All Covid measures set to go in Wales as Mark Drakeford announces plan for living with virus

  • Video report by ITV Wales reporter Richard Morgan

All remaining legal coronavirus restrictions in Wales could be lifted from March 28, the Welsh Government has confirmed.

The news comes as First Minister Mark Drakeford is set to unveil the Welsh Government's long-term strategy for safely living with coronavirus.

The long-term plan includes offering booster jabs for the elderly and most vulnerable adults in the spring, a regular vaccination programme in the autumn and changes to the Test, Trace, Protect contact tracing system to target protection at the most vulnerable people.

Wales will remain in alert level zero measures for the next three weeks, although the first minister expressed optimism for the future.

First Minister Mark Drakeford is due to set out the Welsh Government's long-term plan for living with Covid at a briefing on Friday 4 March Credit: PA Images

'A significant moment in this pandemic'

He said: "We've been living in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic for two long years.

"It has touched all our lives - across Wales, families and communities have made many sacrifices to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

"People in Wales have followed the rules.

"But sadly, too many families have experienced the pain of losing a loved one or a close friend. My thoughts are with them all.

"As we publish this longer-term plan, there is no doubt we have reached a significant moment in this pandemic and we can look forward to the future with growing confidence that the next year will be one in which we have a different relationship with the virus."

Covid passes - a controversial pandemic measure - were recently scrapped. All remaining restrictions could be gone by March 28

However, the first minister cautioned that the pandemic "is far from over", saying Wales would continue having to be responsive to potential future outbreaks or variants.

He said: "But the pandemic isn't over - this virus is full of nasty surprises and we are likely to see fluctuations in global patterns of infection for several years.

"We need to be ready to respond quickly to any future outbreaks or new variants as we learn to live safely alongside coronavirus in the long-term."

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Titled 'Together for a Safer Future: Wales’ Long-term Covid-19 Transition from Pandemic to Endemic', the Welsh Government's plan will set out two scenarios - Covid Stable and Covid Urgent - and outlines how Wales will respond to them.

The Covid Stable scenario will involve offering spring boosters for the elderly and vulnerable adults, a regular autumn vaccination campaign and the changing of the contact tracing and isolation system to target protection at the most vulnerable.

The Welsh Government said it was working on plans for a Covid Urgent scenario, which could include the emergence of a new variant that evades existing vaccines, if such a situation were to develop.

The Welsh Conservatives welcomed the announcement but claimed the Government should have been focused on areas such as helping the NHS Credit: PA Images

'It is time to live with the virus?'

Responding to the Welsh Government's announcement, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said: "It is about time the Labour Government finally recognised the need to live with Covid and heeded our calls to publish a plan and set dates for the end of coronavirus laws, matching our deadline of the end of March. 

"Keeping rules in place unnecessarily long, loses the trust of people.

"It is a shame Wales was the last UK nation to get a plan, that the full return of our freedoms will only be restored weeks after they were in England and Northern Ireland, and that Mark Drakeford did not deliver his plan directly to the national legislature as Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon did.

"We have just passed the two-year anniversary of Covid in Wales.

"Thanks to the vaccination programme, the hard work of NHS workers, and the strength of the British people, we are in a much better place than we were then. It is time to live with the virus.

"The attention of Labour ministers should have moved long ago to addressing the record-long NHS treatment waiting list in Wales, on which 1-in-5 of the population is languishing, with a quarter of them waiting over a year.

"Labour have no excuse now not to fix the long-standing issues in the NHS."

Responding to the announcement, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said: “Government is now setting out where testing and self-isolating will still be needed and supported over coming months, which is welcome, but we now need to know exactly who will be identified as being in the vulnerable groups, and of course we have to know that testing will remain free.

 “One thing we certainly know is the need to build resilience into plans for the future of our health and care services. Getting the NHS back on track isn’t just about waiting for Covid to go, and in fact it’ll be with us for some time yet.

 “While Covid has certainly exacerbated problems, deep-rooted issues existed long before the pandemic. Consequently, the gradual move from pandemic to endemic must be accompanied by a plan which includes long term solutions to overcome long standing problems.”