Covid: Stay-local rules 'hard to police'

Police want people to take responsibility for themselves if coronavirus rules are eased

People are urged to take personal responsibility if Covid rules are relaxed because stay-local policies are "hard" to police, a commissioner said.

Dyfed-Powys Police's commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn, said stay-local rules were open to interpretation which made it difficult for officers.

First Minister Mark Drakeford previously suggested there could be an easing of stay-at-home rules.

He is due to review Covid restrictions on Friday.

Mr Llywelyn said: "It's going to be really challenging because there is going to be an interpretation of what 'stay local' means."

Dafydd Llywelyn said policing stay-local policies was "really challenging"

On Wednesday Vaughan Gething suggested people living in rural areas might be able to travel further to access facilities easily available to people in urban areas.

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Last year, a stay-local rule was in place as the strict lockdown was eased, with guidance - rather than law - that people should stay within five miles of home.

Mr Llywelyn said: "Of course in Dyfed-Powys, five miles isn't enough in terms of distance for travel in my patch and so we have to remind people to take personal responsibility, and the important thing is to not do things which would put you in a situation where there is a risk of spreading the virus."

His force would try to ensure messaging was clear that people "take personal care".

He said he would "love" to travel 10 miles to the beach but added he "wouldn't do that".

Mr Llywelyn said he was expecting things to get busier as summer approached.

Stay-local rules were brought in after stay home legislation ended last summer

"We expect a busy summer and that's why we are in talks with the Welsh government to ensure that the planning is clear and what are the next steps - not only over the coming days and weeks, but over the coming months into the summer," he said.

He understood people were feeling more positive "especially now with the vaccine".

"It's important to remember that there is still pressure on the emergency services day-to-day and we think once the rules are relaxed, there will also be a strain on public services," he said.

"This is why it is important for people to be sensible - that's the key word here - to take personal responsibility over the coming weeks.

"Because by being sensible we will be able to relax the rules more over the coming months. It's all we want to see really."