THERE will be no restrictions put in place before Christmas in Wales according to First Minister Mark Drakeford – however he did not rule out more restrictions to come into effect on December 27.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales this morning, the First Minister was asked by presenter Oliver Hides whether it was decided that there would be no plans for changes between now and Christmas to which Mr Drakeford responded: “Yes, we don’t plan any further measures before Christmas.”

However, when prompted about further restrictions to those announced late last night – which come into effect on December 27 – he said: “I can’t rule that out. We are not looking for restrictions for the sake of restrictions but if we find out as the days go on, that the plans we’ve already announced need to be further strengthened, then the Welsh Government won’t stand back from that.

“Those are difficult decisions and they’re not popular decisions with some people but if we believe they are necessary to save people’s lives and protect the NHS then I will be back with you again.”

He also said how the cabinet were meeting again on Monday where it is likely that there will be new restrictions discussed.

The First Minister was also questioned on why the restrictions were coming into place after Christmas. He responded that we are ‘in the calm before the storm’ and that the delta variant remains the dominant strain in Wales and that numbers are currently stable.

He said: “I think you’ve got to be proportionate to the circumstances you are facing in order to be fair with everybody and this coming week in Wales, we believe the delta variant will continue to be dominant in Wales.

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“Our omicron numbers are the lowest anywhere in the United Kingdom and in London and in Scotland where the numbers are far higher than there are in Wales, there are no plans to take action this side of Christmas either.

“So given our slightly more favourable position, we think that providing people do act on the advice we are giving them to take those simple steps and keep each other safe, then that will give us a path into Christmas that is reasonable for us all.

“But because we see a gathering storm we will take action now and we’re the first government in the United Kingdom to say that after Christmas the rules will have to be different.”

From December 27, social distancing will return in Wales and nightclubs will close. Mr Drakeford did not discuss this in detail but said: “From here until Christmas we are confident that we can more or less continue as we are.

“We will be issuing some strong guidance in Wales as to how we can all stay safe up to and through Christmas but although at the moment things are calm, we see the storm brewing. Omicron is already here in Wales and everything we are learning tells us that once that storm begins to gather, we will see that wave coming to Wales very quickly, to rise very sharply and we have to prepare for that now.

“That is why while shops will reopen, offices will reopen, businesses will reopen in Wales afyter the Christmas break the rules will be different. There will be new protections there so we can continue to stay safe in the face of this new variant.”