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These are the coronavirus morning headlines for Tuesday, October 20, as Wales economy minister Ken Skates is due to set out how the Welsh Government will be helping businesses through the upcoming fire-break lockdown.
On Monday, First Minister Mark Drakeford ordered people to stay at home for two weeks to break the rapidly increasing spread of coronavirus in Wales.
The Welsh Government said that in addition to UK Government support, they are making almost £300m available through the Economic Resilience Fund. Businesses can apply from next week.
The fire-break lockdown will be come into force in Wales from this Friday, October 23, and run until Monday, November 9. Read here what people think of the new lockdown.
Mr Drakeford said that:
- People must work from home unless they are critical workers or working from home is simply not possible
- All non-essential retail, gyms, leisure centres, bars, restaurants and hospitality must close
- Community centres, libraries and recycling centres will close
- All indoor and outdoor gatherings with people you don’t live with are banned
- Primary schools will reopen after half term but secondaries will shut for all but years seven and eight.
The Welsh Government has also published a list of acceptable reasons for leaving your home.
See the full details of his statement here.
Concern over job support gap
There are concerns about a gap between the start of Wales’ new lockdown on Friday and the UK Government’s new Job Support Scheme on November is a “significant barrier” for firms trying to survive, the CBI has warned.
The scheme to cover 67% of wages is not due to start until a week after the firebreak starts.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has ordered a two-week closure of all non-essential retail, gyms, leisure centres, bars, restaurants and hospitality venues, in a bid to break the increasing spread of coronavirus in Wales.
But CBI Wales director Ian Price warned some people may fall between the cracks of furlough and the new Job Support Scheme (JSS).
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has declined to bring the Job Support Scheme forward, but the Welsh Government said it would pay for the full cost – including the wages covered.
The Welsh Government had written to Mr Sunak asking if firms could access the scheme a week earlier. Hairdressers and salons are scrambling to fit in as many clients as possible before lockdown.
Conservative Welsh Secretary Simon Hart has accused Mr Drakeford of taking a decision that would cause people to lose their jobs.
The chief executive of Brains brewery Alistair Darby, who said they had only had six cases of trace and trace in their pubs, described the move as a “dog’s dinner” as he told BBC Radio Wales on Tuesday that businesses were being asked to “move at high speed without much guidance”.
Cases in Wales continue to grow
The latest figures for Wales have shown that one more person has died in Wales after testing positive for coronavirus and more than 600 new positive cases have been recorded. Cases for your area are here.
Latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) for Monday, October 19, show that 620 positive cases were logged from labs in the last 24 hours, a significant drop on the 950 recorded on Sunday.
The NHS body also confirmed that one more person had died to bring the overall death toll since the pandemic began to 1,712.
Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil remain the local authorities with the highest number of cases per 100,000 people with both areas having more than 200.
Cardiff had 266.6 cases in the last seven days when adjusted for population, down from 270.1 on Sunday, and Merthyr Tydfil had 203.9 , down from 205.5.
Bridgend was third with 189.7 (up from 182.3), Wrexham was fourth with 178.7 (up from 175.8) and Rhondda Cynon Taf was fifth with 163.7 (down from 183.6).
Caerphilly , the first area to go into local lockdown more than a month ago, still has more than 100 cases per 100,000 with 100.5 (unchanged from the day before).
The other local authority areas recording more than 100 cases included Blaenau Gwent with 161.7, Neath Port Talbot with 141.6, Swansea with 138.9, Flintshire with 134.5, Denbighshire with 132.7 and Conwy with 116.9.
The Wales overall infection rate is 128.2 per 100,000, which is down from 130.9 recorded the day before.
What is happening with schools?
Primary schools and special schools will remain open after the half-term break despite Wales’ “fire-break” lockdown, it has been confirmed.
First Minister Mark Drakeford also announced that pupils in years seven and eight of secondary school will also still attend, as well as those taking exams.
However, all other pupils in year nine and above in secondary school will be expected to study at home between Monday, November 2 and Friday, November 6.
