Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of today's coronavirus briefing from the Welsh Government.

Economy Minister Ken Skates will be giving an update and then take questions from journalists as the country continues to live under restrictions during the 17-day firebreak, which ends on Monday.

Here's today's top coronavirus stories:

• Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend furlough until March, sources have told the BBC. The full details will be unveiled in a statement in the Commons shortly. It's not clear if it will be the full 80% currently available
• The four-week lockdown in England has started as people are told to stay at home and non-essential shops, pubs and gyms ordered to close
• The number of patients in hospital in Wales with coronavirus is now the highest since April as 1,344 people are being treated
• 54 of the 163 patients in critical care across Wales have Covid - and the occupancy rate is beyond Wales' usual 152-bed intensive care capacity
• A further 1,202 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Wales, it was reported on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 55,658. A total of 1,939 people in Wales have died with coronavirus since the start of the pandemic - with 44 new cases reported by Public Health Wales on Wednesday
• Across the UK, 25,177 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed on Wednesday, with the number of people who have tested positive reaching more than one million. Some 47, 742 people have died across the UK with Covid
• Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board, which covers Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd and Bridgend, is the worst-hit area of Wales, with 495 coronavirus deaths

Image source, Getty Images