The inquiry is now breaking for lunch, so here’s a quick reminder of what we’ve learned this morning from Wales' pandemic health minister Vaughan Gething:

• The now common theme of WhatsApp messages is broached from the get-go as Gething says he does not have access to any of his messages from during the pandemic period
• He says it is a “matter of real embarrassment” that these messages could not be recovered after being wiped during mobile phone maintenance in 2022
• The inquiry has heard that the Welsh government was not represented at the first five Sage meetings
• Gething also says how Cobra meetings were “very strange”, with limits on the number of representatives allowed in the room, and briefing papers given just 15 minutes before
• He adds that then-prime minister Boris Johnson was “scatty, incoherent and rambling” when he lead the Cobra meetings
• Gething admits the Welsh government was underprepared for the pandemic – leading to PPE shortages – but says this was the case across the UK
• We've also heard from Gething that the Welsh government only had its first formal discussion of Covid on 25 February and that it only found out on 20 March that the UK government would not be the primary decision maker in the pandemic

We'll keep updating you with latest news and analysis throughout the next hour while those at the inquiry enjoy their sandwiches.

Gething will be back on the stand this afternoon to give more evidence as the inquiry enters its final week in Wales.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Steve Duffy
BBC Wales

If the Welsh government had known earlier it would be in charge of its own Covid decision-making, ministers would probably have started working on its policies earlier, according to Gething.

The Welsh government only found out on 20 March, three days before the eventual UK-wide lockdown, that the UK government would not be the primary decision maker in the pandemic, using civil contingency powers.

Instead it would fall to the Welsh government, using public health powers.

“Through March, even an extra day or two would have made a difference to your preparation and ability to deliver as well,” says Gething.

“Once the choice was made, we just frankly had to get on with it. We knew there was no time to delay.”

Mr Gething says by 20 March ministers were considering a Welsh lockdown, even if they couldn’t have moved together as four nations.

Daniel Davies
BBC Wales political correspondent

Vaughan Gething says a record of the first Welsh government cabinet meeting where Covid was discussed is wrong.

Earlier hearings of the inquiry looked at unpublished minutes of the meeting, which shows Gething telling the cabinet there had been no imported cases of Covid to the UK on 25 February 2020.

But Gething insists to the inquiry that “there is no prospect” he said such a thing because there had been multiple cases by then.

He repeats the line in his written witness statement.

When grilled about it, Wales' pandemic health minister says: “I plainly made an error there counsel because in fact there had been plenty of imported cases by then.”

What was actually meant, there were - as yet - no cases at that time in Wales. A decision was later taken to remove reference to this from the minutes completely.

The inquiry is shown an email from First Minister Mark Drakeford saying the line should be left out of the published version of the minutes, which it eventually was.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

'Difficult and significant week for Gething'published at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March

12:06 GMT 11 March

Gareth Lewis
Political Editor, BBC Wales

Gething has already faced accusations at this module of the inquiry that he’d deleted WhatsApp messages.

Before it began he’d said: "Everything I have got I have provided."

It’s now clear what caveat is contained in those words. Mr Gething himself described the fact that some messages had been wiped when he changed phones as an “embarrassment”.

Before the end of the day, the bereaved families in particular may well use other words. It’s a difficult and significant week for Gething.

He faces the inquiry today, and on Thursday voting closes to become next Welsh Labour leader… he’s up against Education Minister Jeremy Miles who appears here tomorrow.

Daniel Davies
BBC Wales political correspondent

Covid was not a top priority in the Welsh Government in January 2020, Vaughan Gething tells the inquiry.

He is being asked whether he talked to his staff and advisers about how Wales would stop the virus spreading in mid to late-January 2020, two months before the first lockdown.

There were conversations at that time about what might happen, Gething says, but at that point the risk was considered to be “low”.

He says: “The questions you ask, around were these conversations happening? Yes. Were they the top priority? No. Are they things that grow each week? Yes. They become more and more important and we then find out how well those preparations rub up against reality.”

The Welsh Government’s cabinet had its first formal discussion about Covid on 25 February – a month after the chief medical officer told the first minister there was a significant risk of the disease arriving in Wales.

But Gething says cabinet ministers were already aware he was making weekly statements about it and attending Cobra meetings.

Steve Duffy
BBC Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Gething accepts there was inadequate preparation for the wrong pandemic.

Government planning involved prepping for a flu pandemic - and because Covid was a different virus "we went through PPE at a much faster rate” and “some of the items weren't fit for purpose".

Gething told the inquiry “the preparation we thought we had didn't stand up as well as we thought it would in those early weeks”, adding there was a “bridge to be gapped” between expectation and reality.

"So, in hindsight we weren't as well prepared as we could have been and we weren’t as well prepared as we thought we were – and that’s not just in Wales but the rest of the UK," Wales' pandemic health minister says.

Asked if Welsh government was too slow in early 2020 to recognise the pandemic emergency, Gething says “the full recognition of the multi-agency nature of the response which was required” came in the middle of February.

“But still not understanding the scale of that, that still comes later,” he says.

“When it comes to the middle of February onwards, I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Welsh government is taking this seriously and having to move resources around rapidly while still dealing with what’s happening in front of us with every day business.”

Gething says large parts of the normal NHS in Wales being “switched off” from 13 March 2020 was a significant and “extraordinary intervention”.

Daniel Davies
BBC Wales political correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “scatty, incoherent and rambling” when he chaired Cobra meetings, Gething says.

He says the UK government emergency planning meetings chaired by Matt Hancock and Dominic Rabb were “much better run”.

“I think that’s undeniable,” he says.

“But having the prime minister chair the meeting and knowing that this is a choice that can and will bind the UK government really does matter.”

He says it was “frustrating” that papers for meetings were sometimes only shared 15 minutes before meetings started.

Gething now shares some insights into how the Welsh government was involved with the scientific advisory body Sage and the UK Government’s top-level Cabinet Office briefing group Cobra.

The Welsh government was not represented at the first five meetings of Sage, the inquiry hears.

Gething says that it would have been “helpful” had they been directly in the room, but would not have necessarily “changed the advice or conclusions of Sage”.

Gething also shares his frustration with the organisation around Cobra meetings.

He describes them as a “very strange way of doing business” as he only received the papers a few minutes beforehand and these were physically removed straight afterwards.

Only the chief medical officer and an official were allowed to attend with him, which Gething says was unhelpful in terms of coordinating decision-making, adding it would have been “more sensible to have a wider cast list”.

Gething also says that the prime minister should have been at Cobra meetings earlier on.

Since the start of the pandemic, 10,271 people in Wales have died due to Covid - with a further 2,299 deaths listing Covid as a contributing factor.

• The first confirmed coronavirus case was on 28 February 2020 in Swansea from a patient who had travelled back from holiday in Italy.
• The first death in Wales from Covid occurred on 15 March 2020 in a 68-year-old Wrexham hospital patient.
• The first wave peaked with 73 deaths on a single day in April 2020.
• Covid's second wave in the winter of 2020-21 brought 83 deaths on 11 January 2021 alone - the worst single day of the pandemic in Wales.
• Nearly a fifth (17%) of all Covid deaths registered have occurred in care homes.

Straight off the bat, inquiry counsel Tom Poole KC asks Gething about his use of informal methods of communication, including WhatsApp.

He agrees it was prohibited to make decisions using WhatsApp, but adds it was never his understanding it was prohibited to have a discussion about things that way.

He says WhatsApp “essentially became a substitute for conversations you had in the corridor" and he was in several WhatsApp groups with other ministers.

When being quizzed about missing WhatsApp messages from during the pandemic period, Gething explains that he handed in his Senedd mobile phone in 2022 for maintenance, which was when the messages were wiped.

He said he thought these would be backed up, but after several meetings with tech support teams, was unable to recover them.

“I certainly do regret that all these messages are not available to you,” he said, adding it was “a matter of real embarrassment”.

Just to add, our live stream of the inquiry is now up and running - thanks for your patience while we got this sorted.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

First to face the inquiry this week is Vaughan Gething, at the start of a pivotal week for him politically as he'll know this weekend if he's Wales' next first minister.

Wales' pandemic health minister is being quizzed all day today about his handling during Covid.

• If you recall, Gething led Wales' health response for the first two waves of the pandemic before he became economy minister in May 2021
• The inquiry has already heard that Gething automatically deleted WhatsApp messages
• Previous evidence has claimed Covid wasn't a top priority for the Welsh government in early 2020 and ministers were unsure about their own Covid rules
• Gething was at the centre of a row during Covid's first wave, after The Sun newspaper pictured him eating chips outside on a bench with his family in May 2020 when guidance at the time said you couldn't

Just to say, we've a few technical issues with the live stream from the inquiry this morning. We apologise for any inconvenience and we'll have it up and running as soon as possible.

We're now into the final week of the UK Covid Inquiry in Wales and the big players are up. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from last week:

• A health expert said he was "astonished" that, by early March 2020, the Welsh government did not want to treat Covid as a civic emergency
• Mark Drakeford said locking down small areas during the autumn of 2020 was a "failed experiment"
• Covid was not a top priority for the Welsh government in January and February 2020, the former boss of NHS Wales said
• The UK government commissioned a mass Covid testing centre at Cardiff City Stadium without telling the Welsh government or Public Health Wales
• Welsh government ministers weren't sure about their own Covid rules, said former Welsh Secretary Simon Hart - referencing WhatsApp messages the inquiry collected

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to the final week of coverage from the UK Covid inquiry's three-week stay in Wales - and the big players are up.

• Today is set aside for pandemic Health Minister Vaughan Gething, at the start of the week where he'll learn if his bid to become Wales' next first minister has been successful
• Wales' health minister since May 2021 Eluned Morgan faces the inquiry tomorrow morning before the other contender to become the next first minister Jeremy Miles is up in the afternoon
• Mark Drakeford will be grilled all day Wednesday - just days before he steps down as first minister
• We will then have closing speeches on Thursday to conclude the inquiry's visit to Wales