'Path to Christmas' for Welsh people, Mark Drakeford tells LBC

8 November 2020, 14:07 | Updated: 8 November 2020, 14:11

Mark Drakeford on firebreak lockdown efficacy

By Joe Cook

The First Minister of Wales has told LBC’s Swarbrick on Sunday there is now a “path through to Christmas”, as the country’s firebreak lockdown comes to an end on Monday.

Mark Drakeford told Tom the Welsh government “think we have got a path through to Christmas”, but stressed “it will depend crucially on how people behave after Monday”.

His comments come as Wales prepares to come out of a 17-day firebreak lockdown on Monday, while England continues in its month-long lockdown which ends at the start of December.

Mr Drakeford said his message for the Welsh people was: “After Monday don’t ask yourself what can I do?

“Don’t try to find a way of stretching the rules and trying to get the most out of them you can. Ask yourself what should I do? What should I do to protect myself and to protect others.

“If we can do that, we will build on the success of the last 17 days.”

People react as Wales begins it's 17 day "firebreak"

While the First Minister stressed the Welsh government believe the reproduction R rate in Wales will be below one, they will only know in “another two weeks”.

“The R number as we went into Wales’ firebreak was between 1.2 to 1.3, that sort of area.

“We hope of course as we come out of the lockdown, when we get the figure, which will not be for a week or so, it will be down below one in Wales.”

He added: The indications in Wales are people in Wales have been sticking to the firebreak. Travel is back to where it was at the beginning of May. We will continue to assess all those measures.”

The final week of the country's lockdown saw more Covid-19 patients in Welsh hospitals than there were during the April peak of the first wave.

Mr Drakeford has conceded that it is “inevitable” cases will rise in some areas of the country, as Wales comes out of the firebreak lockdown.

It comes after the Welsh Government faced calls to extend the lockdown in the south Wales valleys, where the number of coronavirus cases has risen.

Vaughan Gething defends Welsh 'firebreak' lockdown

A new set of national rules will follow the 17-day lockdown in Wales, which Mr Drakeford says will be easier to follow as he looks to avoid a "reliance" on entirely local measures.

But the First Minister refused to be drawn on whether there would be another lockdown in Wales, telling Tom: “I am not going to just speculate in that way. We think what we have done will see us on a path through to Christmas.”

“This is a public health emergency and if that emergency in Wales requires us to take further action then we certainly will do that and we won’t shy away from it. Does that automatically mean another lockdown? No it doesn’t.

“There are other things that we may be able to do. There may be other possibilities that we don’t have at the moment that we will have, not in months time, but in weeks time.”

“We will always monitor the position in Wales and if we have to take further action we can.”

“But this binary choice between ‘Will you stay as you are?’, ‘Will you go into another lockdown?’, I think that oversimplifies the complexity of the circumstances and the decisions that we face every day.”

More Tom Swarbrick

See more More Tom Swarbrick

Emma Webber (left) speaking to LBC

Mother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber blasts police ‘mistruths’ after force is put in special measures

Lord Harrington said there should be a cap on the number of asylum seekers the UK takes.

Former refugees minister Lord Harrington calls for a cap on the number of asylum seekers the UK takes

Mel Stride has backed the PM

Rishi Sunak has 'absolutely not' betrayed nation over Rwanda plan, insists minister after Braverman's attack on PM

Tom and caller

'Our family is there': Mother shares heartbreaking experience of being a British Jew during Israel-Hamas conflict

The ban will be brought into effect in months

'Children should be in the classroom to learn': Gillian Keegan orders 'blanket ban' of mobile phones in schools

Exclusive
Tributes have been paid to Elianne after she was stabbed to death in Croydon

Fellow pupil of schoolgirl stabbed to death in Croydon describes heartbreaking moment students were told of her killing

Scotland's first safe drug consumption space set to be openned

'Isn't this just decriminalising heroin?': Tom Swarbrick questions Labour MSP over first safe drug consumption room

The education secretary discusses educational reforms with Tom Swarbrick

Shadow education secretary says 'Building Schools for the Future Programme' would have prevented Raac crisis

Tom Swabrick

'Is it not completely mental?': Tom Swarbrick astonished as schools shut due to crumble-risk concrete before new term

Exam results

Equation sheets given to GCSE cohort in attempt lessen reduced grade inflation blow, schools minister says

Crime commentator on Adam Provan

Internal review of rapist ex-Met officer is the equivalent of 'marking your own homework', says crime commentator

Education Secretary discuss new Eton free schools on LBC

‘Bailed out by Eton’: Education Secretary discusses new free schools with Tom Swarbrick

Lucy Letby: We have to know what went so 'catastrophically wrong' says Tom Swarbrick

Lucy Letby: We have to know what went so 'catastrophically wrong' says Tom Swarbrick

Exclusive
Lord Edward Garnier has called for a public inquiry into Andrew Malkinson's case

Top lawyer blasts Andrew Malkinson rape case as the 'worst miscarriage of justice of the 21st century'

Suella Barge

Suella Braverman can't be blamed for housing migrants on barge with Legionella, ConservativeHome editor says

Tom Swarbrick on mortgages

It would be 'manifestly unfair' to use taxpayers' money to subsidise mortgages, Tom Swarbrick says