Crowds banned from all sporting events in Wales for foreseeable future

[Dorcus]

Isn't the highlighted word above the main one, and means that until it is proven to be more than suggested, that the additional measures are the right thing to do? Plus the more prevelant it is, the more chance of it getting to people who are vulnerable.

And what about the long term effects of people who get Covid? Millions more people getting it could yet again put a massive strain on the NHS further down the line.

Doing nothing and just letting the new variant rip through the country means we end up with god knows how many NHS staff (as well as all the other service people) having to isolate, meaning even more reduction in services and even more deaths.

I couldn't care less about minor inconveniences like not being able to chat at the bar, having to order a beer from my table, or not being able to watch the game at the stadium, considering the severe stress the NHS staff have been, and are being put under, literally risking their lives, having no rest/time off, not seeing their families etc.

Well said!

[xsnaggle]

Isn't the highlighted word above the main one, and means that until it is proven to be more than suggested, that the additional measures are the right thing to do? Plus the more prevelant it is, the more chance of it getting to people who are vulnerable.

And what about the long term effects of people who get Covid? Millions more people getting it could yet again put a massive strain on the NHS further down the line.

Doing nothing and just letting the new variant rip through the country means we end up with god knows how many NHS staff (as well as all the other service people) having to isolate, meaning even more reduction in services and even more deaths.

I couldn't care less about minor inconveniences like not being able to chat at the bar, having to order a beer from my table, or not being able to watch the game at the stadium, considering the severe stress the NHS staff have been, and are being put under, literally risking their lives, having no rest/time off, not seeing their families etc.

Or conversely, if it isn't suggested that it is severe then don't act as if it is!!!!

[dml1954]

I am a shielder due to having a weakened immune system and have been acting responsibly and very carefully for the last 18 months. I would not put myself in a situation where I felt it likely that I would get the virus because most likely that would be it for me. If people like me think that the way the Welsh Government is going about this is wrong, then Drakeford really has got problems.

[Citizen's Nephew]

I am a shielder due to having a weakened immune system and have been acting responsibly and very carefully for the last 18 months. I would not put myself in a situation where I felt it likely that I would get the virus because most likely that would be it for me. If people like me think that the way the Welsh Government is going about this is wrong, then Drakeford really has got problems.

100% agree with you. I feel the same way.

[delmbox]

Up until a few weeks ago, no one actually knew that the so called parties had even taken place, whilst people have been ignoring the ground regulations and guidance since stadiums reopened last May.

Ah sorry I should have put "from now on" in brackets before mentioning the parties, will be clearer next time

[lisvaneblue]

First para: Do you think a number that just about fits into the Millennium Stadium out of a whole country is a reasonable majority?
He seems to be right on this one. What are the benefits?

Second para: As I have previously said, with forecasts as they are (and sport/theatres and pubs closing on their on accord though illness) isn’t it better to be cautious than cross your fingers. This is public health, not a bet on a horse.

to answer the first para...there was a very very small majority that voted for Wales to have devolved government, but that's democracy. Same with the democratic Brexit vote in Wales.

Second Para...I'm not talking about crossing fingers. There are already plenty of measures already in place designed to protect us. Adding more isn't necessarily going make things better. In the past we have been the most cautious of the home nations yet we have not done any better, in fact, on many measures we have done worse.

Also some of the latest restrictions are just daft..Written into law that a a worker can be fined £60 for going to work when they could work from home, and the employer fined £1,000. What about the many, and there are many, who live in Wales but work in England, plus of course the English that travel to Wales for work. Drakeford says the rules still apply, but of course they don't in England.
Even the TUC complained to Drakeford about this naive law.

Then the rule of six...No scientific evidence for it. It was something Michael Gove made up a year or so ago. But what an impact on the hospitality sector.

Same with football attendance ...cant watch CCFC at home, but can attend away games...

All poorly thought through impositions on our lives

[Citizen's Nephew]

to answer the first para...there was a very very small majority that voted for Wales to have devolved government, but that's democracy. Same with the democratic Brexit vote in Wales.

Second Para...I'm not talking about crossing fingers. There are already plenty of measures already in place designed to protect us. Adding more isn't necessarily going make things better. In the past we have been the most cautious of the home nations yet we have not done any better, in fact, on many measures we have done worse.

Also some of the latest restrictions are just daft..Written into law that a a worker can be fined £60 for going to work when they could work from home, and the employer fined £1,000. What about the many, and there are many, who live in Wales but work in England, plus of course the English that travel to Wales for work. Drakeford says the rules still apply, but of course they don't in England.
Even the TUC complained to Drakeford about this naive law.

Then the rule of six...No scientific evidence for it. It was something Michael Gove made up a year or so ago. But what an impact on the hospitality sector.

Same with football attendance ...cant watch CCFC at home, but can attend away games...

All poorly thought through impositions on our lives

Good post. Can't argue with any of that (not that I want to!).

[LeningradCowboy]

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-...-on-boxing-day

Wales’ largest ever Christmas lights trail is to close early due to covid restrictions.

[Tuerto]

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-...-on-boxing-day

Wales’ largest ever Christmas lights trail is to close early due to covid restrictions.

Not really a surprise, is it?

[LeningradCowboy]

https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245037

Drop the limit on outdoor gatherings and allow community events to continue

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Since the Brexit referendum I'm convinced that Drakeford believes he heads a 'benevolent autocracy' rather than a ' democracy'. At that time the population of Wales voted to leave by a reasonable majority Did he support our decision.?..no. He told us we were wrong.

I'm seeing that same autocratic attitude again with Covid rules and regulations. He says the Senedd follows the science, and in Wales there is a technical advisory group that gives such advice. Most of their findings are openly published but nothing has been since 10th December.
So a lot of decisions by him having a profound influence on our lives and the backup evidence, if there is any, is being kept from us.
Quite concerning.

