That brings our coverage of the coronavirus briefing to a close. Here's a reminder of the main points:

• Case rates in Wales are continuing to fall, with the national rate now 160 cases per 100,000 people, down by 70 since last week.
• Areas of the south Wales valleys have seen significant falls in their rates, with one-time UK chart topper Merthyr Tydfil's falling by half to around 330 per 100,000.
• Health Minister Vaughan Gething has stressed that people must understand the difference between Covid and flu saying our bodies "don't know how to fight it yet". A "very sobering" 250 deaths were reported in the first two weeks of November, he said.
• He said it was still too early to know what the rules will be for Christmas and people should not expect anything "definitive" for a few weeks. "It won't be like normal," he warned.
• Covid vaccines will not be compulsory in Wales, Mr Gething has said. His statement comes as the Moderna vaccine in the USA reports initial findings of nearly 95% protection against the virus.

Thank you for joining us. Have a good afternoon.

In case you missed this, the education minister said on Sunday secondary school pupils in Wales could be compelled to wear face coverings.

Kirsty Williams said the Welsh Government was examining new scientific evidence about the spread of coronavirus among schoolchildren.

She has told BBC Wales they are investigating what other measures can be put in place to make schools more "Covid secure".

Pupils in some council areas already have to wear coverings in communal areas such as corridors but do not have to during lessons at present.

Image source, Getty Images

Shoppers have returned in droves to the streets of the Welsh capital in a rush to get Christmas shopping done following the end of lockdown.

One woman said she was getting it all done now in case of shop closures in the event of a return to lockdown measures.

But Public Health Wales said they were worried about the impact busy queues and shops could have.

There have been two new deaths from coronavirus reported, taking the total number to 2,209.

They were in Hywel Dda and Powys health board areas.

A further 892 cases were reported to Public Health Wales, taking the total to 67,106.

Image source, Getty Images

Health Minister Vaughan Gething says he “doesn't plan” to make Covid vaccines mandatory in Wales, when they become available.

Speaking to journalists, he said as health minister he had never tried to mandate a vaccine, and wouldn't want to do so with the Covid vaccines.

“This is really about wanting to have safe and effective vaccines that are available for the public”, he said.

“I do not expect and I do not plan to try and mandate those."

“I’m interested in people understanding the evidence for the safety of the vaccine, then making the right choice to protect them, their family and their community” he added.

Ministers should be working to ensure relatives can support loved ones in care homes “as much as possible”, Plaid Cymru health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said today.

He said he had received a number of poignant e-mails from constituents expressing their concerns at a lack of contact with relatives due to coronavirus.

Fast turn-around tests should be rolled out for care home visitors, he said.

Asked whether visitors should be designated as key workers in order to gain priority access to tests, Mr ap Iorwerth added: “We would have to look at whether that’s possible for everyone, but certainly where there is a welfare issue it should be identified.

“Dementia patients for example, their families want to see them often; people with memory loss, people with cognitive difficulties, fear what happens if they are not able to see their loved ones for an extended period of time.”

Image source, Getty Images

It is still too early to have a definitive view of Christmas arrangements in Wales, says the health minister.

"You shouldn't expect there to be a definitive statement in the next few days or weeks," Vaughan Gething told a press conference.

"We have quite a long way to go, actually, in the course of the pandemic we've been dealing with before we get to the Christmas period."

He noted that other faiths had seen their festivals limited by Covid restrictions, most recently Diwali.

“Whatever happens with Christmas and the festive season this year, it won't be like normal.

"We're still discussing issues about where we can get to with other governments across UK on travel, and we're still looking at the evidence about what we might be able to do around contact but it does rely on the picture that we'll see in the developing evidence over the coming weeks.”

He said recent pictures of people not social distancing in long queues while shopping meant "if that continues we really will face difficult choices".

Mr Gething added the trend for cases reducing "can easily reverse".

"This is a highly infectious virus that thrives on human contact.”

Vaughan Gething has rejected claims that people are dying in Welsh care homes because Covid test results are taking too long to come back.

He said it was “an assertion, not borne out by all of the facts".

“We know there are challenges in the turnaround times for testing in care homes. We’ve been clear and upfront about that. We’re now starting to see an improving picture when it comes to Lighthouse lab turnaround,” the health minister told journalists.

