Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales (2021)

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2021. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

Timeline

January 2021
  • 1 January –
    • South Wales Police release figures indicating there were 240 calls over New Year breaches of COVID regulations.[1]
    • Figures indicate Wales is slightly behind the rest of the UK in rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, prompting politicians to express concern about the programme. In response, Health Minister Vaughan Gething says the programme is at the "very beginning" but rates of vaccinations are increasing.[2]
  • 2 January –
    • The number of COVID-19 tests carried out in Wales since the start of the pandemic passes two million, with 2,007,728 tests having been carried out. Of those, 151,300 have been positive, and there have been 3,564 COVID-related deaths.[3]
    • BBC News reports that visits to beauty spots in Wales have been high in preceding days in spite of travel bans and people being urged to stay at home.[4]
  • 3 January –
    • Jo Stevens, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and MP for Cardiff Central, is reported to be in hospital where she is receiving treatment for COVID-19.[5]
    • Responding to calls from teaching unions to suspend face-to-face teaching, First Minister Mark Drakeford defends the Welsh Government's decision to allow a flexible approach to reopening schools after the Christmas break, describing it as a "safe return".[6]
    • On the topic of restrictions, Drakeford says he does not "see much headroom for change" and that Wales is likely to remain in lockdown for the rest of January.[7]
  • 4 January –
    • Education Minister Kirsty Williams announces that all schools and colleges will remain closed and move to online learning until 18 January.[8]
    • A Level student Cai Parry launches a campaign to close schools and have external examinations for 2021 replaced by teacher-based assessment, going on to describe the thought of taking an exam in the current climate as "panic-inducing".[9][10]
  • 5 January – Education Minister Kirsty Williams says that closing schools will have "grave consequences" for education.[11]
  • 6 January –
    • Betsi Cadwaladr health board apologises after one of its COVID vaccination centres experienced "significant" delays, attributing the problem to the training of "new vaccinators".[12]
    • Dr Andrew Goodall, chief executive of NHS Wales, expresses concern that hospital levels could reach double those in April if admissions continue at the current rate.[13]
  • 7 January –
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford announces that schools and colleges in Wales will remain closed to most students until after the February half term unless there is a "significant" fall in the number of COVID cases.[14]
    • A total of 49,403 people have received their first dose of COVID vaccine since 8 December, figures have revealed, with 14,000 doing so in the past week.[15]
    • A nurse working for the Hywel Dda University Health Board has said she is "angry and upset" after testing positive for COVID three weeks after receiving the vaccination.[16]
    • Car parks in Snowdonia are to be closed because of people visiting the site, in breach of COVID regulations.[17]
  • 8 January – The Welsh Government is in talks with major retailers about a tightening of COVID rules in supermarkets amid concerns about what First Minister Mark Drakeford describes as a lack of "visible protections" in supermarkets.[18]
  • 9 January –
    • Police say people are "blatantly" ignoring COVID restrictions after more than 100 cars were turned around at Moel Famau on the Flintshire border.[19]
    • Unions have criticised some councils for refusing childcare to some key workers. The Welsh Government holds a list of jobs that are considered essential, but some councils have compiled their own list, which excludes jobs such as supermarket workers and teachers.[20]
  • 10 January –
    • During the first month of vaccine deployment, Wales has received 275,000 doses of COVID vaccines, 70,000 of which have been administered.[21]
    • The Prison Officers' Association has called for courts to be closed in order to halt the spread of COVID in Welsh prisons after figures revealed a sharp increase in cases in jails.[22]
    • The National Union of Students Wales has called for students to receive a partial refund of accommodation rent because they are not spending so much time at university.[23]
  • 11 January –
    • Research by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre has found that half of COVID patients admitted to hospital in Wales over the winter have died.[24]
