Hotels, cinemas and museums on list of latest relaxed measures in Wales

PA
Updated

Hotels and other shared tourist accommodation including camping sites will be able to reopen in Wales from Saturday, First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.

The latest relaxing of measures will come alongside the reopening of the country’s visitor attractions, including those underground, providing a further boost to its hard-hit tourism sector.

Mr Drakeford has also given the green light for the viewing of occupied homes for rent or sale to restart from Monday, as well as the reopening of cinemas, indoor museums, galleries, arcades, beauty salons and tattoo parlours.

But the UK Cinema Association has said few cinemas will actually open in Wales due to restrictions preventing them providing food indoors, as well as the two-metre social distancing rule which would restrict audience numbers.

Monday will also see new rules come into effect which will make it compulsory to wear a face covering on public transport, including buses, trains and taxis.

Mr Drakeford said: “Thanks to the efforts we have all made to reduce the spread of the virus, we are taking further steps to re-open more of Wales.

A ban on foie gras imports to the UK has been dismissed by the Government on the grounds it would limit choice for consumers and retailers. Environment minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble said people can decide “whether to engage with the product or not”, adding an opposition amendment to the Agriculture Bill would “penalise” someone for bringing foie gras into the UK for their own consumption. Labour, joined by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, had tabled a proposal which stated foie gras must not be imported to the UK after December 31 2021.

“More of our retail, leisure, hospitality and tourism sectors, which play such an important part in our economy, will start to welcome back customers and guests from tomorrow.

“As more places start to reopen, we must get used to some changes to help protect ourselves and the people working in these businesses.

“This may mean having to book ahead or giving our details to the places we are visiting, to help our Test Trace Protect service, in the event there’s an outbreak of coronavirus.

“It’s the responsibility of all of us to follow these new rules so we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

“Coronavirus has not gone away.

“But if we all work together, we can keep Wales safe.”

The next Welsh Government review of measures to be carried out by July 30 will consider reopening indoor service for pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes in Wales for the first time since lockdown.

Many pubs in Wales, including those owned by Wetherspoons and Brains, have said they would not take advantage of last week’s reopening for outside-only service, and only open their doors once customers were allowed indoors.

On Thursday, Public Health Wales said there were no further deaths from people who had tested positive for Covid-19, with the total number of deaths remaining at 1,548.

There were 43 new cases reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 17,030.

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