Quote Originally Posted by jon1959 View Post
I think everyone gets it.

They also get that any effective lockdown that the WAG might theoretically have put forward at an earlier stage couldn't have worked without an economic package alongside - and that means the UK government. They also get that the main public health messages received by the Welsh public have come from the UK government. I think that is also the case in Scotland where Nicola Sturgeon has been effective with a Scottish information campaign, but one that inevitably follows London.

You even suggested a few posts back that the WAG could have introduced quarantine for Welsh people flying into UK airports. How could that possibly work - without the full co-operation of other UK authorities. It is a very useful demonstration of how many holes there are in your assertion that 'responsibility for healthcare rests solely with the Senedd'. In practice there are major limits on how that devolved responsibility can be exercised.
Thanks for the balanced response. Under the Public Health act 1984 ( England and Wales)which is specifically about control of infectious diseases WAG could have instructed residents in Wales returning to a UK airport or a Welsh seaport like Pembroke, to quarantine/ self isolate for a period of time once back in their main residence. The same act allows us to stop sporting events, close schools, in fact much of what we term as lockdown. But rightly or not we initially went with a unified approach with the other home nations, and when it didn't work as well as expected in Wales, people like many who have made comments on this board, blamed Westminster, even when Westminster has no authority over healthcare in Wales.

And yes, co-operation is needed with other UK authorities, but the decisions made for Wales are made by the Senedd and they are totally responsible because healthcare is devolved.

We have not led on anything in Wales except maybe being very cautious. We could have because we have the authority to, but sadly we didn't.