Welsh Conservatives want all covid measures and requirement to self-isolate to be scrapped

The Welsh Conservatives have called for Welsh government ministers to set out a date to scrap all Covid-related laws, including the legal requirement to self-isolate.

It comes ahead of First Minister Mark Drakeford’s weekly coronavirus press conference tomorrow (January 21).

Last week it was announced that restrictions introduced after Christmas, such as limits on crowds at outdoor events, the rule of six in restaurants and the closure of nightclubs, would start to be eased as Wales moves back to alert level zero.

Wales will also return to a three weekly review cycle if cases of the virus continue to decline.

Ahead of the press conference the Welsh Conservatives have called for the removal of all remaining coronavirus laws, including the requirement to self isolate.

Currently those who test positive currently need to isolate for seven days. Those isolating can leave on day seven if they have a negative lateral flow test on day six and seven.

However earlier this week the prime minister announced that the requirement to self isolate in England could end in March as a move towards living with the virus.

Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS has said the move would “signal a return to normality, living with the virus, and the return of the Welsh people’s freedoms”.

The Welsh Conservatives are also calling for the immediate removal of:

• The vaccine passport scheme;
• All remaining business restrictions;
• Social distancing;
• Household mixing rules; and
• Mandatory face masks in schools.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Russell George MS said: “The data says it all: the prevalence of the Omicron variant is receding as quickly as it arrived and we are well beyond the peak of the wave. What we saw was a milder version of Covid yet harsher restrictions, with implications for families, businesses, and public services.

“However, the extraordinary success of the booster vaccination campaign shows that the people of this country and the virus are both behaving in ways that allow us to move back to normality.

“Therefore, the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay should scrap all remaining business restrictions, social distancing, household mixing rules, mandatory face masks in schools, and the complete failure that are vaccine passports.

“It must also set a date for the scrapping of all Covid laws, including the legal requirement to isolate, because the freedoms of the Welsh people must not be withheld much longer without good cause.

“This will signal a return to normality, living with the virus, and the return of the Welsh people’s liberties as government allows us to exercise self-responsibility, as all free societies should, leaving individuals to decide on whether they want to wear a mask, for instance.

“And, of course, with the end of the pandemic in sight in Britain – as the WHO has suggested – we must give our thanks to all those public servants for their efforts over the last two years and remember all those who have died and suffered because of this terrible virus and lockdowns.

“It is not too late for the First Minister to give them all the justice they deserve through a Wales-specific Covid inquiry so those responsible can be held to account and his actions scrutinised.”