| + Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
The point I'm making is that if political decisions are taken in Scotland then the rest of us shouldn't have to pay for it. Of course if the Scots and Welsh took a coordinated line, as I believe they should, then they should be entitled to receive furlough money. We are not going to agree but that's my opinion if I'm allowed that on here although I accept it is becoming difficult to express counter views.Originally Posted by Rjk
That only works if the other countries aren't tied to the money they get from Westminster.
Drakeford has just announced on Sky news the Welsh firebreak will end on 9 November and won't be extended. There you have it.
I'll be amazed if there aren't additional restrictions though. No local lockdowns but can't see pubs and people visiting houses been opened up just yet.
No household mixing but reckon pubs will be open if you order food
Yes he was just on 5 live - the "firebreak" will be over, but I'd imagine there will still be some restrictions.
Shops will open up though I'm sure.
There was a guy on before him saying that these things would be more effective if the whole country were doing the same thing, which they put to Mark Drakeford.
His response was quite telling:
They received advice to go into a lockdown in a COBRA meeting - he repeatedly asked for another COBRA meeting to discuss and coordinate a lockdown, but was repeatedly denied, so they had to make the decision alone.
When we went into the lockdown it was promised to be 17 days, and people have put up with very severe restrictions on the understanding that it would be a short time. So they aren't going to go back on their word and extend it.
I tkink that's fair enough really.
In terms of the Welsh 'firebreak' lockdown, has anyone not done something they were intending to do or done anything differently as a result of the WAG's new restrictions? I'm genuinely interested to know if that's the case.
On a personal level, absolutely nothing has changed. Until today, when I began my first proper break since this all began, I've been working in the office as usual. The handful of colleagues who have been working from the office in recent months have been doing likewise. My partner's unable to go to the gym, which is a big miss for her as she's unable to follow a regular exercise routine recommended by her NHS physiotherapist to alleviate a back problem, but apart from that nothing has changed.
The pubs, restaurants and shops being closed hasn't affected me at all, but I'm sure that's different for plenty of people. That's the only real difference I can think of by comparison to recent months apart from the restriction on visits from friends and relatives, but in my experience people aren't abiding by that rule to any great degree.
I MIGHT have gone into the office on one day perhaps, and probably ould have gone out for a meal for my mother's birthday, but other than that nothing's changed
I guess the latter could be quite significant if replicated across the country.
Less people hanging around pubs than a few weeks ago. My workmates have been meeting in Cardiff for drinks every Friday after work for weeks, they haven't been able to do that.
Gym for me, I go most days. Take the kids for breakfast now and again. Few Halloween things that couldn’t happen but apart from that nothing different....
Of course there should have been a coordinated lockdown to tie in with the half term break.
Boris and co insisted they were not going to do that though.
Drakeford has always said 17 days with tight restrictions.
Would he have made it longer and maybe agreed to the 4 weeks with the lesser restrictions and knowing furlough would be extended.?
Having the lockdown tieing in with half term was absolutely rignt though.
I was thinking this yesterday. He may have gone longer initially but couldn't afford to and now he's in the place of can't really go back on his word.
See what happens today i guess.
Read somewhere that if gyms are told to shut they are going to refuse to until the government produce evidence they are not safe....interesting
I am not one to knock Boris and the government over this pandemic, they are learning as they go, the whole thing is fluid and can change by the day
BUT of course tieing it into 1/2 term was the sensible option, a strange decision not to
"...they are learning as they go..."
You 100 per cent about that?
I think pubs will just be open.
It must be a nightmare for them. Gyms and businesses are running witn reduced income and have shelved out loads of cash to comply with Covid regs.
I would have gone to the pub.
Gone to a cafe.
Ive wanted a pair of walking boots so would have gone to the shop just to check fit. However bought online instead ( not Amazon)
I would have gone into the office for one day and again this week.
Gone to get my Daughters Ipad fixed.
We can now have a two household bubble, meetings indoors of no more than 15, and outdoors of no more than 30.
Looks like the WAG made the right choice 2 weeks ago. It also makes Johnson's inactivity look even more alarming.
Shops open at their busiest times too, including mine. A 4 week lockdown would have meant me laying off my only employee.
What gives you that impression?
If I ran my business from England, I would have to close down for the next 4 weeks at least, right at my busiest and most profitable time.
I run my business from Wales and, yes, it was a pain to close down for 2 weeks but I should be back up and running on Monday.
