Summary

  • First Minister Mark Drakeford says any new help for shut-down businesses from the chancellor should be UK-wide, not just England

  • Children will be allowed to play organised sport outside their county boundaries

  • Pubs in Wales could be forced to close if coronavirus cases continue to rise, the health minister says, as they have done in central Scotland

  • Children are struggling to get mental health support during the pandemic, a Welsh Parliament committee says

  • Asking schools to run breakfast clubs under Covid rules is a "step too far" for some, a headteachers' union claims

  • Two more people have died with coronavirus in Wales with 766 new confirmed cases, Public Health Wales said on Friday

  1. Goodbyepublished at 14:30 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    That's all from our live coverage of the Welsh Government's coronavirus update.

    Here's a reminder of today's main developments:

    Until our next live blog, we'll keep you updated via the BBC News website and social media channels.

    Have a good weekend.

  2. How many people have died in each part of Wales?published at 14:28 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Two more people have died with coronavirus in Wales - one in the Swansea Bay health board and the other in the Cwm Taf health board area, Public Health Wales has said.

    This map shows the number of deaths reported by each of Wales' seven health boards since the pandemic began.

    Map showing Covid-related deaths by health board area of Wales
  3. Thirty people now dead in hospitals Covid outbreakpublished at 14:20 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Thirty people are now confirmed to have died following an outbreak at three hospitals in south Wales.

    There have now been 25 deaths and 135 cases at Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, four deaths and 18 cases at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and one death and 16 cases at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

    The Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said a small number of cases - fewer than five - had also been identified at Maesteg Hospital, where a ward had been closed.

    Officials said the term "outbreak" is used when two or more cases have been identified as having potentially been transmitted within a hospital setting.

    Cwm Taf Medical Director Dr Nick Lyons said: “We are taking this extremely seriously and the stringent and robust mitigating actions which have been taken across our sites are being closely observed.

    “However, given the nature of coronavirus, there is an inevitable time delay in when we will see the positive impact of these measures.

    “This is a very difficult time for everyone, and I would like to thank all of our staff who are continuing to work incredibly hard to deal with this challenging situation.”

    Royal Glamorgan HospitalImage source, Google
    Image caption,

    Twenty-five deaths have now been linked to a coronavirus outbreak at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital

  4. Two more covid deaths and 766 more cases in Walespublished at 14:05 British Summer Time 9 October 2020
    Breaking

    Two further people have died with coronavirus in Wales bringing the total number of deaths to 1,646, Public Health Wales (PHW) has said.

    It said there had been 766 new cases meaning 29,028 people in Wales have tested positive since the start of the pandemic.

    Coronavirus
  5. Wales could 'use own powers' to stop visitors from Englandpublished at 13:41 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    The first minister said he is prepared to use his government's powers to stop people travelling to Wales from high-incidence areas in England.

    But Mark Drakeford said he would wait to hear an expected UK government announcement on Monday on potential English travel restrictions before acting.

    He said: "In the meantime, we have been preparing a set of actions that we could take, working with our lawyers.

    "And if on Monday it turns out what we are hearing doesn't happen and we're not confident the UK government is doing the right thing... then we will have to rely on our own powers, which we do have and will use."

    Mr Drakeford said it was not an issue for all people crossing the border but "a matter of people from high-incidence areas going to low-incidence areas wherever they may be, whether they're in England or Scotland or Wales."

  6. 'Yet to hear' if furlough will be available for Walespublished at 13:33 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    First Minister Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Government was "yet to hear from the Treasury the mechanism" by which any lockdown business support for England would be made available to Wales if needed.

    "We are looking forward to hearing what the chancellor has to say this afternoon," he said.

    Mr Drakeford said he was "glad" Rishi Sunak had listened to calls from the Welsh and Scottish governments and from businesses in England who had been forced to shut because of Covid-19.

  7. MP asks if new UK furlough arrangements will apply in Walespublished at 13:30 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    The chancellor will set out later more support for businesses forced to close by law, with tighter virus rules expected in England next week.

    Rishi Sunak will outline the next stage of the Job Support Scheme to help firms that "may have to close in the coming weeks or months", the Treasury says.

    Rhondda's Labour MP Chris Bryant posted on Twitter asking for clarity on whether the measures would apply in Wales, as the earlier Job Retention scheme did.