Latest figures from Public Health Wales show around 20% of Lighthouse lab tests for organisations - mostly care homes - were processed within 24 hours and 82% within 48 hours.

Mr Gething said Lighthouse labs were the responsibility of the UK government.

The health minister said it was not just the test that kept someone safe which was why “there’s so much importance placed on infection prevention”.

“We’ve been helping with that throughout this pandemic by making available free PPE.”

Mr Gethting said a review on transmission within health care settings would report within the next few days and he would have more to say then.

“We’ll be clear if there is any further action to be taken to help provide people with the assurance I know they’re looking for.”

Asked when the WG would publish weekly data for outbreaks in care homes, Mr Gething replied that some information was already in the public domain via PHW and the Care Inspectorate. He said he was examining what was already published to “make sure there’s a regular provision of information.”

“I accept this is an entirely reasonable thing for people to want to see…whether there are new infections in care homes,” he added.

Mr Gething said officials were developing a way to provide the information in a transparent way, saying: “I’m expecting the issue to be resolved and then to have provided clearly and transparently as soon as possible.”

Image source, Getty Images

Health Minister Vaughan Gething says a "different approach to testing in care homes" could be possible to provide quicker results.

The Welsh Government is looking at the different types of tests available "in all parts of our system" and to be available "more broadly" across the country.

Mr Gething said investment has been made in Public Health Wales and there was further capacity in the UK government-run Lighthouse labs where "there's now an improving picture".

He added the government now had access to the new rapid lateral flow devices as well "but we need to understand the accuracy of those tests".

"I think it'd be wrong to see this just in terms of one particular issue in one area without seeing the broader picture on how we utilise all the tests are available to us", he said.

"And that's where I want to get to - to have that broader settled picture which will definitely include the potential for a different deal on visiting in care homes.

"But the work isn't finished just yet, when it is I'll make that clear in public, and I'm sure there'll be lots of people who will be looking forward to any decision we make there but I think the clarity and the whole picture is really important."

Image source, Getty Images

It's "still too early to tell” whether stricter measures might be needed in areas with high Covid cases, said Health Minister Vaughan Gething.

Speaking during Monday’s briefing, Mr Gething said while there had been a “sharp reduction” in cases across Wales and that was “good news”, it would still take another few weeks to see the “full impact” of the firebreak.

“We can't have a definitive view at this point in time”, he said.

“We’ll need to see how much further those infection rates fall before we make any choices about whether we need to do anything differently, whether that's locally or nationally.”

But Mr Gething added that his preference was to have a “common set of national measures” and an “agreed way” of behaving to try and reduce the amount of contact between people.

A survey suggests more people are only leaving their homes in Wales for essential trips.

The online panel of around 500 people, for the Welsh Government, suggested 60% were only leaving home for essential journeys.

This is the highest proportion since June.

Around three quarters of people said they continued to try to keep two metres away from others when out.

The survey also found 81% of people thought the NHS was doing a good job in dealing with Covid-19.

It uses Ipsos Mori’s Global Advisor online platform to collect information from adults aged 16 to 74 and these findings were for 6-9 November.

Image source, PA Media

Health Minister Vaughan Gething warned there was still so much not known about coronavirus and its long-term effects, stressing that its death rate seemed to be higher than flu.

He told the press briefing: "We don’t know if any people have immunity to coronavirus once they’ve had it or how long that immunity could last. There’s evidence some people have caught coronavirus twice.

"Many people who have recovered from coronavirus are continuing to experience a range of health problems – this is known as long Covid.

"The World Health Organisation’s figures suggest 15% of people who are infected with coronavirus will develop a severe illness, which requires oxygen therapy and 5% of people will become critically ill.

"This is higher than that seen for flu.

"And sadly the death rate from coronavirus appears to be higher than flu."

He said research by Imperial College London suggested an overall mortality rate for coronavirus of 1.15%. Seasonal flu mortality is usually around 0.1%, World Health Organisation figures say.

More than 250 deaths were recorded from Covid in the first two weeks of November, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.

Talking about the pattern of deaths, he told Monday's media briefing: "There was a large peak in the first wave and it would appear we are now heading towards another, large peak this winter.

"This underlines why we introduced the firebreak.

"This is a very sobering number. But of course, these are not just numbers – these are people who leave behind lives and loved ones.

"There will be more than 250 families across Wales who are mourning their loss."

Public Health Wales figures show a rolling daily average of 22 deaths currently.

"I hope these figures help explain why we are taking coronavirus so seriously and why we – like governments around the world – are taking action to protect people’s health," said Mr Gething.

Image source, Reuters

Health Minister Vaughan Gething has highlighted the importance of people understanding the differences between Covid-19 and flu viruses.

He told the press briefing: "Some people believe the risks from coronavirus have been exaggerated and others believe the action we are taking is wrong."

Mr Gething said people were familiar with flu, there was a flu vaccine and almost a century of experience in treating and managing it.

"We also have some immunity to the flu viruses, which are circulating because we’ve seen these before over many winter seasons," he told journalists.

"We are not familiar with coronavirus. Our bodies don’t know how to fight it yet.

"Unlike flu, we do not have a vaccine for coronavirus – although there are many in development – and we do not have almost a century of experience in treating and managing coronavirus."

Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest there have been more than twice as many deaths from Covid-19 than flu and pneumonia in Wales up to the end of August.

Merthyr Tydfil, which had the highest rates in the UK just over a week ago, has now halved its rates to around 330 cases per 100,000 people, the health minister has said.

Vaughan Gething said other areas of the south Wales valleys, including Rhondda Cynon Taf and Blaenau Gwent, which had also had high rates, had seen their rates fall to fewer than 300 cases per 100,000.

He said the "autumn wave" of cases had been sharply rising since the end of August and had been so much higher than in the spring because of the availability of mass testing in the community.

"In the spring, we were only able to test people in hospitals and care homes," he told the press briefing.

The downward trend for cases in Wales is continuing to fall, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has told the coronavirus press briefing.

He said the case rate in Wales was now 160 per 100,000 people, a reduction of 70 from a week ago.

The latest figures on Covid-19 case rates suggest problems are easing in earlier hotspot areas of the south Wales Valleys.

Merthyr Tydfil still has the highest cases per 100,000 people in Wales but it has fallen to 336.5 from a peak of 679 at the end of October.

Infections amongst students have dropped in Cardiff, helping to reduce the city's case rate considerably.

Public Health Wales (PHW) is still reporting deaths at a daily average of 22 across the country.

We can use different measures for looking at deaths over the pandemic in Wales.

The total according to PHW - counting only confirmed cases, mostly in hospitals - is 2,207.

When measures of registered deaths, used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are used, the figures are higher.

This includes 2,345 excess deaths - these are the deaths above and beyond what we would expect to see so far this year, compared to a five-year average.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is starting his first day working in self-isolation from Downing Street after having contact with a Conservative MP who later tested positive for Covid.

The PM said he felt "great".

In a video on Monday, external, Mr Johnson urged others to "follow the rules" if contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

On Thursday, Mr Johnson spent about 35 minutes with Tory MP Lee Anderson, who lost his sense of taste the next day.

The BBC has been told the prime minister was contacted by a clinician at NHS Test and Trace, who had spoken to Mr Anderson about his movements and decided their meeting counted as close enough contact to require self-isolation.

Mr Johnson, who was admitted to intensive care with coronavirus seven months ago, has maintained the pair followed all social distancing advice during the appointment.

Four other Tory MPs - South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher, Warrington South MP Andy Carter, Great Grimsby MP Lia Nici and Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith - are also isolating following the meeting.

Image source, Lee Anderson MP/Facebook

The briefing is being headed by Health Minister Vaughan Gething, who will speak from 12:15 GMT.

You can watch from the live link at the top of this page, on BBC One Wales or on BBC iPlayer.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Monday's Welsh Government coronavirus briefing.

Here's a round-up of the main news so far today:

• A probation officer has spoken out about the extra strains monitoring high-risk offenders from home poses during the coronavirus pandemic
• People struggling with their mental health during the pandemic "do not feel entitled to seek help" while others suffer with Covid-19, the mental health charity Mind Cymru has said, after finding a third of adults failed to get help because they did not think they deserved it.
• The pandemic has had some positive effects for Wales - I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here has started its 2020 run, not in the Australian sunshine, but the rather chillier climes of Gwrych Castle in Abergele, north Wales.