FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford said people in Wales should “think very carefully” against travelling to England to go to a pub later this month because of higher rates of coronavirus across the border.

English hospitality businesses are set to reopen for outdoor service from April 12, two weeks before Welsh businesses will be allowed to do the same.

Outdoor hospitality in Wales – including cafes, pubs and restaurants – could reopen from April 26, the Welsh Government has said.

Mr Drakeford will set out a series of new measures later on Thursday (today) that will see Wales move fully into Alert Level 3 by May 17, “subject to public health conditions remaining favourable”.

“My message to people thinking about travelling across the border in that couple of weeks before things are opening in Wales is to think very carefully about it,” Mr Drakeford told the PA news agency.

“You really will not have long to wait before you’re able to enjoy exactly the same sorts of things in Wales where the current state of the virus is more benign.

“Rates of coronavirus in Wales are the lowest in the United Kingdom. They are higher in England and the highest in the north-west of England.

“You would definitely be visiting somewhere where the risks were higher. We know there is a variant of this virus in Bristol, which so far we’ve managed to keep out of Wales completely.”

Mr Drakeford told BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning, meanwhile, that while outdoor hospitality is set to open back up in England on April 12, it will do so two weeks later in Wales.

“The rule of six will be the rule here in Wales – six people from two households will be able to go out together and enjoy a drink in a beer garden,” he said.

“Of course, it is not the same two households every time so people who have friends are able to meet with them as well, but not all at once.

“The advice of our chief medical officer is very clear, that if we allowed six different people to meet together then the chains of transmission that that could set off could have a very real risk of coronavirus spreading again.”

He hopes to be able to lift travel restrictions in the country on April 12, if England does the same – meaning people could cross the border.

“At the moment, people in Wales can travel anywhere inside Wales but the instruction in England remains to remain local and people are not able to stay anywhere overnight,” he said.

“The English road map says that that will change on April 12, and if it does change then we will change our arrangements so that people will be able to travel more freely in and out of Wales.”

Low rates

Wales’ First Minister told BBC Radio Wales that the country had the lowest rates of coronavirus in the UK and the highest rates of vaccination.

“I’ll be able to say today that on Saturday we will complete the vaccination offer to everybody in the top nine priority groups – again the first country in the UK to get to that milestone,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean that coronavirus is over and that’s why we have to balance the lifting of restrictions with making sure that we don’t allow this virus to get a grip in Wales again.”

Mr Drakeford said he had considered reopening pubs in Wales at the same time as England to avoid people crossing the border.

“Look, that will happen and we can’t avoid it happening, I hope people will not seek to do that,” he said.

“There is a Bristol variant of coronavirus which we’ve managed to keep out of Wales and, you know, I hope people will think very carefully about the actions that they take and continue to do the things that people in Wales have done to keep themselves and other people safe.

Outdoor sport

He was also asked on BBC Radio Wales why outdoor sport has returned in England but will not be allowed in Wales until May 3 at the earliest.

“Lots of outdoor sports here in Wales have already resumed and resumed well ahead of what was possible in England,” he said.

“People in Wales have had three weeks being able to play golf, to play tennis, to play other outdoor sports and we’ve resumed all outdoor organised activities for children and young people aged over 18 for a week already.

“What you can’t do, what the advice from our chief medical officer and scientists is very clear, you cannot do too much at once.

“If you do that, then you risk reversing all the things that we have achieved together in Wales over the period since Christmas.”

“We rehearsed it very directly this week with our scientific and medical officers and they gave us specific advice on that point, and the advice was that we should not bring that date forward, because the risks of doing so would outweigh the advantages of doing things in line with how they were being done across our border.”

Holiday local

Mr Drakeford said he would encourage people in Wales to holiday domestically over the summer in place of a trip abroad.

Asked what he would say to people wanting a foreign break, he told Good Morning Britain: “I’d say that this is the year to have your holiday in Wales. There are so many fantastic opportunities here.

“If ever there was a year to enjoy what we have domestically, and to find those spots in Wales that you haven’t visited before, this is the year to do it.”

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government would not seek to prevent people from travelling internationally if rules allow later in the year.

“It’s not realistic to try to prevent people and we won’t make that attempt. What my advice to people in Wales would be this year, stay at home, enjoy what we have here. Don’t put yourselves and other people at risk.”