the welsh government has decided to
impose a 16-day lockdown
in every part of wales to regain control
of the pandemic
the first minister labour's mark
drakeford said that without this action
the nhs in wales would probably not be
able to cope
in the weeks and months ahead but
there's been dismay and some anger
in those parts of wales where the number
of cases is still
relatively low well the lock down there
will start at six pm
on friday evening and people will be
told to stay at home
unless they're key workers or can't work
from home
pubs restaurants hotels all
non-essential shops will close
now primary schools will reopen after
half term
but only year seven and eight in
secondary schools will be able to go
back all other pupils will be learning
from home
exercising outdoors will be permitted
parks will stay open
as will child care facilities and take
away food services
will be allowed gatherings indoors and
outdoors with people
not in the same household will not be
allowed but adults who are living alone
will be able to mix in their support
bubble
let's start with our wales correspondent
howell griffith who has the latest for
us
stay at home three words that brought
life to a standstill in spring
now an instruction for wales in autumn
this cafe bar in cardiff will close the
government says people must be confined
to the houses again for a fortnight
to stop the virus spreading a fire break
period
is our best chance of regaining control
of the virus and avoiding a much longer
and much more damaging
national lockdown the window we have
in within which to act is only a small
one
many had anticipated the news but it's
split
opinion dewey and nuria are divided well
what
concerns me is that i splunk all
proportion is that
it doesn't seem to make a blind
difference of these lockdowns it has to
be done it has to be done because i've
been looking at the numbers closely
and they have gone up really quickly
elliot's the manager here he's
frustrated that in summer the government
was encouraging people to go out
now it's shutting them in again we've
had many more customers than we would
have expected through august coming in
uh in a time where a virus is spreading
and i think it's
irresponsible on the part of the
government and it's led to this now
we have to suffer after we follow the
rules across wales halloween is
cancelled bonfire night too
but while coronavirus case numbers are
high here in cardiff
over in pembrokeshire there are far
fewer signs of a second wave
and questions of the why here too they
must shut down
i don't think it's fair that we're being
locked down with with the rest of wales
and we have very low numbers
we've all been very careful in these
small rural communities
and we've just done everything as
carefully and safely as we can
the welsh government warns it must act
to stop hospitals from being overwhelmed
last week the number of covid related
patients rose by 50
this new intensive care unit will open
in the lockdown
they desperately want to avoid
cancelling elective care
kind of preparing for the worst you know
we've dusted back off our surge plans
we've got all the spare ventilators back
out the cupboard
but i think it's with a heavy heart and
we kind of think
we can't last time we turned the whole
hospital off pretty much every spare
member of staff was brought to itu and
we trained
well they're busy now they're busy in
theaters doing operations we don't have
that luxury again
businesses will need a lifeline too this
brewery has 160 pubs
but they didn't all survive the first
lockdown
a lot of beer has just gone down the
drain you know tragically about 100
people have lost their jobs
now the boss is worried this short sharp
shutdown may be followed by several more
this is like
sharpening a pencil if you keep
sharpening the pencil in the end there's
nothing left
you know you can't just keep chipping
away at an industry knocking it down and
expecting it to get back up again
in you know in great shape every time we
lose turnover we lay off people we have
to close pubs sell
pubs the business gets smaller and
weaker and that will be not just
us it'll be affecting everybody in this
sector a fire break
can only slow not extinguish the danger
lives and livelihoods depend on its
success
we'll talk to howell again in a moment
uh just to recap the new lockdown
measures
will come into force across wales on
friday evening at six o'clock
and if we compare infection rates in
wales with the other home nations the
figures for last week
look like this they show that northern
ireland was in fact the worst affected
with 385 cases per 100
000 people followed by england and
scotland and then
wales with the lowest rate so with those
figures in mind let's go back to cardiff
and talk to howell um given that wales
is number four
on that list howell um what is the welsh
government's
logic and rationale for this uh action
that they're now taking
well they would argue that that is
actually a symptom of their success or
at least an indicator that their very
very cautious approach
is slowing things down slightly more
within wales you remember back in the
summer
bars and pubs and restaurants opened
much later here
than across the border in england
likewise shops were slower to open
travel restrictions were in place for
longer in wales than other parts of the
uk so
it's an abundance of caution uh that
informs you about the welsh approach
and why wales is the first to go back
into a full
lockdown now while the welsh labor
government can choose its own measures
it can't fund this fire break alone and
there is this evening still some tension
between the welsh labor government
and the treasury now the fortnight
covers two months
and two different job support schemes
the old furlough
and the new one in november we
understand the welsh government wanted
the treasury
to fast forward the new one to make it
easier for businesses
but the rules will stay in place and
that according to our labor government
does create room for confusion
and may be a crack for some companies to
fall down
it's pledging 300 million pounds of its
own money to help support businesses
but many here very worried not just
about the next two weeks
but for the next few months and the fear
that this may be the first of many
locked
uh mini lockdowns to come how will many
thanks again hello griffith there for us
at the center
in cardiff bay