FIRST minister Mark Drakeford has urged people in Wales not to think about how far they can stretch new coronavirus lockdown restrictions to be announced this afternoon.

Speaking on BBC News this morning, Mr Drakeford reiterated previous comments that the firebreak period will end on November 9 following England’s announcement of a four-week lockdown beginning on Thursday.

Mr Drakeford said: “I will be setting out the terms on how we will emerge from the firebreak, but my main message for people in Wales today will be that, whatever the rules are after November 9, please don’t spend your time obsessing about the rules and asking how far you can stretch them.

“We will only get through this if each one of us asks ourselves not 'what can I do?', but 'what should I do?'. And if we do that, avoid company, travel as little as we can, work from home wherever possible, then we have a path out of this together.”

At the Welsh Government’s press conference this afternoon, Mr Drakeford will set out the new Wales-wide rules for after November 9. He said: “It will be simpler and clearer and will allow for something beyond what we’ve had during the firebreak period.”

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He also emphasised the message of asking what should you do. Mr Drakeford added: “But my top message to people in Wales is don’t make your first question to yourself ‘how far can I stretch the rules?’ Make the first question ‘what should I do? What contribution can I make to keeping myself and others safe?’ And to judge your actions against that criteria. If we do that then there is a way out of coronavirus that will safeguard us all.

“If we play it as a game in which your job is to think about what the rule is and see how far you can stretch it, then I’m afraid the weeks ahead will be very difficult indeed.”

On the rules on meeting people. Mr Drakeford said: “They will go beyond what we are allowed to do now. We will preserve, as we have during coronavirus, a distinction between what people can do indoors and what they can do outdoors.”

When asked if the results of the firebreak will be seen when it ends, Mr Drakeford said: “We won’t see the results of the 17-day firebreak period while it is still on. We’ll learn it in the weeks to follow.

"There are some very early indications and that’s all they are, that travel in Wales during the firebreak period has been very significantly reduced. That’s a good sign, it tells us that people in Wales are observing the firebreak period and we will see in the weeks to follow the extent to which this extraordinary national effort that we are asking people in Wales to make, the extent to which it has succeeded.”

He also explained about the lag in the R number. Mr Drakeford added: “It’s impossible to know whether it has worked because the R number, for example, lags a couple of weeks behind. It’s a lagging indicator.

“We said from the very beginning that these 17 days was going to be a short but very sharp period. There have been enormous restrictions on people in Wales during this period until the 9th November.

“We will learn in the weeks to follow the extent to which its succeeded and that success will depend also on the way people behave after the 9th November is over. That’s why I will be emphasising and re-emphasising the message about how we all collectively behave after the firebreak is over is crucial to giving us a path through to Christmas and beyond.”

On the news that the furlough will be extended across Wales, Mr Drakeford said: “Well I welcome that. Anything that helps businesses in Wales will be welcomed. We asked the chancellor for greater flexibility during our firebreak period, he told me that wasn’t possible. Now that flexibility has been found of course I welcome it.”

Today's press conference will begin at 12.15pm and will be reported live at the Argus website.