Direct message about police enforcement
Mark Drakeford had a very pointed message when asked how police will enforce the new national fire-break lockdown.
During the press conference where Wales’ First Minister announced the country would enter a two-week national fire-break lockdown on Friday evening, Mr Drakeford was asked about how police would enforce the new rules.
But Mr Drakeford said responsibility did not rest with the police.
In his pointed response, he said: “Can I say to all the people who are listening and to the people that you will know, that if we have to rely on the police and enforcement agencies to make a success of this period we will not succeed.
“We succeed by people asking themselves not ‘what can I do?’, trying to find ways of getting around the rules, but what contribution can I make?’.
“[They should ask] ‘What part can I play in making this period work for Wales?'”
Wales game can go ahead
The rescheduled Six Nations match between Wayne Pivac’s Wales and Scotland will be able to go ahead next week despite the country going into a fire-break lockdown.
The Welsh Government has confirmed that elite professional sport can continue during the lockdown.
It means Wales men’s rearranged Six Nations finale against Scotland can take place as planned behind closed doors at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, October 31 (2.15pm kick-off).
Pivac’s Welsh team will also be free to travel to Paris to take on France in a warm-up match this Saturday, October 24 (8pm UK time kick-off).
That’s despite a 9pm curfew having been introduced in the French capital in a bid to curb the soaring Covid-19 infection rate.
The Guinness PRO14 can also proceed here in Wales, with the Ospreys entertaining Glasgow at the Liberty Stadium this coming Saturday.
Ireland to move to highest restrictions
The Irish government is to move the country to the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, broadly similar to the spring lockdown.
Cabinet ministers have agreed to level five restrictions from midnight on Wednesday in a bid to combat the rise in cases.
The restrictions are to last for six weeks but will be reviewed after four.
Under the rules, people will only be able to exercise within 5km (3 miles) of their home.
The government has confirmed there will be a penalty for travel beyond that distance, with exemptions for essential work and essential purposes.
However, schools and creches will remain open and elite sport and construction will continue.
Johnson in Covid ultimatum to Greater Manchester
Boris Johnson is preparing to impose stringent new coronavirus controls on 2.8 million people in Greater Manchester after talks with local leaders failed to reach agreement.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick warned civic chiefs on Monday night that they have until midday on Tuesday to reach a deal or face unilateral Government action.
The leader of Manchester City Council Sir Richard Leese said he still hoped it would be possible to find an agreed way forward in the hours remaining.
However he acknowledged they would have no choice but to comply if ministers decided to impose the most stringent Tier 3 restrictions.
“I am hoping that tomorrow (Tuesday) morning we will be able to sit down again with ministers and come to an agreement which will serve the best interests of the people of Manchester,” he told BBC2’s Newsnight.
“Clearly if Government imposes Tier 3 – and I hope that won’t happen – we will clearly need to comply with that.”
Quarter of firms to implement changes made during pandemic permanently
More than half of British firms who have made changes to their business model in response to the Covid-19 outbreak expect to keep them for the long term, while a quarter believe they will be made permanent.
New research by the Royal Mail found more than seven in 10 firms have changed the way they operate as a result of the pandemic.
A YouGov survey of 2,077 business decision makers found 54% had introduced remote working, and 45% adopted social-distancing measures.
Some 57% of business owners believed the changes they have made will be implemented on a long-term basis, while 25% anticipated that they will be kept permanently.
The most common changes that business leaders expected will be kept on permanently include selling more products or services online (41%), new online customer service options (39%) and additional delivery services (31%).
The cases for your area:
EU to link national Covid-19 contact tracing apps together
The European Commission has launched an EU-wide system to link national Covid-19 contact tracing apps together in its latest effort to slow down the coronavirus pandemic.
Following testing in different EU countries earlier this autumn, the bloc’s executive arm said the system got under way with three national apps – Germany’s Corona-Warn-App, Ireland’s COVID tracker, and Italy’s immuni – now linked through the so-called interoperability gateway.
According to the European Commission, these three apps have been downloaded by around 30 million people, the equivalent of two-thirds of all tracing app downloads in the EU.
