Most Covid restrictions in Wales set to be lifted from August 7
14 July 2021, 13:17 | Updated: 14 July 2021, 13:51
Most of the remaining coronavirus restrictions in Wales are set to end from August 7 if Covid rates allow, Mark Drakeford has confirmed.
The Welsh Government has also announced that Wales will move fully into "alert level one" from 17 July.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:“We are entering a new phase of the pandemic.
"Cases of the virus have risen sharply since the delta variant emerged six weeks ago but, thanks to our fantastic vaccination programme, we are not seeing these translate into large numbers of people falling seriously ill or needing hospital treatment.
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“We can be reasonably confident that vaccination has weakened the link between infections and serious illness. But there is still a risk that this third wave of the pandemic could cause real harm – either direct harm from the virus or indirect harm from, for example, people having to isolate.
“We can move to alert level one for indoor spaces from 17 July and go further for outdoor spaces because we know the risk of transmission outdoors is lower.
“We are also publishing plans for a new alert level zero, which will have fewer legal restrictions but which will still need all of us to take steps to protect ourselves.”
Thanks to your efforts, coronavirus rates remain relatively low in Wales, and more and more people are being fully vaccinated every day.
— Mark Drakeford (@fmwales) July 14, 2021
This means we can fully move to Alert Level 1 from Saturday 17 July.
Further details in the thread below ⬇️
From July 17, up to six people will be able to meet indoors, including private homes and holiday accommodation.
Organised indoor events can accomodate up to 1,000 if they are seated, although only 200 if they are standing.
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Also from Saturday, there will be no legal limit on the number of people who can gather outdoors.
The need to social distance outdoors is also being scrapped, and outdoor premises and events will have greater flexibility around physical distancing.
There is also good news for the tourism industry, as the First Minister has confirmed that fully-vaccinated people will no longer need to self-isolate when returning from an amber list country.
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However, from July 17 some rules will remain.
Unlike the next stage of England's roadmap, masks will still be mandatory indoors in Wales.
Social distancing will also still be a requirement if meeting inside.
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The next stage - "alert level zero" is provisionally scheduled for August 7.
On this day, most restrictions will be removed and will be replaced with the requirement for all organisations and businesses to carry out Covid risk assessments to establish what measures are needed.
August 7, if it goes ahead, will also see no legal limits on the number of people who can meet indoors.
However, face coverings will continue to be required by law in most indoor public settings, with the exception of hospitality venues.