With regard Brexit, I haven't yet seen any evidence to suggest the electorate got it right.

[Tuerto]

Is Drakeford doing anything differently to the majority of European countries who are in a similar situation to us? It's a genuine question. It would be interesting to make a comparison if that was at all possible.

[life on mars]

You read about long term harm due to a weaker variant isn't that also the risk to any respitorty diseases, we don't lockdown for them we cope and get them treated ???

[goats]

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-...-on-boxing-day

Wales’ largest ever Christmas lights trail is to close early due to covid restrictions.

That’s nice of mr Drakeford, my kids really enjoyed it and I had a flashback to the raves of 1992…..

[lisvaneblue]

With regard Brexit, I haven't yet seen any evidence to suggest the electorate got it right.

The electorate got it right in their eyes not yours.

[lisvaneblue]

You read about long term harm due to a weaker variant isn't that also the risk to any respitorty diseases, we don't lockdown for them we cope and get them treated ???

The head of Health Analysis at the UK Office of National Statistics has accused Drakeford of lying to the Welsh people over the severity of the omicron variant. Jamie Jenkins, the head, who lives in Wales, reckons Drakeford is taking us for fools when he says that 'if you have never had coronavirus and you get omicron the evidence is that is probably as severe as Delta'

Drakeford has used this as the reason to introduce new draconian rules in Wales but the evidence does not support what he says.

Lord help us whilst we have this man in charge

[goats]

The head of Health Analysis at the UK Office of National Statistics has accused Drakeford of lying to the Welsh people over the severity of the omicron variant. Jamie Jenkins, the head, who lives in Wales, reckons Drakeford is taking us for fools when he says that 'if you have never had coronavirus and you get omicron the evidence is that is probably as severe as Delta'

Drakeford has used this as the reason to introduce new draconian rules in Wales but the evidence does not support what he says.

Lord help us whilst we have this man in charge

Doing it just to be different from Westminster…..so blimmim obvious

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Doing it just to be different from Westminster…..so blimmim obvious

Surely it's just a case of a different government acting differently on the advice it gets?

[dml1954]

The head of Health Analysis at the UK Office of National Statistics has accused Drakeford of lying to the Welsh people over the severity of the omicron variant. Jamie Jenkins, the head, who lives in Wales, reckons Drakeford is taking us for fools when he says that 'if you have never had coronavirus and you get omicron the evidence is that is probably as severe as Delta'

Drakeford has used this as the reason to introduce new draconian rules in Wales but the evidence does not support what he says.

Lord help us whilst we have this man in charge

This has just reinforced my opinion that the poorly thought out measures just introduced by Drakeford have absolutely nothing to do with Covid itself and the severity of the new variant and are just designed partly to try to force people to get the booster quickly but mainly to protect the NHS which is struggling to deal with the existing admissions for usual winter diseases and the backlog of other cases caused by the earlier more serious Covid variants. Whilst the latter objective obviously has merit in respect of taking pressure off NHS staff, this is a slippery slope as every year the NHS faces exactly the same pressures, pandemic or not. Cue Mr Drakeford every December trying to introduce similar measures to restrict population movement and lifestyles, just because the NHS is busy.

[UNDERHILL1927]

Surely it's just a case of a different government acting differently on the advice it gets?

Drakeford made the decision to go further than Westminster and earlier, right at the beginning of the pandemic. He sadly seems too stubborn to go back on this decision and has made a rod for his own back now. He always has to go one further than our cousins over the border.

At the beginning of the pandemic I saw some benefit of this, now he's just too stubborn to adapt and change his stance.

[lisvaneblue]

Surely it's just a case of a different government acting differently on the advice it gets?

Maybe so, but his decisions have a big impact on peoples' lives and on businesses in Wales. He seems to do things on a whim just to be different. He talks about protecting the NHS when the NHS exists to protect us.

I looked the data on the number of Covid patients in hospital in Wales over recent months. 18th December is the latest shown on the PHE website so I list the numbers for the 18th of each month from August:

Aug 162, Sept 506, Oct 590, Nov 547, Dec 345. Why the new measures?

[dml1954]

And now we have the final nail in Drakefords metaphorical ‘coffin’. Scientists are now advising the Premier League NOT to close stadiums due to the emerging data on Omicron and the lack of evidence that Covid is spread easily in outdoor settings. How is Drakeford going to get out of this without looking stupid ?

[Pearcey3]

Drakeford needs to do a upturn ASAP. If he dies then the damage will be minimal.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

And now we have the final nail in Drakefords metaphorical ‘coffin’. Scientists are now advising the Premier League NOT to close stadiums due to the emerging data on Omicron and the lack of evidence that Covid is spread easily in outdoor settings. How is Drakeford going to get out of this without looking stupid ?

I can imagine a large percentage of Welsh folk will take the opposite view - look at those buffoons in England while Mark Drakeford is keeping us safe in Wales. Sadly, along with matters non-Covid as well, it is all bout being 'not England'. The less opportunities given to the Welsh Assembly to act differrently, the stronger the Toytown Govt. becomes.

[superflyblues]

The head of Health Analysis at the UK Office of National Statistics has accused Drakeford of lying to the Welsh people over the severity of the omicron variant. Jamie Jenkins, the head, who lives in Wales, reckons Drakeford is taking us for fools when he says that 'if you have never had coronavirus and you get omicron the evidence is that is probably as severe as Delta'

Drakeford has used this as the reason to introduce new draconian rules in Wales but the evidence does not support what he says.

Lord help us whilst we have this man in charge

Except Drakeford hasn’t ‘used this as the reason’. There were many factors that fed into the decision. Obviously.