COVID-19 pandemic in Wales

The first case of COVID-19 in Wales was confirmed on 28 February 2020 in a person who had returned from Northern Italy, and then transferred to a specialist NHS infection centre at the Royal Free Hospital in London.[7][8] The Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, said that the Government would be taking "all appropriate measures" to reduce the risk of transmission.[3]

On 10 March nine more cases were discovered in Wales bringing the total to 15, the first significant jump in cases.[9]

On 11 March, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.[10]

On 16 March, the first death in Wales was reported in Wrexham.[11]

On 18 March, the Welsh Government announced that all schools in Wales would be closing by 20 March. A limited number of schools were permitted to remain open to provide support for key workers and children with additional needs.[12] It was further announced in the following days that all exams, including GCSEs and A-Levels, would be cancelled, with grades being based on existing work and predicted grades.[13] Both Scotland and Northern Ireland ministers followed suit, and later that evening Boris Johnson also conformed.

On 23 March, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, having the agreement of all devolved governments, announced a lockdown of the United Kingdom, with only essential services remaining open. This announcement was followed by the Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford announcing that the measures would also cover Wales and would come into effect from that evening.[14] The measures put in place restrict people from leaving their home for non-essential travel, with outside exercise limited to once a day. The measures that controlled exercise outside the home differed from those in England, where the measures in place did not stipulate a once-a-day restriction, whereas the Welsh version specifically limited exercise outside the home to once a day, with the maximum fine being £120, compared to £960 in England.[13] On 20 May, the Government announced that the maximum fine would be increased to £1,920.[15]

Gatherings of two or more people, except individuals in the same household, were banned, whilst pubs, restaurants (with exception for take-aways) and shops selling 'non-essential goods' were ordered to closed.[16]

On 25 March the Coronavirus Act 2020 was given Royal Assent, after passing through both Houses in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The following day the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 were approved by the Welsh Parliament, giving the Welsh Government emergency powers to deal with various aspects of managing the pandemic. These new powers include the authority to:[17][18]

• Take people into or keep them in quarantine
• Restrict or prohibit mass gatherings
• Close premises

On 26 March, Snowdon and other Welsh mountains were closed to the public, after a larger number of English tourists had gathered on the mountains in the preceding days, causing traffic mayhem.[19] Natural Resources Wales later announced that all sites and paths liable to have large amounts of people visiting, or pose a high risk, would be closed.[20]

Diolch Yn Fawr NHS, Wales Millennium Centre

By 27 March, North Wales Police were patrolling the border between Wales and England because visitors were ignoring the stay-at-home instructions and travelling into Wales. In many cases the police were stopping cars entering from England; such border control had not happened between Wales and England since the 16th century.[21][22][23]

On 2 April, it was announced that the number of confirmed cases had risen above 2,000 and the number of deaths in Wales had risen above 100.[24] On 5 April the number of cases rose above 3,000.[25]

On 6 April, Jitendra Rathod, a heart surgeon at University Hospital of Wales, died after testing positive for coronavirus. He was thought to have been the first health worker in Wales to die after being diagnosed with the disease.[26]

On 7 April the number of deaths rose above 200.[2] On the same day, distancing measures in the workplace, enforcing a two-metre (6') distance between people, became law in Wales, requiring employers to take "all reasonable measures" to comply.[27]

On 8 April the number of cases rose above 4,000 to 4,073,[1] with 245 deaths notified.[2] On the same day it was announced that the lockdown would not be lifted within the next week.[28]

On 17 April, Public Health Wales reported, for the first time, the areas where the deaths in Wales (to date, 506) had occurred. Almost all were in southeast Wales, with 12 deaths shared between the other health board areas covering west, mid- and north Wales.[29] It was later discovered that there had been a delay in reporting the figures from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board[30] Mark Drakeford announced that "lockdown could stay in Wales even if it was lifted elsewhere in the UK".[31]

On 8 May, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Wales would be extended for a further three weeks.[32] He also announced "modest" changes to the measures already in force: some garden centres would be allowed to re-open, and people could now exercise outdoors more than once per day provided that they "stay local".[33]

