Covid: Concerns over lockdown 'confusion' in Wales after PM's address

Mark Drakeford should have addressed the nation after the PM spoke, a Plaid Cymru politician said

Wales' first minister could have addressed confusion about the rules in Wales if he had spoken to the nation after England's lockdown was announced, a Plaid Cymru politician has said.

Wales was already in lockdown when Boris Johnson made his announcement.

Delyth Jewell said constituents asked her for clarity after the broadcast.

Plaid called for ministers to announce a lockdown extension but the Welsh Government said restrictions would be reviewed later this week.

Wales' lockdown has no planned end-date and is unlikely to end in January.

Ms Jewell, a Member of the Senedd for South East Wales, said confusion was caused by Mr Johnson not fully reflecting that he was speaking about England.

Wales is in under "alert level 4" restrictions - with non-essential retail shut, hospitality closed and people told to stay-at-home with travel restrictions imposed.

On Monday it was decided that schools would stay closed to most pupils.

It came as the UK and Scottish governments decided to implement national lockdowns in England and Scotland respectively, and as the Northern Ireland executive agreed to put its stay-at-home rules into law.

Plaid Cymru said in light of the announcements from England and Scotland, the Welsh Government should bring forward its planned review of the restrictions and make clear they will be extended.

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"Confirmation must be given that Wales, too, is in lockdown for the foreseeable future," Delyth Jewell said.

"Confusion and lack of communication can harm public confidence and reduce adherence to restrictions, therefore action is needed immediately."

Wales is in its third stay-at-home lockdown since last March

Speaking to BBC Wales, Ms Jewell said: "The Welsh Government should have made a national address immediately after Boris Johnson had spoken."

She said it would have helped "remind people of how serious the situation is" if Mr Drakeford had spoken.

"This isn't just an issue to do with what the Welsh Government did or didn't do of course," she said.

"There are also real problems with the fact that Boris Johnson's address was broadcast across the UK, and it wasn't always made at all clear that he was only really speaking about England.

"I'm not saying this is all the Welsh Government's doing, but because of this context that we're living in, it would have been better if the point had been reiterated.

"Because what Boris Johnson says is given so much prominence... I know that a number of people have been confused because I've been contacted by constituents asking for clarity."

Fines

In December, South Wales Police issued 500 fixed penalty notices for people who broke coronavirus restrictions.

The force's Chief Constable, Jeremy Vaughan, said the rules are clear enough.

"There are 44 pages of questions and answers on the Welsh Government website that are quite clear if people read them, so there's an element of personal responsibility for people here to understand the rules," he said.

"I understand it's been difficult for people but we appeal on people to follow the rules."

He said it helps people understand the rules if they similar between England and Wales.

"But I think the rules in Wales are quite clear, stay home, don't spend time with people who you don't live with, and don't travel unless you have to."