PUPILS must stay at home during the Wales-wide school shutdown and resist the temptation to meet up with friends, education minister Kirsty Williams has said.

She also condemned the crowds of people who flouted public health advice and spent the weekend on beaches or popular walking trails.

Schools in Wales are from today closed to all pupils except the vulnerable and those whose parents are key workers.

The shutdown is aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus epidemic which has so far infected 347 people in Wales, claiming 12 lives.

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In a direct message to pupils, Ms Williams said: "I understand the weather has turned and I know the temptation will be to go outside.

"I'm really sorry but you can't do that in these circumstances. Please keep yourselves safe, stay at home, and play in your garden.

"We need you to do it, to keep other people in the community safe.”

The minister said she was confident pupils would continue to receive a high standard of education during the shutdown, when they are being taught remotely using online resources.

This year’s GCSE and A-level exams have also been cancelled. Pupils will be given final grades based on work handed in to date as well as predicted grades.

The minister said a moderation scheme would ensure all pupils were being graded on a level playing field.

Any pupils unsatisfied with their grades would in future likely be able to re-sit, she added.

Ms Williams, who represents the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency in the Assembly, said she was “extremely concerned” to hear of large crowds of people visiting tourist hotspots on the weekend, in defiance of government guidelines on social distancing and non-essential travel.

Hiking trails in Pen-y-Fan were bustling on Saturday and Sunday, as were parts of Snowdonia and the beaches in Barry.

“You would never in normal circumstances entertain harming another citizen,” Ms Williams said to those who were ignoring the public health advice. "If you carry on, you are in danger of harming somebody - yourself, your family, and the NHS.

"If you feel like ignoring the advice, that is what you are doing."

Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that the UK could be placed in lockdown if social distancing measures continued to be ignored.

And Ms Williams said the issue was one of ethics, as well as of health.

"At the end of this, people will need to look themselves in the mirror and know they did the right thing,” she said. “People need to do the right thing."