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Coronavirus: 'Traffic light' system to lift lockdown in Wales Coronavirus: 'Traffic light' system to lift lockdown in Wales
(about 2 hours later)
Some restrictions in Wales could be eased at the end of the current three-week lockdown period. Restrictions in Wales could be eased at the end of the current three-week lockdown period.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said lockdown could be left in three phases "like a traffic light in reverse". When it happens it will be a matter of judgement backed by medical and scientific advice, First Minister Mark Drakeford said on Friday.
The red phase would see only "the most careful and controlled lifting of restrictions", he told BBC Radio Wales. Until then there will be "small changes" to restrictions, including a stricter ban on second home visits and rules stopping loitering outside.
Ending lockdown could be in phases, "like a traffic light in reverse".
There would be a move from red - some "careful and controlled" relaxation - to green, which would be "much more like the lives we had before the crisis hit".
The amber zone would see more restrictions lifted and, if the virus is not re-emerging, Wales could then move to the green zone, he said.The amber zone would see more restrictions lifted and, if the virus is not re-emerging, Wales could then move to the green zone, he said.
This period "would look much more like the lives we had before the crisis hit," Mr Drakeford told Radio Wales Breakfast with Oliver Hides. This period "would look much more like the lives we had before the crisis hit," Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Oliver Hides.
Asked when Wales might enter the red zone, the first minister said "I hope we will be in a position to do that at the end of the current three-week lockdown period". Asked when Wales might enter the red zone, the first minister said: "I hope we will be in a position to do that at the end of the current three-week lockdown period".
However, he warned this would only happen if Wales had met the tests set out in the Welsh Government's framework for exiting the lockdown, which was published later on Friday. "We will had to have had hospital admissions falling consistently for 14 days," Mr Drakeford said.
"We will had to have had hospital admissions falling consistently for 14 days.
"They have been falling over the last week so it's not impossible that we will get to that point and in that case we can move into the red zone.""They have been falling over the last week so it's not impossible that we will get to that point and in that case we can move into the red zone."
The framework includes questions to consider before decisions are made around relaxing restrictions.The framework includes questions to consider before decisions are made around relaxing restrictions.
They are:They are:
While the Welsh Government is broadly working together with the UK and other devolved governments on the lockdown measures, the rules are made on a per-country basis. Mr Drakeford said: "I certainly accept that our seven tests are not an algorithm. You don't just put the question at the top and the answer falls out at the bottom.
Mr Drakeford has already said he would be prepared to "do things differently" to the other nations if that was right for Wales. "They will, in the end, involve judgements, weighing up these factors one against another, coming to a decision in the round."
On Thursday, the Scottish government published its lockdown exit strategy warning that people would have to "adapt to a new reality". He denied his newly published plan for exiting lockdown could undermine the UK-wide approach to the crisis.
Mr Drakeford has also announced that some lockdown rules in Wales are being made stricter to "address challenges being faced in parts of the country". "I think Scotland publishing their framework yesterday, Wales publishing our framework today is a contribution to crafting that UK approach," he said.
Updated regulations, announced by Mr Drakeford, make it clear people cannot remain away from the place they live. "By sharing with one another our thinking, by being open with one another about the issues that we think will matter in different parts of the United Kingdom, I think that will help us to craft a way forward, in which we all understand what one another are doing and we come to a common set of ideas and a common timetable for going about them.
The changes are intended to clamp down on the use of second homes and discourage people from exercising outside their local area. Health officials will spend the next fortnight drawing up plans over how community testing for coronavirus will work, he added.
'Challenges' The plan to test for new patients then isolate the sick is seen as key to allowing lockdown to be eased.
The new rules, which will come into force on Saturday, also include extending social distancing rules to hospital, school and prison canteens. Mr Drakeford said the plan would involve recruiting people to carry out the test and track the data, but he declined to give a figure on how many would be needed, or the number of tests required.
However, businesses offering a "click and collect" service will be allowed to reopen as long as they observe social distancing rules. Last week the Welsh Government dropped a target of 5,000 tests per day, with capacity currently at around 1,300.
The UK government is sticking to a target of 100,000 daily tests by the end of April.
Mr Drakeford has also announced some lockdown rules in Wales are being made stricter to make it clear people cannot remain away from the place they live.
They should take exercise "as close as possible" to home, according to the Welsh Government's updated rules.
Cyclists should not travel further than a "reasonable walking distance from home."
'Prolonged sitting'
They should "take steps to manage risk" in order to avoid putting extra strain emergency services and to stick to routes they know well.
The new rules state people should not drive to exercise unless absolutely necessary.
People should not use exercise as "an excuse" to do something else, like having picnics or sitting on benches for "a prolonged period."
Families with children who have certain learning difficulties, including autism, will be allowed to leave the house more than once a day.Families with children who have certain learning difficulties, including autism, will be allowed to leave the house more than once a day.
The first minister said: "The changes we are introducing supplement the rules already in force, but they respond to some challenges being faced in parts of the country and by families throughout Wales.
"Our message has not changed - anyone can get coronavirus, anyone can spread it. So please, stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives."