First Minister and Wales’ emergency services call on people of Wales to stay home to save lives this Easter

An unprecedented letter from First Minister Mark Drakeford and signed by Wales’ emergency and health services and council leaders, calls on the Welsh population to stay at home and save lives over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething and Chief Medical Officer Frank Atherton join the NHS, the police, fire and ambulance services, charities, councils and voluntary organisations as signatories to the letter to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Welsh Government and emergency services sign joint letter urging people to ‘stay at home’ over bank holiday.

Today we’ve sent a message to all the people of Wales.

Families across the country have lost loved ones to coronavirus. If we don’t act now, more deaths will follow.

The message this Easter is simple:

Stay at home. Save lives.#EasterAtHome pic.twitter.com/6Lcqfb0nZz

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) April 9, 2020

A letter to the people of Wales:

As the Easter bank holiday approaches, we have one message for everyone. Stay home and save lives.

Our public services are working around the clock to care for and keep people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Frontline workers are putting our health and care first, every day.

We must continue to do everything we can to support them; to protect our NHS and to save lives.

Stay at home and help stop the virus spreading.

We know it’s hard and we want to thank you for sticking to the rules.

There are some early signs this is having a positive impact but there’s still a long way to go.

We know that staying at home for long periods is difficult and families all over Wales are making many sacrifices every day.

Most people are doing just this, but it’s really frustrating to see some people flouting the rules and putting other people at risk.

We are taking action to stop this happening.

These rules are there to protect you and your loved ones.

For most people the virus will cause a mild illness, but there’s a large number of people – children, adults and grandparents – who are at risk of serious illness if they are exposed.

Sadly, a lot of people have already died after catching coronavirus. Families across Wales have lost loved ones to this virus – if we don’t act now, even more deaths will follow.

Our actions and decisions over the Easter bank holiday weekend, and in the coming weeks and months, will shape Wales for years to come.

Please – stay home and save lives.

Mark Drakeford AM, First Minister of Wales

Vaughan Gething AM, Minister for Health and Social Services

Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for Wales

Andrew Goodall, NHS Wales Chief Executive

Tracey Cooper Public Health Wales Chief Executive

Carl Foulkes Chief Constable, North Wales Police

Mark Collins Chief Constable, Dyfed-Powys Police

Matt Jukes Chief Constable, South Wales Police

Pam Kelly Chief Constable, Gwent Police

Andrew Morgan WLGA Leader, on behalf of all Welsh Local Authorities

Arfon Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales

Dafydd Llywelyn, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys

Alun Michael, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales

Jeff Cuthbert, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent

Jason Killens, Chief Executive, Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

Ruth Marks, Wales Council for Voluntary Action Chief Executive

Simon Smith, Chief Fire Officer North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Chris Davies, Chief Fire Officer Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Huw Jakeway, Chief Fire Officer South Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

Emyr Williams, Chief Executive, Snowdonia National Park Authority