    • The Welsh Government announces that everyone aged 50 and over, as well as those who are considered to be at greater risk, will be offered a COVID vaccine by the spring.[25]
  • 12 January –
    • Office for National Statistics figures show there were 5,100 COVID deaths from the start of the pandemic up to and including 1 January, with 310 in the week up to that date.[26]
    • Sophie Howe, Wales's Future Generations Commissioner, calls for a national approach to online learning, which she has described as "patchy and inconsistent".[27]
    • Disability campaigners have called for adults with learning disabilities who live in supported accommodation to have high priority for COVID vaccination.[28]
  • 13 January – Hundreds of students are reportedly preparing to take part in a rent strike over accommodation they have hardly used during the 2020–21 academic year.[29]
  • 14 January –
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford announces plans to introduce stronger measures to "protect" supermarket workers during the pandemic, these to be announced the next day.[30]
    • Community Pharmacy Wales, a group representing pharmacies in Wales, says there is an "urgent need" to use pharmacies to help deploy the vaccine in Wales.[31]
  • 15 January –
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford announces that new laws will be introduced to protect supermarket shoppers and staff, which will include the erection of signs reminding people to socially distance. The announcement comes after "significant evidence" the virus is spreading in supermarkets.[30]
    • Figures published by Public Health Wales indicate that COVID cases in the worst affected areas, including Wrexham and the South Wales Valleys, have started to fall.[32]
    • The Law Society calls for a two-week firebreak of non-custodial cases in magistrates and crown courts following a rise in COVID cases in the court system.[33]
  • 17 January – Following criticism of the pace at which vaccinations are being given in Wales, Dr Gill Richardson, chair of Wales' vaccination board, says the NHS in Wales is being given as many vaccines as it can cope with.[34]
  • 18 January –
    • Both Health Minister Vaughan Gething and First Minister Mark Drakeford have denied that COVID vaccines are being held back after Gething told a BBC journalist the supply has to last until February to prevent "vaccinators standing around with nothing to do".[35]
    • A sharp rise in the number of COVID cases among children in Anglesey is being blamed on the new strain of COVID.[36]
  • 19 January –
    • Senedd officials are investigating an incident in which a group of politicians drank alcohol on Senedd premises in early December 2020, days after pubs were stopped from serving it.[37]
    • Health Minister Vaughan Gething tells BBC Radio 5 Live there is an "increasing urgency and an increasing pace of delivery" of vaccinations in Wales.[38]
  • 20 January –
    • Education Minister Kirsty Williams announces that GCSE, AS and A Level grades in summer 2021 will be based on teacher assessment after a scheme designed to replace end-of-year exams was scrapped in November 2020.[39]
    • Three Senedd politicians who were seen drinking in the parliament building have apologised for their actions.[40]
  • 21 January –
    • Health Minister Vaughan Gething is accused of providing misleading information after claiming that nearly all of the people in Wales over the age of 80 had been vaccinated, when the number is less than that.[41]
    • Education Minister Kirsty Williams says that schools may be given two weeks notice before face-to-face learning restarts.[42]
    • The Welsh Labour Party suspends Senedd member Alun Davies from the party after he was pictured drinking alcohol in the Senedd building after Wales introduced a ban on drinking alcohol.[43]
  • 22 January –
    • The Welsh Government says the flooding caused by Storm Christoph has had "no adverse effects" on the rollout of COVID vaccinations.[44]
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford says it is "unlikely" there will be a "wholesale" return to school after the February half-term.[45]
  • 23 January –
    • Paul Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, and fellow Senedd member Darren Millar, both announce they are stepping down after they were pictured drinking alcohol in the Senedd building.[46]
    • Four vaccination centres in Bridgend, Rhondda, Abercynon and Merthyr Tydfil are closed temporarily due to the forecast of snowy weather for Wales for the following day.[47]
    • Betsi Cadwaladr health board's chairman Mark Polin criticises staff at a council who shared email links in order to queue jump the COVID vaccination process.[48]
    • The Welsh Government announces it has set aside £180m to help tourism in Wales to recover from the financial impact of the pandemic.[49]
    • The Welsh branch of the British Medical Association has joined calls for the time between first and second vaccines to be halved from twelve to six weeks, saying a delay of too long is "entirely unacceptable and potentially dangerous".[50]
  • 24 January –
    • The Public and Commercial Services Union urges ministers to act after figures reveal that 500 people at the DVLA in Swansea have contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.[51]
    • A Royal College of Nursing survey has found that 80% of nurses feel more stressed because of the COVID situation.[52]
    • Figures released by Barnardo's Cymru indicate that family breakdowns during the COVID crisis have lead to an increase of a third in the number of children needing urgent foster care between April and December.[53]
    • Andrew RT Davies is chosen to succeed Paul Davies as leader of the Welsh Conservatives.[54]
  • 25 January – Health Minister Vaughan Gething says that it is unclear whether the target of vaccinating 70% of over-80s and care home residents has been met.[55]
  • 26 January –
    • Sally Holland, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, urges the Welsh Government to outline its strategy for returning face-to-face education.[56]
    • Vaccination figures indicate 52% of people aged 80 and over had received their first COVID vaccine by the preceding weekend, falling short of the Welsh Government's target of 70%; the Welsh Government blames the recent poor weather conditions for missing its target.[57]
    • Figures for the week ending 15 January indicate Wales had its highest number of COVID-related deaths that week, with 467 deaths.[58]
  • 27 January –
    • Dr Rob Orford, Wales's Chief Scientific Adviser, confirms that 10 cases of the South African COVID variant have been identified in Wales.[59]
    • Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, says it is "crucial" tourism is allowed to reopen by Easter following a "catastrophic" year for the sector.[60]
  • 28 January – The Welsh Government launches a new strategy for tackling COVID-19 that includes a greater community-led approach to tackling local COVID spikes, as well as a trial involving people without symptoms to see whether they can safely go to work or school.[61]
  • 29 January –
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford extends the Alert level four lockdown for a further three weeks, but announces that from the following day two people from different households may meet up outside for exercise. Drakeford also suggests primary age schoolchildren may be able to return to the classroom following the February half-term.[62]
    • COVID vaccination appointments in Powys are brought forward amid weather warnings for heavy snow over the forthcoming weekend.[63]
  • 30 January –
    • Two COVID vaccination centres and a test centre are forced to stay closed because of snowfall.[64]
    • The Welsh Government extends the current shielding period for the 130,000 people shielding in Wales from 7 February to 31 March.[65]
  • 31 January – Gwent Police announce the breakup of two parties the previous day resulting in over 20 people receiving fines for breach of COVID rules.[66]

February 2021
  • 1 February – The Welsh Government confirms that anyone in Wales asked to self-isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app can apply for £500.[67]
  • 2 February – Nine cases of South African variant COVID-19 have been identified in Wales, with a further four under investigation, officials say.[68]
  • 3 February –
    • Public Health Wales has identified three cases of the South African COVID variant that have no links to travel in the area.[69]
    • Crime figures from October 2019 to October 2020 have indicated a general fall in overall crime during the first few months of the pandemic, but an increase in crimes such as cyberstalking and harassment.[70]
  • 4 February – Health officials have found a travel link to one of three South African COVID variant cases, but the source of the other two remains unclear.[71]
  • 5 February –
    • Education Minister Kirsty Williams confirms that schoolchildren aged between three and seven will return to school from 22 February, along with some older pupils on vocational courses.[72]
    • First Minister Mark Drakeford suggests that parts of the tourism and hospitality industry, including caravan parks, could reopen by April subject to a fall in the number of COVID cases.[73]
    • Wrexham centenarian Hilda Richards, 103, who lived through the Spanish flu pandemic, is given her first COVID vaccination.[74]
    • Figures have shown that in increase in online shopping has led to a boom in recycling in Wales during the latest lockdown.[75]

See also

References
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