Coronavirus: Welsh health minister 'not afraid' of a second lockdown

Vaughan Gething is Wales' health minister

The Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething has said he would "not be afraid" of a new coronavirus lockdown if it would help save lives.

He said the risks remain from Covid-19 and need to be managed into the autumn.

His comments contrast to the prime minister Boris Johnson's reluctance for a further round of severe restrictions.

Mr Johnson said he would not want to use a second lockdown and did not think he would need to.

He told the Sunday Telegraph: "I can't abandon that tool any more than I would abandon a nuclear deterrent. But it is like a nuclear deterrent, I certainly don't want to use it.

"And nor do I think we will be in that position again."

He added that much more was understood of the virus and how it works, "so the possibility of different types of segmentation, of enhanced shielding for particular groups, is now there".

Mr Gething said he would like to see a "proper restarting" of engagement between the four nations.

But he added: "I certainly wouldn't be afraid to make a decision with the first minister and the Welsh Government to lockdown, if we thought that was the right thing to do to save lives.

"These choices will become more difficult as we go into the autumn and the winter.

"There's a danger that we have too optimistic an outlook, as if everything will be fine, when the risks are still here today, and we need to manage those risks as we go into the autumn, and winter in particular.''

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Because lockdown was a public health measure, it was up to the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to implement their own regulations.

In England, it was governed by the UK government.

Although the four UK governments worked closely at the start in March, divergences in when different measures were eased developed as the pandemic went on.

Restrictions in Wales were eased slower than England. On Monday playgrounds, outdoor gyms and funfairs reopened as part of the Welsh Government's plans to taper lockdown.

At the weekend Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Paul Davies said he did not want to see another lockdown.

"It's important that we all continue to adhere to the rules," he told BBC One's Politics Wales programme.

He said he would support a new lockdown "depending on the circumstances", but added he was "hopeful that things are going in the right direction".