On 10 May, Prime Minister Johnson announced lockdown-easing measures on UK television, without mentioning that the measures were only relevant to England.[34][35] The response to this was immediate: the leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales said they would not be adopting his new "Stay alert" slogan (as opposed to "Stay home") and Nicola Sturgeon commented: "We mustn't squander progress by easing up too soon or sending mixed messages. People will die unnecessarily." The Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said that the Scottish Government had not been consulted about the change.[36] The Welsh Government Counsel General for Wales, Jeremy Miles, said exercise must be local to home and visitors could be fined if they drove into Wales for leisure.[37] Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the new message "lacked clarity".[38]

Covid-19 Welsh dragon painting in Penrhyndeudraeth (July 2020)

On 3 June, briefings began[39] (later referred to as 'press conferences') in a series that was set up by Welsh Government as a way of dispersing new information to the people of Wales regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales.

On 12 June, the First Minister Mark Drakeford stated that the R number for Wales is the lowest of any part of the United Kingdom, at 0.7.[40] Ceredigion had the lowest rates of people infected with or dying from COVID-19 in the British mainland, up to June 2020. The area is naturally rural and holiday attractions and the university were closed down very early. The county council set up its own contact tracing system in March 2020.[41]

On 6 July, There were no confirmed deaths in Wales for the first time since the pandemic started.[42]

On 10 July, for the second time, Wales confirmed no deaths. First Minister Mark Drakeford announced changes to the lockdown restrictions and specified dates for the reopening of hospitality businesses, hair and beauty salons, and outdoor leisure facilities. He stated that Frank Atherton, the chief medical officer for Wales, had "confirmed we have some capacity to ease the restrictions further over the next three weeks".[43]

On 17 July, the First Minister announced that the Wales daily briefings would end and instead they would be taking place every week.[44]

By 21 July, Wales was recording no new deaths for the eighth time in a month. However, figures released by the Care Inspectorate Wales confirmed that there had been 736 care home resident deaths linked to COVID-19 by 17 July, with the overall number of deaths 71% higher than in the same period last year.[45]

On 25 July, Wales recorded no deaths for the tenth time in a month. On 27 July, it was announced that the R number for Wales is again the lowest of any part of the United Kingdom, between 0.6 and 0.8. By 18 August, the number of people still in hospital suffering from COVID-19 was seventy.[46]

Restrictions were further eased by an announcement on 31 July, confirming that pubs and restaurants would be able to open indoor areas on 3 August. Up to thirty people would be able to meet outdoors and children under 11 would no longer have to keep a 2 metre (6') distance from anyone. Indoor bowling alleys, auction houses and bingo halls were allowed to reopen, while swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres and indoor play areas would be allowed to reopen from 10 August, all with social distancing.[47]

Towards the end of August, concerns grew about a potential second spike in infections, after passengers arriving at Cardiff Airport from overseas tested positive for the virus.[48] The flight operator, TUI Group, was criticised for failing to enforce mask-wearing during the flight.[49] Health Minister Vaughan Gething later revealed that 30 cases had been linked to four flights into the UK from the island of Zante, and the Welsh and Scottish governments lobbied the UK government to have the island included in the list of quarantine destinations for the UK as a whole.[50]

On 7 September 2020, the Welsh Government announced that from 6pm the following day Caerphilly County would be placed back in lockdown. It was the first local lockdown in Wales, and followed the discovery that 98 people had tested positive in a week, giving the county the highest infection rate in Wales.[51] On 11 September 2020, the Welsh government announced that tighter restrictions would be back in force from Monday 14 September, with face coverings being mandatory for indoor places and social gatherings cut from 30 to 6 people until further notice. On 16 September 2020, Rhondda Cynon Taf became the second place in Wales to have a local lockdown due to a spike in cases.[52] Health minister Vaughan Gething drew attention to some specific cases of flouting of the guidelines, including a coach trip to Doncaster made by a group from Abercynon, which was said to be associated with one of the clusters of cases in RCT, saying "This wasn't a group of young people - it's entirely possible for people in their forties and fifties to behave irresponsibly, and we've seen a significant spread from that event." Members of the club protested that they had not gone to the racecourse but had instead visited local pubs. It was later confirmed that one member of the club had tested positive for COVID-19 and the club had closed a few days before the trip because several members of staff had been taken ill.[53]

