Coronavirus: Wales may go own way on lockdown, concedes No.10
Coronavirus: Wales to announce lockdown plans on Friday
(32 minutes later)
Downing Street has conceded Wales and the other UK nations may move at different speeds in easing the coronavirus lockdown.
The Welsh Government will announce the details of a review into the coronavirus lockdown on Friday.
It follows a call between the prime minister, First Minister Mark Drakeford and counterparts from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
First Minister Mark Drakeford is expected to outline how and when minor adjustments could be made.
Tensions became apparent between the Welsh and UK governments on Thursday over the future of the arrangements, amid speculation of easing in England.
It comes after No.10 Downing Street suggested Wales and the other UK nations may move differently on easing the restrictions.
A review has to take place on Thursday.
The Welsh Government said more details will be announced in Friday's press conference.
Downing Street suggested the differences - if any - would be slight. It is not yet clear what the Welsh Government wants to do, although officials have asked people to stay at home over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Lockdown in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is devolved, with the relevant administrations in charge of the public health legislation.
Earlier the Welsh Government complained that UK newspaper stories on how the lockdown could be eased in England were confusing - emphasising it would be making decisions in Wales.
The Welsh Government has been seeking a four-nation approach, but Wales' health minister Vaughan Gething has said the country could have different rules "if it's the difference between saving thousands of the lives of Welsh citizens".
So far there have been broad similarities between the stay-at-home regulations, although Wales has had differences concentrated on fines, workplace rules and exercise.
The prime minister is due to announce his roadmap for easing lockdown in England on Sunday.
All nations are legally required to review the lockdown rules every three weeks and the latest was due on Thursday, with the UK government having responsibility for England.
Politicians in Northern Ireland and Scotland have confirmed lockdown in the countries will continue.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said in the call Boris Johnson "reiterated his commitment to continuing" the UK-wide approach to tackling coronavirus "even if different parts of the UK begin to move at slightly different speeds. Those decisions will be made based on the science for each nation".
Everyone on the call "agreed that continued engagement between our administrations is vital and to remain in close contact in the days and weeks ahead", the spokeswoman added.
The spokeswoman said the prime minister "emphasised that this is a critical moment in the fight against coronavirus and that the UK government will not throw away the efforts and sacrifices of the British people".
The discussions followed claims on Thursday, made in an article in the Guardian, that Mark Drakeford had not been made aware of what the prime minister was planning to do in England.
Members of the Welsh cabinet met on Thursday morning and in the evening - a spokesman said the first minister will announce the decision in "due course".
The Welsh Government spokesman said earlier in the day: "Some of the reporting in today's newspapers is confusing and risks sending mixed messages to people across the UK."
Earlier he said: "It is crucially important that the people of Wales are informed clearly and accurately about any decisions we make on something as important as this."
Divergence 'needs to be backed by evidence'
In an interview with BBC Wales, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart speculated that the "UK government and Welsh Government are much closer aligned than perhaps it looks at the moment".
Mr Hart said if there was an divergence "it would need to be really, obviously, supported by evidence".
He said he was not sure "that evidence had been seen by either Mark Drakeford or I at this stage".
The Welsh Secretary added he thought the relaxation measures announced in England on Sunday would be "modest".
Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts met the prime minister, Boris Johnson, with the other Commons opposition leaders on Thursday.
After the meeting she said: "I emphasised to Boris Johnson that if his commitment to the four nations of the UK is to mean anything, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments must agree to any changes to the current approach."The current lack of clarity is leading to huge anxiety and potential issues of people believing changes are being made ahead of this bank holiday weekend when they are not."
She also warned the prime minister to "resist the urge to move too quickly and put the health of the public first".
Before the meeting a Plaid Cymru source suggested Welsh ministers did not seem to be ready for lockdown to be lifted.
Referring to an estimate in a Public Health Wales report of the number of tests a day that may be needed for tracking coronavirus, the source said: "The Labour Welsh Government isn't even hitting a thousand tests daily, when 30,000 a day are needed according to the experts, and dozens of people are dying everyday in Wales."
'Difference between saving thousands of lives'
Vaughan Gething said on Wednesday Wales could and would ease coronavirus restrictions at different times to England "if it's the difference between saving thousands of the lives of Welsh citizens.
But the preference remained to move with the rest of the UK.
He added: "You can guarantee that we will make the right choice for Wales, including moving at a different time out of lockdown if it is the right thing to do but our preference is to have a joint four nations conversation and a decision that works for each of the four countries".
In the daily Welsh Government press conference, Welsh NHS chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall said the "clear" message for the weekend was stay-at-home.
He added: "We know it makes a very big difference in terms of the likelihood of community transmission of the likelihood of seeing additional admissions, and we are still prepared in the NHS at this stage for the potential that we may see even further peaks of this virus, and that is particularly true as we go out of any lockdown mechanism."
