Welsh Government frees up £1bn to tackle coronavirus

The First Minister will reveal details today of more than a billion pounds to spend on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Drakeford will set out how £1.1bn will be spent supporting businesses and public services here in Wales to face the emergency measures which have been imposed to try to slow the spread of the illness.

The money comes from existing Welsh Government budgets but it's not yet clear which programmes have been cut or postponed to free up the extra funding. Last week the Finance Minister held individual talks with every minister to see how much could be diverted.

The Welsh Conservatives have welcomed the news but say there remain questions about how the money will be spent.

Mark Drakeford will make the announcement in the Welsh Government's now-daily press conference.

He is also likely to face further questions about the Welsh NHS's coronavirus testing systems. The Health Minister was forced to announce a new plan at the end of last week after a written agreement which had been reached with a company to supply tests fell through.

Vaughan Gething said that from this week, the Welsh NHS will be able to carry out more than 1,000 tests a day and by mid-April up to 5,000 a day. Those tests will be given to patients with suspected coronavirus, frontline NHS staff and those classed as 'extremely vulnerable.'There'll also be pressure to reveal what the Welsh Government is doing about construction sites. Last Tuesday the First Minister said he was minded to order their closure but promised guidance within 24-36 hours.That guidance still hasn't been published and there were reports that a call to close construction sites by Mr Drakeford along with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London mayor Sadiq Khan and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland were overruled by the Prime Minister in a Cobra meeting last week.

Ministers are urging the public not to share dodgy information online. Credit: PA Images

Meanwhile the UK Government has announced it will set up a series of specialist units to try to stop the spread of myths, misinformation and fake news about coronavirus.

It says there are up to seventy incidents of 'harmful narratives' identified each week including misinformation and criminal fraud based around phishing scams.

Ministers are urging the public not to share dodgy information online.

Boris Johnson has written a letter to be delivered to every household in the UK underlining the reasons behind the lockdown restrictions and warning that they could become tougher.

It emerged over the weekend that the lockdown period could last longer than the three weeks initially imposed. Neil Ferguson, the Imperial College London scientist who's been advising the UK Government suggested the stringent measures could last until June with social distancing still being advised long after that date.

The National Assembly is technically beginning its Easter recess this week however the Business Committee is discussing arrangements regularly in order to adapt to fast moving changes and a change to the rules last week allow AMs to meet as an 'emergency Senedd' when required. It's likely that will take place this week via video conferencing.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know