Covid: Welsh tourism reopening decision 'will be last moment'

There have been calls from tourism businesses for a firm reopening date

A decision on whether Welsh tourism can reopen in time for Easter will not be made until "the last moment", the first minister has confirmed.

Self-contained holiday accommodation could reopen on 27 March if coronavirus case rates remain stable under Welsh government plans.

Tourism businesses have called for roadmap to allow them to prepare and for people to book trips.

Mr Drakeford said any confirmation would not be given until next week.

Speaking at the Welsh government's coronavirus briefing on Friday, Mr Drakeford said it was important "to wait until the last moment you can" before making and announcing decisions about easing lockdown, to see if case rates had changed.

"There are some parts of Wales where the position is not as good as we would like it to be," he said.

"People who follow the news will have seen overnight Paris has gone back into a lockdown again, so we've known all along how fast circumstances can change in coronavirus.

"That's why it's important to wait until the last moment you can in order to make these decisions because that way you have the best and latest data."

Sue Steadman started her business, Cadair View Lodge, in 2003 with her then husband.

Sue Steadman, who runs Cadair View Lodge in Snowdonia, said: "Obviously it makes it more difficult. But we've had so much last-minute changes it's almost what we've come to expect."

"We've lost income, I haven't been paid since 2019 because everything I have has gone into running the business," she said.

"People need certainty. At the moment customers are debating whether or not to come thinking the pub won't be open, or the takeaway won't be available."

"We have a lot of regular guests who have all been very supportive. And they're looking forward to coming back," she said.

"The business has been running for 17 years, some of them have become like family. There have been first dates, proposals, and families brought to stay."

Hywel James Davies, who runs the South Wales Touring Park in Llanelli, said: "I'm not sure that two days is enough time to prepare everything to open up but we'll cross our fingers and hope that everything will go to plan."

Siblings Hywel and Cathrin run the site together on their farm

Mr Davies and his sister Cathrin have made the most of the lockdown by making improvements to the site for when customers come back.

"It's been very hard. But it's looking good this year, we're booked up," he said.

"I'm looking forward to reopening to tell the truth. It's what we want, for people to come on their holidays and enjoy their stay with us."

• What are Wales' lockdown rules?

• Covid in Wales: What do the stats tell us?

Mr Drakeford also refused to rule out local lockdown restrictions in two hot spot areas in Wales, after a spike in cases.

Rates on Anglesey stand at 127.1 for every 100,000 people, and 147.5 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Those higher levels of infection compare with an average falling rate for Wales of 43.7 per 100,000 people.

Mr Drakeford said the rise in cases in the communities was linked to "household and social mixing", and there were concerns people were not engaging with contact tracers.

A Oxford-AstraZeneca shipment for Wales has been delayed by four weeks

A delayed shipment from India to the UK could also impact the easing of lockdown, the first minister warned.

An estimated 250,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca doses due to arrive in Wales by mid-April are set to be delivered a month late.

Mr Drakeford said he could not pretend the delayed doses would "have no affect at all".

From Monday garden centres will be allowed to reopen, and supermarkets to sell "non-essential goods", under slight easing of lockdown rules.

Mr Drakeford said he hoped more could be allowed - including outdoor children's activities and the reopening of castle grounds - in coming weeks if cases continued to fall.

"Of course our ability to lift restrictions is linked to the successful vaccination programme," he said.

"But our hope must be that we continue to see the position in Wales [as] stable and reducing, and that we will continue to have the headroom to lift restrictions in the way that we hope."

He said he was confident that no vaccine appointments would be cancelled due to the delay, but that the loss of such a large amount of doses would have an effect.

"We are doing everything we can to mitigate the effect on appointments for people to get vaccinated, there are a number of different ways in which we are looking to do that," he said.

'Reopen the high street'

Reacting to the briefing, the Conservative group leader in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies said it was "unfair" for supermarkets to be allowed to sell non-essential goods, and called for the high street to reopen.

"If he feels it's safe for supermarkets why persecute the high street and say the high street can't do that?" he said.

Member of the Senedd for Ynys Mon Rhun ap Iorwerth said while he did not want to see his area placed under local lockdown again, the option was needed to stop case rates rising further.

The Plaid Cymru MS called for more support for people who were told to self-isolate in the area.