Wales sets limit of six on groups in bars, restaurants, cinemas from Sunday

Wales has imposed a limit of six for groups meeting in bars, restaurants and cinemas from this Sunday, St Stephen’s Day, joining Scotland and Northern Ireland in announcing new coronavirus restrictions after Christmas.

First minister Mark Drakeford said the measures, which include the return of two metre social distancing and a ban on indoor events for more than 30 people, were designed to avoid the need for tougher steps later.

“We’re not on an unstoppable journey to lockdown. If we act together do all the things we’re able to do in our own lives, we have a chance to make a difference. There are lots of things we don’t know about Omicron and how it will affect us, so I can’t rule things out. But the measures we’ve announced are designed to mitigate the risk that more serious interventions are needed,” he said.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon this week announced new restrictions for at least three weeks after Christmas, including a limit on numbers at live events, requiring hospitality to be table service only and banning more than three households from mingling indoors. The Northern Ireland Executive has also announced restrictions from December 26th but Boris Johnson's government, which determines the rules in England, has not said anything about what will happen after Christmas.

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Health secretary Sajid Javid confirmed on Wednesday that the government had not ruled out imposing new restrictions after Christmas, suggesting it would depend on how data developed over the coming days.

“It is fast-changing, the situation, there’s more data not just here from home but from abroad – we keep an eye on all that data and discuss it with our expert advisers. As the prime minister has said, whilst there’s no need for any further restrictions before Christmas we will certainly keep the situation under review,” he said.

‘State of paralysis’

During a three-hour cabinet meeting on Monday, some of Mr Johnson’s ministers pushed back against calls from government scientific advisers for tough action to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Mr Johnson has promised to recall parliament before introducing any new coronavirus regulations, which risk a repeat of this month's backbench rebellion which saw about 100 Conservative MPs vote against having to show evidence of vaccination or a negative test before entering a night club.

Mr Drakeford said the government at Westminster appeared to be unwilling to act on the available data about the variant.

"I think that the UK government is in a state of paralysis about all of this. We see the reports of infighting within the cabinet. There are, as I would see it, sensible voices urging the prime minister to act to protect the NHS and to protect people's lives as he has in previous waves.

“And there are others who I simply think take a different view of the balance of risk here and are prepared to allow those risks to run. I don’t believe it’s because they don’t see the data. They see the data but they’re not prepared to act on it,” he said.