Here are the coronavirus evening headlines for Friday, December 17, as the First Minister faced questions about the new coronavirus restrictions that come into force in Wales after Christmas.
Mark Drakeford carried out a number of radio and television interviews today to explain why the new regulations were needed. Read all his answers across all his interviews here.
He also held his now-weekly press conference at midday where he revealed that ministers will be considering further restrictions on Monday including a return to the "rule of six" to govern how many people can meet and capacity restrictions for larger events like sports fixtures.
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People are being advised to have a smaller Christmas and to avoid meeting "wider circles of friends".
Meanwhile, the UK broke the Covid daily case record for a third consecutive day and Ireland introduced an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% capacity limit on events.
Dramatic increase in Omicron cases in Wales
Dozens more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been found in Wales, it was announced today. Public Health Wales confirmed in a statement on Friday afternoon that 64 new cases had been identified to bring the overall total to 159.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has nearly a third (51) of all known cases.
Mark Drakeford called it "the calm before the storm", adding: "We are seeing cases of Omicron increasing every day in Wales – and across the UK. By the end of December it will be the dominant form of the virus in the UK. This is a very fast-moving form which is easily transmitted from person to person. It has spread rapidly throughout England and Scotland.
"Because of how easily Omicron is transmitted and its ability to infect large numbers of people we know that this could translate into large numbers of people being admitted to hospital."
For a breakdown of Omicron cases by health board area, read more here.
Risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta
The risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta and shows no sign of being milder than the previous coronavirus variant, according to a study by Imperial College London.
The results, based on data from the UK Health Security Agency and Britain’s National Health Service, analysed people who tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test in England between November 29 and December 11, reports Reuters.
“We find no evidence (for both risk of hospitalisation attendance and symptom status) of Omicron having different severity from Delta,” the study said, although it noted that data on hospitalisations remains very limited.
“Controlling for vaccine status, age, sex, ethnicity, asymptomatic status, region and specimen date, Omicron was associated with a 5.4-fold higher risk of reinfection compared with Delta,” the study, which was dated December 16, added.
Imperial College said in a statement: “This implies that the protection against reinfection by Omicron afforded by past infection may be as low as 19%.” The institution also noted that the study had not yet been peer reviewed.
Welsh support 'severely constrained' by UK Treasury
Boris Johnson said there needs to be "swift engagement with the Treasury" on Covid-19 support funds during a phone call with Nicola Sturgeon, a spokesman for the Scottish Frist Minister said.
He said the phone call was constructive "though at this stage inconclusive" and that they "shared respective views on the current Omicron situation and agreed that it represents a significant threat to health and the economy".
It comes after Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford criticised the UK Government today for "constraining" the amount of longer-term economic support he could offer during this new wave of this ongoing public health emergency. So far, the UK Treasury has refused to entertain the idea of reopening vital support schemes such as furlough.
Mr Drakeford told Friday's press conference that financial support of up to £60m will be available to businesses materially affected by the new restrictions. But he criticised the UK Government and called for more support.
He said: "Our ability to provide and sustain longer-term economic support during this new wave of this ongoing public health emergency is severely constrained by the current position of the UK Treasury and its refusal to open vital support schemes, such as furlough.
"These schemes should be available for all nations when they are needed and not just at the point at when restrictions are introduced in England."
A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said: "The [Scottish] First Minister emphasised the extreme urgency of the crisis for businesses in the hospitality, events, culture and related sectors which are already suffering a severe financial impact, and stressed that they needed immediate assurances of support from the Treasury."
The Prime Minister agreed that there needed to be swift engagement with the Treasury on the immediate action needed, and committed to further talks over the weekend.
The [Scottish] First Minister also made clear that the devolved administrations require clarity that additional funding support would be available, and also on how it can be triggered by any or all of the UK administrations, in the event of further protective measures being necessary to tackle the virus in the period ahead.
Rishi Sunak met virtually with the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the British Chambers of Commerce on Friday afternoon, after he returned early from a trip to California, to discuss possible options to support businesses.
Read what Mark Drakeford said about how ministers are preparing to support businesses hit by cancellations as Omicron spreads here.
Chief Medical Officer writing to Welsh people on shielding list
Frank Atherton, Wales' chief medical officer, will be writing to everyone who was shielding at the start of the pandemic.