In the middle of September the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted that the UK was seeing a second wave of coronavirus cases. On 25 September 2020, the Welsh Government announced that the cities of Cardiff and Swansea, and the town of Llanelli (part of Carmarthenshire) would go into local lockdowns in the next two days, joining Caerphilly, Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr, Blaenau Gwent and Rhondda Cynon Taf.[54] From 28 September, Torfaen, Neath Port Talbot and the Vale of Glamorgan were placed under the same restrictions.[55]

On 19 October, the Welsh Government announced that a second national lockdown, described as a "fire-break", would be imposed from 23 October until 9 November, coinciding with school half-term holidays which would be extended by a week in colleges and for school students in year 9 (13 to 14 years old) and above, in the hope of bringing down the number of coronavirus cases.[56] The First Minister announced that all pubs, restaurants, and non-essential shops would be closed during that period.[57] Halloween and bonfire celebrations would not take place in the traditional way, because no indoor or outdoor gatherings with people from other households would be possible,[58] but alternative ways to celebrate would be suggested by the government in due course.[59]

The decision to forbid supermarkets from selling non essential goods (such as clothing) during the circuit break lockdown caused a certain degree of controversy and confusion.[60] Drakeford argued that the measures were "a simple matter of fair play" expanding that "We are requiring many hundreds of small businesses to close on the high street right across Wales, We cannot do that and then allow supermarkets to sell goods that those people are unable to sell." The leader of Welsh Conservatives, Paul Davies, described them as "madness", "overreaching" and "devastating economically."[61]

Following the end of the circuit-breaker, Vaughan Gething claimed that there were "many promising signs" and an overall downward trend in most areas, but also warned the public against "going back to normal".[62]

After the firebreak, rules were standardised across Wales with localised restrictions abolished.[63] From the 9 November, pubs, restaurants and cafes reopened with groups of up to four people (children under eleven not counting in the total) from different households allowed to meet up in them; the 10pm curfew for alcohol sales remained in place.[64] Non essential shops also reopened.[65] Two households could form a bubble (interact when they wished) whilst any number of children under eleven and up to 15 or 30 individuals over that age could take part in indoor and outdoor organised events respectively. Travel restrictions within Wales were lifted though non essential visits to other parts of the UK or abroad remained banned.[66]

Multiple changes to the restrictions came into force on the 3 December. Travel was now allowed between Wales and areas in lower tiers of England's and Scotland's regional lockdown systems.[67] However, hospitality businesses were now forbidden from selling alcohol or providing eat-in catering after 6pm.[68]

There was a drop in cases, from 206.2 per 100,000 people to 170.6, following the firebreak lockdown, but by early December they had risen to 403.8 per 100,000 people. First Minister Mark Drakeford expressed grave concern and warned that further restrictions might be necessary before Christmas.[69]

On 16 December, The First Minister announced that after a period of cases rising rather than falling, that only two households would be able to form bubbles instead of the original idea of three for the Christmas period also he announced that after the five day relaxation the whole of Wales would be entering the highest level of restrictions from 28 December and will be reviewed every three weeks.

On 19 December, The First Minister announced that the whole of Wales will enter tier-4 restrictions. This includes an ongoing national lockdown from that evening. This follows an outbreak of a mutant strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. Original joint plans of relaxed restrictions from the 23 to 28 December were in place for the entire United Kingdom, but this was amended so that the sole relaxed period would consist of Christmas Day, in which only two households will be allowed to meet. Before and after Christmas Day, meeting with people from different households, will not be allowed to take place indoors. Those that do meet with other households outdoors must stay at least 2 meters apart from each other and wear PPE.[70]

In 2018–19 there were around 10,563 beds available in hospitals within Wales.[74] As of 7 April 2020 Wales had 369 critical care beds, with plans in place to increase capacity further.[75] In early April 2020, there were 415 ventilators currently in Welsh hospitals, with a further 1,035 ordered.[76]

