First Minister confirms three more weeks of lockdown
The First Minister has confirmed there will be a further three weeks of lockdown in Wales and across the UK.
Mark Drakeford's announcement came after a Cobra meeting with First Ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the UK Government.
He said that all leaders had confirmed their decisions that the current restrictions on movement "to protect the NHS and safe lives should continue for another three weeks".
The First Minister said the decision was based on "expert scientific analysis of the latest data" of the coronavirus outbreak.
Following his announcement, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed the measures would continue to slow the spread.
He said there were "indications" that the virus spread was slowing, owing to social distancing, but said a "mixed and inconsistent picture" meant it was "still likely to be increasing" in some settings. Mr Raab said relaxing the lockdown would risk a significant increase in the spread of coronavirus.The First Secretary of State, who is "deputising" for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from coronavirus, was speaking after chairing a Cobra meeting with regional leaders from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mr Drakeford said the decision to end the lockdown was not taken lightly. But he said we cannot risk lifting the measures too soon as it could lead to more deaths.
Following the announcement, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives said it was a "sensible approach".
Paul Davies AM, said, "The Governments’ scientific and health advisors have been faced with some enormously difficult decisions to make, but based on the scientific data available, and the number of cases of Coronavirus, this really is the only sensible and safe approach to take at the moment.
"However, no-one wants a lockdown to continue longer than necessary, but in order to prevent the spread of this virus we must for now continue to pay attention to the advice of ‘stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives’.”
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