THE reopening of the tourism sector in Powys will be “careful and cautious” as hope abounds that lockdown in Wales could be significantly eased by Easter.

First Minister Mark Drakeford believes ridding Wales of coronavirus will be a “long goodbye” but is hopeful that a “new normal” – something akin to what life was like last summer – could be possible by the beginning of April.

Easter Sunday is April 4, a little over six weeks away, and with cases of people falling ill with Covid-19, the positivity rate and number of patients in hospital all dropping in recent weeks, Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government are “working positively” towards an Easter date for when pubs, restaurants, hotels, shops and gyms may be able to reopen.

“I want to recognise again the importance of the tourism industry in many parts of Wales,” said the First Minister in his weekly Friday coronavirus briefing with the Welsh media.

“It’s a foundational part of the economy in many areas which is why I’ve said what I have in recent weeks, which is working positively towards an Easter date, provided that the conditions allow that to happen.

“The situation can turn from benign to difficult very quickly indeed. Looking ahead from where we are today, where the number of people falling ill with coronavirus is around 100 per 100,000 people, where the positivity rate is down below 10 per cent, where the number of people in hospitals is beginning to reduce, if that was a straight line into the future there would be things we could hope to do for the tourism industry in that very important part of the year.

“The problem is that nobody can guarantee the future is a straight line and the industry understands that. I’ve met with the industry a number of times in the last 12 months to share their concerns and hear their ideas about what we can do.

“We will do our very best but the opening (of the tourism industry) will have to be careful, cautious and something that can be supported in the public health context of the time. And that’s many weeks away from us and it’s impossible to try and be more certain than I have been today.”

In striking a cautiously optimistic tone, Mr Drakeford said people should not expect a “wholesale” reopening of the industry and that the Welsh Government’s three-week cycle for reviewing coronavirus regulations should be used as a yardstick. He is due to review current lockdown restrictions in Wales net Friday, February 19.

He also warned that Wales cannot throw away the good work that has been achieved since the nation was plunged back into lockdown prior to Christmas.

“Coronavirus will be with us for months to come. It’s going to be a long goodbye,” said the First Minister.

“The key dates for people to think about are the three-week cycle we use for reviewing coronavirus regulations. I’ll be back here next Friday with the outcome of the current three-week review, there’ll be another on the March 11.

“There are the key dates for people to look at and when we have to make these very challenging decisions, balancing the absolutely understandable wish to have more freedom, to be out of their own homes, to meet with family and friends, against the overriding need to maintain vigilance against the virus, not to throw away everything we’ve achieved in these difficult months by doing things too quickly and seeing this virus come flooding back again.

“That will be the judgement we’ll be making and we’ll be doing it on that three week cycle so people have got certainty about when decisions are made, and I’ll always come here to make sure the first people who know about what we’re going to do are people in Wales.”

In a more sobering tone, he also said he could not rule out further lockdowns later in the year, for example in the autumn, when the cold weather returns.

He added: “Nobody could rule out something unexpected happening, a new variant causing new difficulties, nobody could say lockdowns are to be a thing of the past.”