Success or failure of coronavirus battle relies on 'every one of us', urges First Minister

As the fire-break lockdown comes to an end in Wales, a new set of national rules have been created for the country to follow.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said Welsh Government is taking a more ‘careful and cautious’ approach in a bid to avoid another lockdown, but the national measures will be reviewed in two-weeks time.

At the press conference in Cardiff on November 9, Mr Drakeford said another ‘grim milestone’ was passed over the weekend as Public Health Wales recorded its 2,000th death.

He said: “This is a truly terrible virus. It hits us the hardest where we are most vulnerable, in our love for family and friends.

“People are being taken before their time. Families are losing parents, children, brothers and sisters. The cruelty of coronavirus is lived out in the pain and suffering from all of those families.

“Today, the fire-break period we have been through together over the last 17-days is over, but of course coronavirus is still very much with us.

“Across our border, England started a month long lockdown to bring the virus under control and similar measures are being introduced in many European Countries as winter begins in earnest.”

The Minister added that coronavirus is full of ‘unpleasant surprises’ after travel restrictions were introduced from Denmark following the discovery of a new mutated strain of coronavirus in mink.

The First Minister thanked everyone for their efforts over the last couple of weeks which ‘hasn’t been easy for anyone’.

However, it has given Welsh Government the opportunity to work on a number of other important areas, including qualifications arrangements for next year and strengthening a number of field hospitals, including Deeside which opened on November 9.

Mr Drakeford added: “We won’t know the full impact of our fire-break period yet, but there are some early positive signs and those give us some hope.”

Coronavirus cases are beginning to fall, however there are currently more than 1,400 people in hospitals with coronavirus across Wales – higher than back in April.

Mr Drakeford went on the say that the exit from the fire-break needs to be ‘careful and cautious’ to allow for ‘maximum protection’.

He said: “But if we are going to alter the course of the virus, it will not be the rules and regulations alone which will make a difference.

“Our success or failure lies in the hands of every one of us and how we act from now on. We cannot go back to how things were earlier in the autumn.

“We all need to make changes to our lives and adapt to this virus so we reduce the risk of catching it ourselves or passing it on to others.

“Coronavirus is highly infections, it thrives on contact between people. To keep each other safe we need to reduce the number of people with whom we are in contact with and the amount of time we spend with them.”

Mr Drakeford said everyone should be asking themselves what they should do, instead of what they can do.

People should only travel is essential and to work from home as much as possible, whilst continuing to do those ‘simple things which make a difference’.

He went on to say that the fact you can travel, is not an ‘invitation to travel and is certainly not an instruction to travel’.

He is urging residents to follow the rules and simple hygiene measures to keep one another safe.

The First Minister added that it is a ‘constant balancing act’ between the measures we need to take to bring the virus under control and allowing businesses to operate and families to see one another.

However, commitment must be matched if the measures are going to work.