Mr Drakeford told Friday's briefing: "The chief medical officer will be reaching out again, to everybody on the shielding list. We've, we've sustained the shielding this, we've kept it alive list here in Wales and the chief medical officer has written note to people on a number of occasions over the whole of the pandemic.
"I know that people have really appreciated having the clarity of the advice that Dr. Atherton has been able to provide to them. So it will be his advice in his clinical capacity. I don't believe that he will be advising people to go back to the original shielding regime, but he will be giving people the best advice as to how they can keep themselves safe in the context of the Omicron variant and to be the sort of practical advice that he's provided on previous occasions."
UK breaks Covid record for third consecutive day
The UK reported 93,045 new Covid cases today, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day. There were also 111 new Covid deaths reported and 7,611 patients in hospital, 875 of whom were on beds with ventilators.
It comes after yesterday there were 88,376 new cases reported and 78,610 new cases the day before, both breaking all previous pandemic records.
England had 65 patients in hospital with Omicron today, the UK Health Security Agency said. The total number of deaths from the new variant in England remains unchanged at one.
Changes to care home visiting and shielding advice
Mr Drakeford told Friday's briefing that updated guidance about care home visiting will be published this week.
Care homes have been warned not to impose blanket visiting restrictions over Christmas, after campaign groups raised the alarm over some homes pausing or limiting visits.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it is important for residents and their loved ones to be able to spend time together during the festive period. It said it has received reports that some care homes have been issuing "general policy" related to visiting, and that it has acted on 54 concerns about potential blanket bans.
The care regulator said it will continue to monitor the situation and support care homes to implement Government guidance.
The Relatives & Residents Association, which supports people in care and their families, said it is "astonishing and simply unacceptable that the regulator has not taken a proactive role". Kate Terroni, CQC chief inspector of adult social care, said:
The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on many people and we know it has been particularly difficult for those who are living in care homes and their families and loved ones.
It is important that people are able to spend time with their loved ones over the festive season, including Christmas Day and New Year.
She added that the regulator has made it "absolutely clear to providers that blanket approaches to visiting are unacceptable and may trigger an inspection".
Mr Drakeford also explained that the chief medical officer, Dr Frank Atherton, will be writing to everyone on the shielding list about the steps they can take to protect themselves. He explained: "I don't believe that he will be advising people to go back to the original shielding regime, but he will be giving people the best advice as to how they can keep themselves safe in the context of the Omicron variant and to be the sort of practical advice that he's provided on previous occasions."
8pm curfew for hospitality venues in Ireland
Ireland has announced an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% limit on capacity for events in a bid to slow the spread of Omicron. The new measures will come into force on Sunday (December 19) and remain in place until January 30.
Announcing the measures, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said Covid is “exploding throughout Europe.” He said they are still “in the early days” but already it is “very clear” that they are dealing with a much more transmissible variant.
He said: "It is here, it is in our country and we’re going to see a massive rise in infections. Already, in just a few days, more than a third of all new cases in the country are as a result of Omicron. It spreads so aggressively throughout all age groups that we are likely to see infections at a rate that is far in excess of anything we have seen to date. It is that serious."
Five-hour queue for booster jab in Scotland
People desperate to be vaccinated ahead of Christmas have been facing queues of up to five hours on Scotland as demand for the jab soars.
The Scottish Government has put its vaccination campaign into overdrive as it battles with the fast-spreading coronavirus variant Omicron. PA reported how one woman aborted her jab plans after being told she would have to wait more than four hours.
Mother-of-two Alex Demetri, who tried to get her second dose at Leith Community Treatment Centre in Edinburgh on Friday, told the PA news agency: "It just annoys me because it's so against what the Government is promoting, this whole idea of this massive drive to get everyone vaccinated, and it's virtually impossible in a major city like Edinburgh to do that.
"I had to walk away without getting my vaccine, which is just infuriating."
Meanwhile, in Wales, hundreds queued for their Covid booster jab outside the vaccination centre in Llantrisant Leisure centre in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
One man in his 30s who went for a booster appointment at the leisure centre on Friday morning said he arrived at about 8.50am and the car parks were full with a queue of people already formed outside waiting for their jabs.
"Fortunately I arrived when the outdoor queue wasn't too long but within five or 10 minutes I looked behind me and it was already as far as I could see," he said.
"In total I was outside for at least half an hour and then more than the same again inside so in total I waited over an hour for my jab.
"But I didn't mind - the fact so many people were there shows that people are turning up to get their boosters and that's really encouraging."
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