THE FIRST Minister has warned that further easing of lockdown restrictions may not happen if people do not comply with the current regulations.

Speaking at the Welsh Government daily press conference Mark Drakeford laid out the factors that are considered during the three-week cycle reviews.

“This week, as we have done over the last four review cycles, we have looked at a number of factors which tell us how much headroom we have and how that headroom can be used,” he said.

He said those factors include:

- The latest scientific and medical evidence about the transmission of coronavirus

- The number of people testing positive, as a percentage

- The number of new confirmed cases

- The number of people dying from the disease and excess deaths

- The number of people being admitted into hospital with coronavirus and the number of people in critical care

“When those figures are heading the right direction,” the Welsh Government then has headroom to further ease lockdown.

But he warned that should “compliance” fall away then the “ability to do new things falls away as well”.

“There are number of factors we have to take into account in deciding whether and how that headroom can be used.

“We look at compliance with the regulations to date - the more we all stick to what we are being asked to do the more of that headroom becomes available for us to use.

“Where compliance falls away, then our ability to do new things falls away as well.”

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In deciding how to use the “headroom,” the Government also looks at the “ability of the NHS to respond to the virus”.

“We look at how our test, trace and protect system is working,” he added.

And they also look at the “patterns of the disease”.

“Because we continue in Wales to lift the restrictions in a careful step-by-step way, we are able to look at the impact of the changes we have already made and what we are learning from them.

“That final point is at the heart of the Welsh approach at easing lockdown

“We take the advice we have received from the World Health Organisation and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies very seriously - both have underlined the importance of taking that step-by-step approach to easing restrictions and because we are doing it that way, we have introduced changes gradually and progressively.”