Right. So, from your personal perspective, the WAG did the right thing. However, as far as I’m aware at least, there isn’t any genuine evidence yet as regards the effects of the 17-day firebreak lockdown and there won’t be for some time. It could have brought about a significant reduction in infections, it could have had a minor effect or it could have had no effect whatsoever. Nobody knows yet.
you could have extended Furlough **, its been extended for Nov
( ** same help has been given to the self employed, IF you business has been effected in any way due to covid )
Mark Drakeford's speech announcing the new coronavirus rules in full
Prynhawn da
When I spoke to you on Friday, I said I would report back with the outcome of the discussions we held over the weekend about the new set of national measures, which will be put in place when the firebreak comes to an end next Monday.
Ministers have been meeting throughout the weekend to consider the final details of these measures.
Our plans – and our discussions – have had to adapt to the unexpected announcement by the Prime Minister that England will start a month-long lockdown on Thursday.
I want to be absolutely clear our firebreak will end as planned – and as promised – next Monday.
But now we have had to consider the impact the English lockdown will have on the next steps we take in Wales.
We need to do this because we share a long and porous border with England.
Every day – on a non-lockdown day – almost 150,000 people criss-cross this border to work, visit family, shop, do business and travel
And every day a huge volume of goods and services flow through Wales to England and vice versa.
The English lockdown will have an impact on people who live in Wales but work in England; on companies operating in both Wales and England and on businesses trading along the border.
We are coming out of our firebreak just as England starts its month-long lockdown.
It’s really important that as we open up, Wales doesn’t become an escape for people seeking to circumvent the new tighter restrictions imposed by the Prime Minister.
We want to keep Wales safe and we want to keep the UK safe.
When the firebreak ends next Monday, there will be a new set of national measures, which will replace the previous local restrictions.
But more important than any rules, regulations or guidance, which we put in place will be the way each one of us responds to the virus.
We can introduce new laws but these will only be successful if we all of us do everything we can to reduce our exposure to the virus by keeping the contacts we have with other people to a minimum – at home; in work and when we go out.
We need to do the minimum – not the maximum, which the rules allow.
Our real strength lies in the choices we make and the actions we take together.
When we came out of lockdown in the spring, we took a cautious approach, relaxing restrictions gradually to make sure we did not lose all the gains we had worked so hard for.
We will once again take that approach – for the first two weeks after the firebreak ends, the national measures will be designed to maximise the impact of the work we have all been doing to control the spread of the virus.
We will review the situation in a fortnight’s time to see whether we can make further changes.
I will turn now to what this means.
During the firebreak, it has only been possible to see the people you live with in your own home. Now we can do more.
We all want our homes to be welcoming places but we also want them to be safe places.
One of the most common misconceptions about this virus is that we catch it from people we don’t know. But we are more likely to catch it from – and pass it on to – the people we are in closest contact with every day.
These are our family, our loved ones and the people we live with.
From next Monday, two households will be able to join together to form a bubble.
To help keep everyone as safe as possible at home, only people from your own household or your extended household can meet at home.
The rules around meeting people are perhaps the most difficult we have to consider. This is why we ask people to think about what they should do rather than what they can do.
We know that changing the rules to allow two households to join together and meet at home will not reflect the family dynamics of many people in Wales and it will not enable friends and young people to meet.
Beyond November 9, there will be new arrangements to meet indoors in other settings, such as pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants.
But because all these places will be closed in England, we are having to think further about how the hospitality sector in Wales can operate in these new circumstances. That consideration will continue this afternoon.
In relation to organised activity, up to 15 people can take part in an indoors activity and up to 30 in outdoors activity, providing all social distancing, hand hygiene and other covid safety measures are followed.
Schools will reopen as normal from next Monday.
Working from home will become even more important.
All business premises, which have been shut since October 23, will be able to reopen on November 9.
Local authority services will resume, reflecting local circumstances.
And places of worship will be able to reopen.
There will be no travel restrictions inside Wales but during the month-long lockdown in England, travel will not be permitted outside Wales without a reasonable excuse.
We are continuing to see large numbers of people falling ill with coronavirus in Wales and very sadly, too many families are losing loved ones to this awful virus.
We have a week left of this firebreak.
A week to make a real difference to the course of this virus; to prevent our NHS from being overwhelmed and to save lives.
I want to thank you for everything you have done so far.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote