Covid: Empty streets on Boxing Day in lockdown Wales
- Published
Shoppers have had to stay home on Boxing Day
It should have been a bumper day for the high street as shoppers make the most of the traditional sales.
But it was a very different Boxing Day this year across Wales.
First Minister Mark Drakeford scrapped plans to relax lockdown rules from 23 to 27 December amid rising coronavirus cases in Wales.
It meant bustling shopping streets such as Cardiff's Queen Street and the High Street in Bangor were left empty as many businesses remained closed.
The scenes are a far cry from last year when hundreds of people queued in the rain for the start of the Boxing Day sales.
Bangor's High Street was deserted on Boxing Day
Non-essential shops are closed, meaning department stores such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Next are shut.
But there are also concerns that small businesses will not survive after missing out on one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
CBI Wales director Ian Price previously said the latest lockdown was a "fresh blow" after many months of hardship and put further jobs at risk.
Non-essential shops are not allowed to open
CBI Wales fears more job losses from the latest lockdown
Sara Jones of the Welsh Retail Consortium also said the consequences of the Christmas lockdown would be "severe".
She added at the time: "The prospect of losing £100m per week in sales for the third time this year - many businesses will be in serious difficulty and many thousands of jobs could be at risk."
Shoppers have stayed away from Welsh town centres
All of Wales is in the highest level of lockdown - level four - with all but essential shops closed, and people are being told to "stay home" to save lives.
Gyms and beauty salons and non-essential shops are closed, while bars and restaurants are only able to open for takeaways, and people can only travel for "essential reasons".
During the level four lockdown period people will not be allowed to mix with anyone they do not live with, with only single person households allowed to form an exclusive support bubble with one other household.