Covid: Some pupils in Wales could return to school after half term

Some primary school children could begin a phased return to school from 22 February - just after half term - if Covid rates continue to fall, Wales' first minister will say later.

Ministers have been under pressure to set out their plans for a return to face-to-face teaching.

Most children's schooling has been online while Wales is in lockdown.

But Mark Drakeford will confirm the tough "alert level four" restrictions will remain for the next three weeks.

A Welsh Government statement said he would "indicate that the youngest learners in primary school" could start going back to the classroom after the February half term if rates of coronavirus continued to fall.

Mr Drakeford is expected to make the announcement on Friday when he sets out the results of a three-week review into the level four restrictions.

The statement said the Welsh Government would work with "schools and education partners on a phased and flexible return to school" after 22 February, providing the public health situation continued to improve.

It added that while the situation in Wales was improving, lockdown restrictions must continue for another three weeks "to allow the NHS to recover".

Wales' chief medical officer Frank Atherton said on Wednesday the headroom to relax restrictions was "really quite limited".

The Welsh Government decided to close schools to the majority of pupils as concerns grew about the new variant of coronavirus, which was blamed for the rise in cases seen before Christmas.

Schools remained closed except to vulnerable children, and those whose parents are key workers.

Sally Holland, the children's commissioner for Wales, has urged ministers to set out the "milestones" that would need to be reached before children returned.

On Wednesday, Dr Atherton said the outbreak was "shrinking rather than growing", but rates were still "way too high".

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies as called for a "route map out of lockdown" which included "crucial targets concerning the roll-out of coronavirus jabs, falling numbers of infections and the reopening of schools and businesses".

He acknowledged "there is currently little headroom to make any changes".

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price urged a raft of new measures, including making medical grade masks compulsory for everyone and increasing the level and flexibility of the self-isolation support.

He said: "Having been too slow into lockdown, we can't be too slow in examining all possible avenues for bringing the new variant under control."

Figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) figures on Thursday showed a total of 190,394 cases had been confirmed in the country and the number of people who had died with the virus was 4,666.

The local authority with the highest number of deaths was Cwm Taf Morgannwg with 1,344, followed by Aneurin Bevan with 875.

The Powys health board area had the lowest number for residents in Wales with 47.

The latest data PHW showed the current case rate across the whole of Wales was 190 cases per 100,000 people.

The area with the highest seven-day rolling case rate was Wrexham, where 477.4 people per 100,000 population had the virus.

The next two highest were Wrexham's neighbouring counties of Flintshire - 369 - and Denbighshire - 241.4.

The areas with the lowest case rates were Ceredigion with 78.4, followed by Conwy with 110.9.

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The postcode search has been updated to replace data for health boards in Scotland with data for local councils. In England, data for county councils has been replaced with data for district councils. Figures for boroughs and unitary authorities remain unchanged.