On 27 March, it was announced that the Principality Stadium in Cardiff was to be used as a temporary hospital for up to 2,000 beds.[77] Each health board in Wales later announced that they are increasing the number of beds available in their current hospitals and, with the exception of Powys Teaching Health Board, would be opening a total of 16[78] temporary hospitals in available spaces.[79] In Powys, a further three special 'field hospital' facilities were set up- at the Brecon War Memorial Hospital, in Llandrindod Wells County War Memorial Hospital and at the Victoria Memorial Hospital, Welshpool- and beds were designated for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at community hospitals and health and care centres in Bronllys, Builth Wells, Knighton, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Newtown and Ystradgynlais.[78] Powys also had arrangements with neighbouring boards for access to beds in case of need.[78]

On 9 April it was announced that the temporary hospital to be located in the Principality Stadium would be called Dragon's Heart Hospital and would be the largest hospital in Wales and the second largest in the United Kingdom.[80] On 14 September it was announced that the hospital would be decommissioned and replaced by a smaller temporary hospital with 400 beds, to be located close to the University Hospital of Wales.[81][82] The same announcement explained that the 19 'field hospitals' would be reduced to 10 to be retained over the coming winter period.

• 
  Vaccination centres on the 7 January 2021
• 
  Vaccination centres on the 15 January 2021

On 8 December 2020, the first people in Wales began getting vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Among the first was Craig Atkins, a 48-year-old care home worker, in Cwmbran's vaccine site.[85] In mid-January it was announced that a total of 327,000 doses of the two available vaccines had been delivered to the Welsh NHS. Criticism of the rate of progress of the vaccination programme continued, with a reported 86,039 doses having been given by 10 January 2021, compared with a reported 400,000 in the UK as a whole. At 2.7% of the population, progress was slower than that in the other three constituent countries of the UK.[86]

The Welsh Government also announced that it would provide financial assistance to state-owned Cardiff Airport, to maintain solvency during reduced operations.[94]

Letters were sent to over 80,000 people who were deemed to be the 'most vulnerable', advising them to stay indoors for 12 to 16 weeks.[95] The Welsh Government began sending food boxes to the most in need, in order to help them stay in their homes.[96][97]

On 8 April, it was confirmed that the Welsh Government had shared data of those identified as extremely vulnerable to serious illness as a result of exposure to COVID-19. This was done to help them get priority online food deliveries rather than risk leaving their homes.[95]

On 30 March, a £1.1 billion support package for businesses and public services affected by the pandemic, included a £500 million economy crisis fund, £100 million in loans, and £400 million in emergency funding.[98]

On 15 March Bangor University cancelled all lectures with immediate effect, with teaching resuming online on 23 March. Cardiff University and Swansea University both also announce that they would be moving towards remote learning and online lectures from the 23 March.[99]

On 18 March, the Welsh Government announced that all schools and nurseries in Wales would be closing by 20 March, initially for a period of four weeks, and Education Minister Kirsty Williams said that it would very likely be for a "considerable period of time". A limited number of schools are remaining open to provide support for key workers and children with additional needs.[12] It was further announced in the following days that all exams, including GCSEs and A-Levels, would be cancelled, with grades being based on existing work and predicted grades.[13]

On 6 April the Welsh Assembly announced funding for free child care for all children of key workers under five years old.[100]

On 3 June it was announced that schools in Wales would reopen on 29 June and that the summer term had been extended by one week to 27 July. In addition the autumn half-term break would be extended by one week.[101]

On 1 April, it was announced that during the pandemic home abortions would be allowed for women in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, following an online or telephone consultation.[102] This was part of a significant re-structuring of health care services for women in particular.[103]

Virtual GP appointments were also rolled out across Wales, sooner than originally anticipated, allowing for phone consultations, with video consultations also available if needed.[104]

In October 2020, an analysis of progress showed that the number of people waiting for routine surgery had increased to 57,445, approximately six times as many as the same time in 2019. The Royal College of Surgeons requested the Welsh Government to speed up the introduction of "green zones" in Welsh hospitals, so that operations could resume.[105]