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  8. 'Many Americans would be delighted with Wales' virus levels'published at 13:27 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Many people in the USA would be "absolutely delighted" if their country's response to Covid-19 was similar to Wales', according to the first minister.

    Mark Drakeford was responding to US President Donald Trump retweeting criticism of plans for "rolling lockdowns" in Wales over the winter.

    Referring to Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted that rolling llockdowns would be America's future "under Biden", with a link to a news story reporting comments from Wales' Chief Medical Officer Frank Atherton.

    Asked about Mr Trump's social media response, Mr Drakeford said: "There are very, very many people in the United States who would be absolutely delighted if they had the level of coronavirus the we had over there, if they had the sort of health service that we have available here over there, and if they had the sort of government that conducts business on behalf of their population in the orderly and careful way that we do on behalf of the Welsh population."

    Donald Trump's retweet of Laura Ingraham about Wales lockdownsImage source, Twitter
  9. Publish data that leads to lockdowns, says Welsh Tory leaderpublished at 13:20 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Paul Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, said the Welsh Government should be much more transparent in publishing the data used to make decisions on lockdowns.

    He said ministers should make available information on case levels at a community level, not just by local council area.

    “I think we also need data around the likely causes of transmission, whether there are high transmission rates as far as travelling is concerned, as far as households are concerned, as far as work is concerned, or indeed as far as pubs and restaurants are concerned," Mr Davies told BBC Wales Today's Coronavirus Update.

    “The Welsh Government need to provide us with that data.

    “The first minister did indicate earlier on that that data is available to them.

    "Well, they need to publish that data because people need to be confident that the Welsh Government is making the right decisions and making appropriate and proportionate decisions when it comes to fighting this virus.”

    Paul Davies
  10. Travel writer has 'no further plans' to visit Wales after abusepublished at 13:11 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    A travel writer said he received "such intense abuse" when he suggested people should visit Wales that he has "no further plans" to book a stay in the country.

    Speaking on ITV's This Morning earlier this week, Simon Calder listed Gwynedd and Ceredigion, as well as Belfast and Edinburgh, as places people could go.

    But he said he then received a torrent of abuse via email and social media.

    Visit Wales said it was trying to welcome people back, external "in a way that is safe".

    In an article for The Independent, external, Mr Calder said he had replied to many of the hundreds of people who messaged on social media and understood the deep concern about the spread of coronavirus, but did not now intend to book a holiday in Wales again.

    Simon Calder
  11. 'Slight ray of hope' for hospitals outbreakpublished at 13:05 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    First Minister Mark Drakeford says coronavirus outbreaks at three hospitals in south Wales were related to the high level of the virus in the community.

    Another three deaths were reported on Thursday following outbreaks at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

    That brought the total number who have died at the three hospitals during the recent outbreak to 26.

    The first minister said: "That part of Wales has seen more coronavirus and a steeper-rising coronavirus than elsewhere.

    "The slight ray of hope is that numbers have begun to come down in the community, particularly in the RCT [Rhondda Cynon Taf] area and that people are working very hard indeed to make sure that where coronavirus enters a hospital with someone who is a positive case that everything is being done to make sure that isn't spread more widely amongst patients who are already admitted."

  12. Peacocks owner on brink of putting 24,000 jobs at riskpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Edinburgh Woollen Mills, owner of Cardiff-based Peacocks and the Jaeger clothing brand, says it plans to appoint administrators in a bid to save the business.

    The move puts 24,000 jobs at risk amid what the company described as "brutal" trading conditions.

    "Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult," said Edinburgh Woollen Mills chief executive Steve Simpson.

    The stores will continue to trade as a review of the business is carried out.

    PeacocksImage source, Getty Images
  13. Pub closures 'must be evidence-based'published at 12:53 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Pub closures in Wales will happen if they are identified as the cause of rising cases, First Minister Mark Drakeford suggested.

    He said: “The approach we’re taking in Wales is to match the action to the source of the problem.

    "So if we were to see in Wales areas of coronavirus rising because those cases were traced to hospitality businesses and that was why numbers were rising, we would of course take action to deal with that.

    “But it’s really important that actions match the cause of the problem."

    Mr Drakeford added: "When I was talking to the chief constable of Gwent and others yesterday, the evidence on the ground in that part of Wales was that the numbers that are rising are not being caused by hospitality businesses.

