New restrictions on Welsh hospitality announced by Welsh Government

New restriction will come into effect on Friday preventing pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes across Wales from serving alcohol and forcing them close at 6pm.

The sale of takeaways and deliveries will be allowed after 6pm from this Friday (December 4).

During today’s Welsh government press conference Mr Drakeford outlined the new measures on the hospitality, he also said cinemas, bowling alleys, bingo halls, museums and galleries will also need to shut from Friday.

The new restrictions will come into force just three after the end of the the Wales wide firebreak.

Mr Drakeford said the “facts are stark, unless we respond now to the growing number of people infected with the virus, the advice we have from our scientific and medical experts, is that by the 12th of January the total number of people with coronavirus in hospital in Wales could rise to 2,200.”

“Our modeling suggests at unless we act now between 1,000 and 1,700 preventable deaths could take place over the winter period.”

“We’ve seen further rises amongst the under 25 age group in 17 of the 22 local authority areas in Wales and more worryingly still cases of coronavirus are beginning to rise in the over 60 age group in most parts of Wales.”

First Minister: “From 6pm on Friday, new national measures will be introduced to provide restrictions for hospitality and indoor entertainment attractions, pubs bars, restaurants and cafes, will have to close by 6pm and will not be allowed to serve alcohol after 6pm.. pic.twitter.com/zrhdPZIbnf

— DEESIDE.com (@DeesideDotCom) November 30, 2020

The first minister said:

“Unfortunately, the virus is moving incredibly quickly across Wales and is eroding the gains we made during the firebreak period. We now need to take further steps together as a nation to protect people’s health and slow the spread of coronavirus.

“This virus – and this pandemic – continues to be full of unpleasant surprises. It thrives on our normal human behaviour and all those places and opportunities where we come together.

“It underlines why we need to take further, targeted action now. We will focus these changes on places where we meet and where coronavirus thrives, drawing on recent evidence from the UK SAGE group of experts about what interventions have had the biggest impact on the virus.”

The Welsh Government is making a further £340m available through the Economic Resilience Fund to support businesses affected by the new changes to the regulations. It will include a specific fund to support hospitality and tourism businesses.

The new Welsh Government support is split into two funds: a £160m Restrictions Business Fund and a £180m sector-specific Economic Resilience Fund grant scheme.

The Restrictions Business Fund will enable eligible businesses in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors which pay non-domestic rates (NDR) to access grants of up to £5,000.

It is estimated around 60,000 businesses, with a rateable value of under £150,000 will receive this support.

Businesses not on the NDR system, will be able to continue to apply to local authorities for the Lockdown Discretionary Grant of up to £2,000.

In addition, hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses will be able to access a sector specific Economic Resilience Fund grant scheme.

Small and medium sized businesses meeting the criteria could receive up to £100k. Larger Welsh-based businesses could receive up to a maximum of £150k.

This part of the package is expected to support up to 8,000 businesses in these sectors and a further 2,000 in the related supply chains.

More information about the funding and how it can be accessed will be published on the Business Wales website in the coming days.

Economy Minister Ken Skates said:

“These are incredibly difficult days for businesses and these decisions have not been taken lightly.

“We expect today’s £340m announcement to support tens of thousands of businesses and help protect many more jobs and livelihoods. It must also be remembered that UK Government support is also available to businesses.

“We will continue to do everything we can to support our firms and our people through these challenging times.”