Plans by the Welsh Government to extend the right to vote to prisoners serving less that were shelved, with ministers unable to commit "any official resource" the changes due to the pandemic. Plans to extend the vote and enfranchise sixteen and seventeen year olds were to continue ahead however.[106]

On 19 March, it was reported that around 75 officers at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham County Borough were off work due to sickness or self-isolation, and 22 prisoners showing symptoms of coronavirus were being isolated by the prison. The prison had enough staff members to remain fully operational.[107]

On 31 March, three inmates at HMP Swansea had been confirmed as testing positive.[108]

On 4 April it was announced that some low risk prisoners, with two months or less still to serve, would be released on temporary licence. Those released will be electronically tagged. No inmates convicted of COVID-19 offences would be considered for release.[109]

The statue of Tommy Cooper in Caerphilly with a protective mask

The Church in Wales announced the suspension of its public gatherings, including church services, along with the postponement of weddings and baptisms. The Muslim Council of Britain and the Roman Catholic church announced similar moves, with many religious services being streamed online.[110][111]

On 13 March, the Six Nations Wales vs Scotland fixture was postponed for a year.[112] The Welsh Rugby Union also suspended all forms of rugby in Wales from 14 to 30 March, which also extended to the end of the season of 20 March.

The Football Association for Wales suspended domestic football matches at all levels in Wales until at least 30 April.[113]

A drive through COVID testing centre at Cardiff City Stadium

In March 2020, some supermarkets announced restrictions on the number of items people could buy, with each company setting their own limits. This was seen as a reaction to a large number of members of the public stockpiling food.[114] Stores began implementing social distancing regulations, with many stores attaching tape to the floor to separate people by two metres (6') and limiting the number of people in the store at a time. Many stores installed protective screens on checkouts to help protect workers.[115]

After new regulations were introduced in England and Scotland in July and August, obliging shoppers to wear face masks, the Welsh government decided not to impose this restriction on shoppers in Wales.[116] Instead, they recommended the use of face masks "where social distancing is difficult". This resulted in criticism from some scientists.[117] In mid-September, the use of face masks in shops became mandatory in Wales, after Drakeford announced that 20 people in every 100,000 in Wales now had Covid-19. Anyone not observing the face covering restrictions could be fined.[118]

After a 'firebreak' lockdown was imposed in late October to control the spread of coronavirus in Wales, supermarkets were prohibited from selling 'non-essential goods' after many other retailers were forced to close.[119] The policy was the subject of the largest petition ever submitted to the Welsh Parliament, leading the government to state that it would review the policy after the first weekend of the firebreak.[120] There were no further restrictions placed on retailers after the end of the firebreak.[69]

A 'Thank You NHS' blue postbox in Cardiff

Cumulative confirmed COVID-19 case totals in Wales:

Deaths by local area to 17 April 2020 were published by the Office for National Statistics on 25 April. At this point, deaths had reached 1,016. The figure is higher than that published by Public Health Wales because it included hospitals, care homes, homes, hospices and other settings.[122] This figure may be revised again because a second health board, Hywel Dda, was found to have under-reported 31 deaths in its area.[123]

The table below shows deaths by health board, most of which occurred in hospitals.

Source: coronavirus.data.gov.uk.[125]

The graph above shows new cases by date reported, and not by the specimen date of the positive test. Due to planned maintenance of NHS Wales IT systems, no figures were reported on 13 December, followed by under-reporting of case numbers from Lighthouse laboratories from 14 to 16 December. The backlog of over 11,000 cases was reported on 17 December.[126] Similarly, no case numbers were reported on 25 December and 1 January.

The deaths reported by Public Health Wales are only those of hospitalised patients or care home residents where COVID-19 has been confirmed with a positive laboratory test and is thought to have been a causative factor in the death.[2] The Office for National Statistics publishes provisional weekly numbers of deaths of those usually resident in Wales, including cases where COVID-19 has been suspected and mentioned on the death certificate, as well as excess mortality data including deaths due to all causes. As of the week ending 4 December 2020, the ONS reported a provisional total of 3,892 deaths in Wales where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.[127]