronavirus restrictions – they will be able to claim up to £25,000 more in support to help meet ongoing costs.
The announcement was the first to be made by the incoming government and was the first phase of a £200m package earmarked to help businesses affected by the pandemic.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
“Thanks to everyone’s hard work and ongoing efforts, we can take another step towards relaxing the coronavirus restrictions and move to alert level 2 on Monday.
“Indoor hospitality will be able to reopen, a move that will be welcomed by many of us as we look forward to enjoying a drink, a meal and the company of friends and family in a café or pub.
“By sticking with the rules and our successful vaccine programme, we are making really good progress in controlling the virus and keeping rates low.
But the pandemic isn’t over – the new, so-called Indian variant of concern is another unwanted twist in this pandemic, which we are monitoring closely.”
The changes to the coronavirus restrictions, which will come into force from Monday 17 May include:
- Indoor hospitality can re-open – six people from up to six households (not including children under 11) can book;
- All holiday accommodation can re-open fully;
- Entertainment venues, including cinemas, bingo halls, bowling alleys, indoor-play centres and areas, casinos, amusement arcades, and theatres can re-open. Cinemas, theatres concert halls and sports grounds can sell food and drink as long as it is consumed in a seated area for watching the performance;
- Indoor visitor attractions, including museums and galleries can re-open;
- Up to 30 people can take part in organised indoor activities and up to 50 people in organised outdoor activities. This includes wedding receptions and wakes.
If public health conditions remain positive, the next three-week review will consider:
- Further changes to meeting people in private homes;
- Increasing the number of people who can meet outdoors and the number of people who can attend organised activities and events, including wedding receptions, to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors;
- Permitting larger-scale events to take place indoors and outdoors.
The Written Statement: Review of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restriction) (No.5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 can be viewed on Gov.Wales.
Alert level 2 (from Monday 17 May)
Information on the measures that apply at level 2 is available:
New international travel rules for Wales confirmed by First Minister
International travel will restart for people in Wales from Monday 17 May, the Welsh Government has confirmed today.
As part of changes to Wales’ coronavirus regulations, people living in Wales will be able to travel to some overseas destinations without the need to quarantine on their return.
But additional safeguards will be put in place to help prevent new cases of coronavirus being imported into Wales.
A traffic lights system, aligned with England and Scotland, will be introduced. Countries will be classified as green, amber and red, depending on their rates of coronavirus.
Mandatory quarantine is in place for all people returning to the UK from countries on the amber and red lists. All people returning from overseas travel must have a PCR test.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
“Wales, like other parts of the UK, will be restarting international travel. But protecting people’s health continues to be our top priority and we want to do everything we can to prevent coronavirus from being re-imported into Wales.
“This will not be like travel in the past. Everyone travelling abroad will have to have a test when they come home and for many people, they will need to quarantine when they get home. There are significant fines in place for those who do not follow the legal requirements.
“Some countries are not yet opening up travel to people from the UK. It’s my strong advice that this is the year to stay at home and enjoy all that Wales has to offer.”
Under the international travel rules:
- People arriving from green-list countries are not required to quarantine on their return to Wales, but they must book and pay for a mandatory PCR test on or before day two of their return. All travellers and members of their household will also be reminded about the availability of additional lateral flow tests to continue to monitor their health.
- People arriving from amber-list countries are required to quarantine for 10 days at home on their return. This is a legal requirement. They are also required to book and pay for mandatory PCR tests on day two and on day eight. Unlike in England, Wales does not operate a test-to-release scheme where an additional test can be taken on day five to reduce the period of quarantine. This is because some 30% of people who develop Covid-19 do so after day five.
- People arriving from countries on the red list are required to quarantine for a full 10 days on arrival in the UK at a designated UK port in a government-managed facility – a ‘covid hotel’ – at their own cost, starting from £1,750 per person. All UK entry points for arrivals from red-list countries are in England and Scotland, which means Welsh residents returning from those countries will need to quarantine outside Wales. Travellers are also required to book and pay for mandatory PCR tests on day two and day eight.
All those who do not follow the rules for red-list countries face fixed notice penalties of £10,000.
Welsh residents must also consult the requirements for visitors for any country they plan to travel to. Restrictions may be in place, including proof of vaccination, tests, quarantine and reasons for entry.
Vaccination status certificates will be available for people in Wales who have had two doses of their vaccination and need to urgently travel to a country that requires covid vaccination proof from Monday 24 May.
The First Minister added:
“We call on people to think about whether they need to travel overseas at this time. We should be cautious about going abroad in light of the ongoing risk of coronavirus and the presence of variants of concern in many countries.
“My clear message to everyone is make Wales your destination of choice this year.”
REMINDER - Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and checklists for tourism and hospitality businesses
As we look at a phased re-opening, please ensure that you are aware of and following the updated UKHospitality Wales Guidance in addition to the Guidance for Tourism and Hospitality businesses. (Please watch this short film to help you find your way around the guidance).
As each premises is different, businesses should read all guidance to understand the measures to be considered to re-open the business safely.
If you run a hospitality business, it is a legal requirement to keep your own records of customers, staff and visitors to support the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect service. This means that you must introduce an electronic or paper-based system that records the name, contact details and arrival time of every customer (excluding children). Asking customers to use the NHS App is not enough and does not exempt a business from collecting this information.
Checklists are available which outline the key measures for Keeping Records, along with Social Distancing and Hygiene, that you should implement to keep your staff, customers and visitors safe.
Businesses should also:
- Maximise ventilation and enhance airflow by opening windows and propping open internal doors (but not fire doors) where possible.
- Staff working in all indoor and outdoor areas accessible to the public must wear masks (unless they have a reasonable excuse). Masks must be worn by staff serving customers food and drink and when staff move around the premises. Your customers must also wear face masks when not seated to eat or drink at their allocated table.
You can also use the Business Action Card which provides you with information on how to keep COVID-19 out of your premises, what action to take when an employee or customer tests positive and how can you minimise the spread of COVID-19 in your business. This has also been shared as guidance to enforcement officers with Environmental Health teams and Incident Management Teams at Local Authorities for use as they visit hospitality businesses.
Further resources include:
Useful COVID-19 information
As each premises is different, businesses should read all guidance. This continues to be updated so please check back regularly for the latest information.
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Stay up to date with tourism industry news
We are committed to providing the support and assurance the business community needs during these unprecedented difficult times and have issued several Coronavirus (COVID-19) related bulletins which can be found on the Tourism Industry Coronavirus (COVID-19) Bulletins page.
Business Wales is providing businesses with tailored support and advice about dealing with coronavirus, from financial and supply chain planning to advice on staffing issues. We would advise Tourism businesses and stakeholders in Wales wanting specific guidance to visit the Business Wales website or call Business Wales helpline on 03000 6 03000, and to regularly visit the Public Health Wales website for up-to-date public health information for you, your staff and your visitors.
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