    “So we will take action in relation to hospitality where the evidence tells us that is the cause of the problem."

  14. Some people 'still catching up' with virus rise in Walespublished at 12:51 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Some people "are still catching up" with the fact that coronavirus is on the rise again in Wales, the first minister has warned.

    Mark Drakeford said everyone needs "to return to the things that were making a difference earlier in the year".

    He also said there was a "fringe" group of people in Welsh society who are promoting the idea the virus is a hoax.

    "But the huge majority of people in Wales, I think, still want to do the right thing," Mr Drakeford added.

    He said: "There are other people who I think relaxed their guard during the summer months, who believed because things were improving we were on an inevitable journey to the elimination of the virus.

    "Some people are still catching up with the fact that the virus is back - and in some parts of Wales back with a vengeance - and that we've all got to return to the things that were making a difference earlier in the year, because we need that difference to be made again now."

  15. Business support should be UK-wide, says Wales' first ministerpublished at 12:45 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said he is sure the UK government will want to honour the principle that any support for business in England hit by lockdown measures will be made available to the other parts of the UK.

    Chancellor Rishi Sunak will set out later on Friday more support for businesses forced to close by law, with tighter virus rules expected in England next week.

    The Treasury says he will outline the next stage of the Job Support Scheme to help firms that "may have to close in the coming weeks or months".

    Mr Drakeford told his regular Friday press conference: "We were in correspondence with the Treasury yesterday to make sure that if there is money that will go to support businesses in England that that money must be available to support all parts of the United Kingdom - Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales - as well, where we have to take action to bear down on the virus."

    Mark Drakeford
  16. Lockdown and alcohol curfew 'taking its toll'published at 12:37 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    The owner and chef of a restaurant in Pontcanna, Cardiff, says he had his "quietest night of the year" on Thursday.

    Tom Simmons said the lockdown and 22:00 curfew on serving alcohol was "taking its toll".

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  17. Call to change covid rule on birth partnerspublished at 12:29 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Member of the Senedd Bethan Sayed has added her name to a letter to Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething calling on women to be able to have their partner with them "during all aspects of birth".

    Currently, covid restrictions mean women in Wales are only allowed to have a birth partner with them during active labour., external

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  18. Children can leave lockdown areas for sportpublished at 12:24 British Summer Time 9 October 2020
    Breaking

    Children in locked-down areas will be able to travel to sporting activities outside their county boundaries, First Minister Mark Drakeford said.

    More than 2.3m people in 15 local authorities, plus the town of Llanelli, are subject to local lockdowns to combat the rise in coronavirus cases.

    The rules mean travel outside council boundaries is not allowed other than for limited exemptions like work or education.

    More than 8,000 people have signed a petition asking for the Welsh Government to make an exemption for children’s sports.

    Mr Drakeford told a briefing the rules were “a difficult balancing act”.

    “Where we can, we will do our very best to change the rules to make life easier, while the protection of health at the forefront of everything we do,” he said.

    “Last week, we changed the local restriction rules to enable people who live alone and single parents to form a temporary bubble with another household in their local authority area to prevent loneliness and isolation.

    “Now, we will intend to amend the regulations to allow children to take part in organised sporting activity if these take place outside their county boundaries

    “I know these are small changes in a national picture”

    The All Stars Gymnastics ClubImage source, The All Stars Gymnastics Club
    Image caption,

    Only 80 of the 500 All Stars gymnastics club in Rhondda Cynon Taf can currently train there

  19. More help expected for shut-down businesses in Englandpublished at 12:18 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    The chancellor will set out later more financial support for businesses forced to close by law when virus rules are tightened in England.

    Rishi Sunak will outline the next stage of the Job Support Scheme to help firms that "may have to close in the coming weeks or months", the Treasury says.

    An update on restrictions, which could see pubs and restaurants shut in the worst-affected areas of England, is due on Monday.

    Regional leaders have called for more help for struggling firms.

    PubImage source, PA Media
  20. First minister about to speakpublished at 12:14 British Summer Time 9 October 2020

    Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford is due to give a coronavirus briefing at 12:15 BST.

    We'll give you the main updates here - you can also watch the proceedings on BBC One Wales, on the BBC iPlayer, and via the live video link at the top of this page.

    Mark Drakeford