Covid: Wales firebreak to end regardless of England lockdown

A two-week firebreak in Wales will still end on 9 November, regardless of a lockdown in England, insists the Welsh Government.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding a press briefing later, with England set to go into a second national lockdown for a month.

UK scientific advisers warn Covid is spreading faster in England than predicted "worst case" scenarios.

The Welsh Government meets on Sunday to finalise it post-firebreak rules.

First Minister Mark Drakeford took to social media on Saturday to state the all-Wales restrictions will come to an end on Monday, 9 November.

He said any announcement by Downing Street "will relate to England".

BBC sources said non-essential shops and hospitality will have to close in England, but schools and colleges are to be allowed to stay open.

Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts said opposition leaders had been briefed on the decision by the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

But the MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd described on Twitter the way reports of the details had been already leaked as "desperate and disorganised".

Earlier, the Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething echoed the first minister, during a series of radio interviews on Saturday.

On the firebreak, he told Times Radio: "We are committed to that ending on Monday."

But he said the Welsh Government "still want to know and understand how the rules in England will work".

"So again, we have as common a message as possible for people who live and work on both sides of the border," he added.

At a Downing Street press conference, set to be held later on Saturday, the prime minister will be joined by England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, following a cabinet meeting to discuss the government's coronavirus response.

Mr Johnson has so far resisted pressure to introduce nationwide restrictions, opting instead for a three-tiered system targeting local areas in England.

Elsewhere, Scotland's new tiered system of restrictions will come into force at 06:00 on Monday.

In Northern Ireland, pubs and restaurants were closed for four weeks on 16 October with the exception of takeaways and deliveries. Schools were closed for two weeks.

Farmer Dylan Roberts says the announcement in England will means his caravan park business near Mold in Flintshire will be squeezed again.

He said it was a "real shame" the Welsh and UK governments had not worked together on the lockdown measures.

"They've done this staggered thing - nobody from England could come support my business or other businesses and now we're coming out, England's going in so they can't come in anyway," he said.

"It's a massive loss for me and for lots of other companies in the area."

He said his site was only 15 minute from the border - and the restrictions being imposed did not make sense to him.

"What difference does it make when people are travelling to work from Wales, every day and vice versa - why can't they come to my static caravans where they have their own kitchens, their own facilities and they're safer," he argued.

The Welsh Government's cabinet is set to meet at 13:00 on Sunday to discuss the outcome of the prime minister's latest announcement for England, and also to agree the rules in Wales when the firebreak ends.

Welsh ministers have already said there will be no return to hyper-local lockdowns, which were in force in most of Wales before the two-week all-Wales measure was brought in.

Mr Drakeford told Friday's coronavirus briefing there would be a set of "national rules" across Wales.

"I hope that that will help people in Wales, just to be clearer about what they are being asked to do," he said.

"Because we have had evidence of people wanting to do the right thing, but not always being certain what the right thing is, because the rules have been more difficult to follow than we would have liked.

"We're going to simplify. We're going to clarify."